RealCare Babies allow students to experience parenting

A+RealCare+Baby+is+an+advanced+infant+care+simulator.+Instructor+Sue+Tebo+currently+has+four+babies+available+for+students+to+take+home+in+Family+Studies.

Nikka Vuong

A RealCare Baby is an advanced infant care simulator. Instructor Sue Tebo currently has four babies available for students to take home in Family Studies.

Juniors and seniors enrolled in Family Studies have the opportunity to bring home a RealCare Baby for the weekend.

A RealCare Baby is an advanced infant care simulator. Instructor Sue Tebo currently has four babies available.

“I started with the RealCare babies last year, and it is not something I require the students to do because I know how extremely busy they are, and their schedules may not allow them to take the babies home,” Tebo said. “So, I just go over the procedures of taking home a baby and what the benefits would be. Students then chose whether or not they want to take them home.”

If students take home a RealCare Baby, the baby is turned on at 3 p.m. on Friday and then usually is shut off at around 5 p.m on Sunday.

The RealCare Baby is programmed to track and report the caregiver’s behavior.

“Once the babies are back, I get a printout of the entire time the student had the baby,” Tebo said. “For example, if there were 30 bottle feedings that took place, I can see how many the students earned out of the 30.”

Tebo said she has been very excited about the number of students that have wanted to take a baby home.

“My favorite part of sending home the babies are when the students return, and they explain their entire experience,” Tebo said.

22nvuong@usd489.com