Students Tania Nelson, Kim Hutchinson, Katie Ives, Toni Harris and Libby Wilson with the Baby Think It Over simulator

Teenagers at a Harrogate school come face-to-face with the realities of pregnancy

24 January 2011

A baby simulator is part of the Rossett School programme for 13 to 18-year-olds, giving youngsters an insight into what it’s like to care for an infant.

Although they will have parental guidance themselves, the simulator can be programmed to behave like a real baby, crying at night to be fed and demanding their full attention during the day.

Students Tania Nelson, Kim Hutchinson, Katie Ives, Toni Harris and Libby Wilson with the Baby Think It Over simulator

The Baby Think It Over initiative also includes sessions in relationships, health and the risks of sexually transmitted illnesses.

“We work with the students in small groups with each given an opportunity to take the simulator home – as long as their family agrees,” said Rossett School’s Malcolm Howe.

“Once they’ve had a taste of the responsibilities involved, the can make an informed choice about their own future – and by far the majority have no intention of becoming a teenage mum or dad. Not only that, but their experience is passed on and can influence other students facing important life choices.”

The Baby Think It Over initiative was founded in America in 1993, the brainchild of a former aviation technician made redundant and looking for an alternative source of income.

The simulator can be programmed to “cry” at different intervals and will only stop once the student has inserted a key for a set period of time to mirror a parental role such as feeding, changing a nappy, bathing or comforting a sick child. In some areas where it has been introduced, teenage pregnancy rates have fallen by 50 per cent.

2 Comments

  1. i find this post/blog/story slightly in-accurate.i doubt that this story explains the emotions and love of parenthood and only focuses on a baby simulator?? really how is that like being a parent?? its merely a scare tactic to target young women and is extremely biased. i think classes like these should be taught by women who have experienced teenage pregnancy/parenthood. I quote “In some areas where it has been introduced, teenage pregnancy rates have fallen by 50 per cent”. I would like some feedback from the editor.

    Many Thanks

    Joseph Brent

  2. The Baby Think It Over programme is designed to help adolescents understand the responsibilities of parenthood and how difficult the practicalities of looking after a baby can prove, not to explore the emotional side. The statistics mentioned in the release come directly from the organisation involved and are based on their research. More than one million teenagers have used Baby Think It Over since it was created in 1993, and studies have shown it is a more effective strategy in changing the attitudes of adolescents towards parenting than others such as shadowing a teenage parent.

    The programme has also received several major accolades, including Parenting magazine’s Parenting Achievement Award.

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