“Waaahh, Waaahh”… The incessant shrieking cry of a baby… Not something that most high school students are ready to handle. But the North Penn FCS department makes sure students know what it could be like.

Once high school comes around, many students begin to think about their futures. More times than not, the aspects that students think about constantly are their career paths and their future families. North Penn helps their students prepare for their careers in academic classes, while also offering a class that will prepare them for their future families with simulator babies.

“This is my 19th year at North Penn and [the babies have] been here as long as I have. When exactly it started, I honestly don’t know because when I started, it was already in existence. We have been teaching with the RealCare babies every year except the school year 2020-2021,” Child Development and Preschool Lab teacher Mrs. Sharon Lersch said.

At North Penn, there isn’t a single class just dedicated to taking simulator babies home every night. The RealCare babies are included in the Child Development curriculum.

“The babies are part of the curriculum for the Child Development classes, so when I started that was one of the courses I taught. I have always taught with the babies because it has always been a part of the class,” Lersch explained.

For some students, taking home a baby doesn’t seem to reap any benefits, and if anything, it will prevent them from doing daily teenage activities. This isn’t exactly true and the experience may give more than what’s expected.

“I definitely feel that it gives a great opportunity for students to see what it’s like to be a parent of a newborn baby, even if it is only for a short period of time. I think it gives you practice in learning how to do basic care for babies. I think along with it you can learn other skills as well including time management and communication skills,” Lersch explained. “I think it also teaches you about flexibility. You have to adapt quickly.”

The practice that is provided with the baby is very complex and an experience that many students don’t regret. While it may seem like a lot of work, it gives future parents and teachers a view of how life can look like in five to ten years.

“When a baby cries, the baby may need to be fed. If that’s the case, the students have to hold a bottle to the baby and the baby will feed for a certain amount of time,” Lersch explained. “The students will also see if the baby needs to be burped. They have to do a diaper change and rock the baby. The baby also goes through a period that they are just fussy and the students need to hold the baby and comfort it.”

Throughout the existence of the program, there have been many forms of feedback from past baby simulator parents. 

“Based on feedback, I would say that students usually react very well to it. Many students have said how it’s been a great hands-on learning tool for them,” Lersch said. “I find it to be mixed. I find some kids are really excited about it and they do well and I find that some kids are really scared or feel like it is going to be a lot of work and realize it’s not too bad.”

Even feedback outside of the teacher’s knowledge has been positive and encouraging the ongoing of the program.

“I think that people go into it thinking it’s going to be the most scary thing ever and they come back and realize that it’s not that bad,” Senior Lara Costello said. “It really just depends on the person.”

Once a student is finished with their nights with the baby, they get to create a slideshow that documents everything. It is a reflective and conclusive aspect of the project that many students tend to enjoy making.

“It’s an opportunity to reflect on your experience, to document your time with it, and think about different aspects of your life and how your baby was a part of those. Did you have to change anything? Did you have to do anything different when you had the baby versus in your normal life? It makes you think about those kinds of things,” Lersch reflected.

For future prospective parents or students who enjoy being around kids, this opportunity is perfect. North Penn’s Child Development and Preschool Programs are highly intricate and allow for hands-on learning that isn’t always found in other schools. Skills that are taught during these FCS classes are very beneficial to everyone and you shouldn’t hesitate to join.