Infant carriers and bottles of formula have been all over the halls and classrooms for the past few weeks as Human Growth and Development teacher Chelsea Nelson wraps up a semester of learning with her students by sending them out into the world with mechanical babies that cry, sleep, and basically act as a human baby would. 

Nelson said it is easier to teach teenagers about how to take care of and understand babies and toddlers because their brain is still developing. She thinks all schools should provide a RealCare baby class for them to know what a safe lifestyle is like for a child.

“I think that all schools should offer a class where students are given the opportunity to care for an infant in a safe learning environment,” Nelson said. “Ken Paxton, Attorney General of Texas, actually provides schools with free Par­ent­ing and Pater­ni­ty Awareness (P.A.P.A) program resources to use in the classroom as he believes that proactively educating youth on the rights, responsibilities, and realities of parenting is important.”

Junior Dre’a Lott has so far only had the baby for a day and a night and she says that it’s been very interesting to wake up at three a.m. to help this baby. She understands why it is so important to have this class as a teen. 

“It was sorta weird having to wake up at three in the morning to take care of a robotic baby,” Lott said.  “I absolutely understand why the school teaches it because of abuse and the need to teach the right way to care for children.”

Senior Jaycee Harris is also on her second day and she said she loves kids so she is doing very well. She said that when she was working out for athletics, her mom, who is also the coach, heard her baby crying and started to cradle her while teaching a workout. 

“So far my baby is not a very fussy baby; she is rarely ever crying,” Harris said. “I think this class will help make me a better parent one day.”