At New Ulm High School, 9th-12th-grade students can take a class called Child Development, where they learn foundational life skills and overall child development.
One of the key factors in this course is the RealCare Baby project. Students will choose a weekend that works best with them and care for the baby all weekend until 12 am, Sunday night.
Mrs. Trahms is the teacher for this course, who can be found in many roles. She thinks this project helps the students understand a bit more about a newborn.
“I think it helps you understand how much of your life now has to go toward something else that isn’t just yours,” said Trahms.
She says some students come back from the project with mixed feelings. Some students enjoy the project, wanting to take the baby home again, while others come back saying how they will not have a kid anytime soon.
When taking the RealCare Baby home, there are pros and cons to the weekend. Responsibility and taking care of something are built into the student. The cons get a bit longer, as sleep, social life, and so is work are all disrupted for the student. The RealCare baby needs all-day care, like a real newborn; life becomes focused on that.
“They can’t bring this baby out tanning with them,” Trahms said. “We had that question in class, and I think that’s gonna be hard for some people when their friends are doing stuff, and they can’t necessarily join all of the fun.”
The RealCare Babies that New Ulm High School owns are a bit old. The RealCare Baby 3 was released in 2012, which are majority of what our High School owns. These devices are also a bit costly, requiring students to sign a form to bring home the baby.
“The babies that we have right now, they’re worth about $1,000,” Trahms said. “The newer versions are up to about that $1,200, $1300 range because they are capable of new things with the simulator. They have more abilities and aspects that you have to meet while you’re caring for the baby. So, the computer just got smarter in them. It’s a little bit more realistic.”
