Facing Reality
Throughout the last week of March and the first week of April, Mrs.Haub’s FACS classes were learning what it is like to take care of an infant. Each student had the choice of taking home a fake baby for three nights or writing a three-page essay about taking care of an infant.
I didn’t like changing its diapers and having to wake up in the morning, — Brianna Redhat
The students who chose to take a baby home took a diaper, bottle, car seat, and extra clothes. Each student had a wristband with a key that he/she had to use to scan the baby when it cried. Scanning the baby shows that the student is taking care of it. After students scan the baby, they have to figure out why the baby was crying. The baby could be hungry, need its diaper changed, need to be burped, or need to be rocked. The students were graded on how well they took care of the infant.
It taught me not to get pregnant because while wearing the belly normal chores were almost impossible,
— Billie Cajero
After the students took the baby home, they took on another task. The students were given empathy bellies to wear. The bellies simulate what a real pregnancy would feel like. The empathy belly is a garment that adds 30 lbs to the teen. It allows the teen to experience shallow breathing, shortness of breath, increased blood pressure, pulse, and body temperature, bladder pressure, low back aches, and fatigue.
The reality babies were used to show the responsibility of being a parent. The empathy belly was worn to show students the reality of being pregnant.
