LilMtnCbn
10-11-2004, 07:19 AM
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/10/11/news/community/10_04_5610_10_04.txt
High school program aimed at discouraging teen pregnancies
By: JESSICA MUSICAR - For the North County Times
ESCONDIDO ---- Getting up in the middle of the night to feed and change her
baby was quite a lifestyle change for 16-year-old Mariana Covian.
Accustomed to a full night's sleep and few responsibilities, the Orange Glen
High School junior cared for "Isaiah," her RealCare Baby simulator, over a
recent weekend as part of a class assignment.ÝRealCare Babies are designed to
look and sound like real infants and record how they are treated.
"It was kind of hard because it made me realize what being a teenage mom is
like ---- it's kind of frustrating," Covian said. "After having it I'm going to
wait until I get married to have a child." Ý
Used to deter teens from early, unplanned pregnancies, the baby simulators will
be "adopted" every weekend by the 38 students in Orange Glen's child
development class this semester, said Terry Tobey, the child development
instructor. The program started this month.
"We are trying to discourage teenage pregnancy, big time," Tobey said.
"Sometimes (teens) idealize and don't think about the huge ramifications of
early parenthood." Ý
Along with Orange Glen High, the RealCare Baby simulators were donated to
Escondido High School, Valley High School and Poway High School by the
Assistance League of Inland North County, a non-profit community service
organization.
Each school received four dolls along with strollers, car seats, diaper bags,
outfits and blankets, said Connie Etheridge, spokeswoman for the Assistance
League. The dolls are each worth about $500.
Etheridge said school officials informed the league that it needed help
deterring teen pregnancy, and the dolls were one of the best ways to do so.Ý Ý
"They give a reality of what it means to be a parent," Etheridge said.
Programmed to randomly cry and coo, the high-tech dolls simulate many of the
same behaviors of a real infant so that teenagers can appreciate the
responsibility of raising a child, Tobey said.
When the baby cries, the teen "parent" must figure out what it needs within two
minutes. In that length of time the teen will try to feed, burp, rock and
change its diaper in order to appease the baby.ÝA RealCare baby, which weighs
about 7 pounds, can detect all of these actions through various sensors on its
body. The doll records everything that happens to it during the adoption
period, including how well it was treated, so that the teacher can give the
student a grade according to their parenting skills. If the baby is mishandled
it will scream for up to three minutes, Tobey said.
"It is down to every minute detail, they didn't miss anything," Tobey said.
In addition to teaching the students responsibility and parenting skills, the
dolls show students that early parenthood can have social ramifications as
well.
While caring for her baby simulator, Covian said she took it to a restaurant
but received strange looks from other diners who believed she was a teen
mother. The doll, which was in a car seat, was covered by a blanket, so other
people were unable to tell whether or not it was real.
"They kind of look at you weird, Covian said. "It just doesn't make you feel
good."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
High school program aimed at discouraging teen pregnancies
By: JESSICA MUSICAR - For the North County Times
ESCONDIDO ---- Getting up in the middle of the night to feed and change her
baby was quite a lifestyle change for 16-year-old Mariana Covian.
Accustomed to a full night's sleep and few responsibilities, the Orange Glen
High School junior cared for "Isaiah," her RealCare Baby simulator, over a
recent weekend as part of a class assignment.ÝRealCare Babies are designed to
look and sound like real infants and record how they are treated.
"It was kind of hard because it made me realize what being a teenage mom is
like ---- it's kind of frustrating," Covian said. "After having it I'm going to
wait until I get married to have a child." Ý
Used to deter teens from early, unplanned pregnancies, the baby simulators will
be "adopted" every weekend by the 38 students in Orange Glen's child
development class this semester, said Terry Tobey, the child development
instructor. The program started this month.
"We are trying to discourage teenage pregnancy, big time," Tobey said.
"Sometimes (teens) idealize and don't think about the huge ramifications of
early parenthood." Ý
Along with Orange Glen High, the RealCare Baby simulators were donated to
Escondido High School, Valley High School and Poway High School by the
Assistance League of Inland North County, a non-profit community service
organization.
Each school received four dolls along with strollers, car seats, diaper bags,
outfits and blankets, said Connie Etheridge, spokeswoman for the Assistance
League. The dolls are each worth about $500.
Etheridge said school officials informed the league that it needed help
deterring teen pregnancy, and the dolls were one of the best ways to do so.Ý Ý
"They give a reality of what it means to be a parent," Etheridge said.
Programmed to randomly cry and coo, the high-tech dolls simulate many of the
same behaviors of a real infant so that teenagers can appreciate the
responsibility of raising a child, Tobey said.
When the baby cries, the teen "parent" must figure out what it needs within two
minutes. In that length of time the teen will try to feed, burp, rock and
change its diaper in order to appease the baby.ÝA RealCare baby, which weighs
about 7 pounds, can detect all of these actions through various sensors on its
body. The doll records everything that happens to it during the adoption
period, including how well it was treated, so that the teacher can give the
student a grade according to their parenting skills. If the baby is mishandled
it will scream for up to three minutes, Tobey said.
"It is down to every minute detail, they didn't miss anything," Tobey said.
In addition to teaching the students responsibility and parenting skills, the
dolls show students that early parenthood can have social ramifications as
well.
While caring for her baby simulator, Covian said she took it to a restaurant
but received strange looks from other diners who believed she was a teen
mother. The doll, which was in a car seat, was covered by a blanket, so other
people were unable to tell whether or not it was real.
"They kind of look at you weird, Covian said. "It just doesn't make you feel
good."
-------------------------
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail . . . but, a true friend will
be sitting next to you saying, "Damn . . . that was fun!"
-----Unknown
