Child Development Extra Credit Experience

Last weekend Amber brought home a "baby" for her Child Development class.  This is one of those lifelike dolls that is programmed to cry and act like a real baby.  It records (via a sensor that was attached to Amber's wrist) when it is being comforted, diaper changes, feedings, head position, etc.  At first, we were all quite excited and interested in the novelty of having a "baby" in the house.  It soon turned into an assignment that we couldn't wait to have finished.  The baby cried and cried. It wasn't just a little noise, but a full on wailing and mad cry.  And it didn't matter if anyone else picked it up, it only responded to Amber who was overwhelmed with it all. Amber really did try to comfort and care for this little doll, but it was pretty tricky to know exactly what the baby needed.  Night time was the worst.  The doll woke up everyone on that end of the house.  Saturday morning we had a mutiny from the boys who refused to go through that kind of night again. Jacob dragged his mattress out to the familyroom and the other boys created "beds" for themselves in there too for the next couple of nights.  The most frustrating part of the project was that Amber ultimately didn't get any extra credit points because the baby "died" during the night Sunday.  We didn't know this until she got to school Monday morning and turned the baby in to her teacher for grading.  The analysis sheet listed all of the times when the baby cried for too long, diaper changes or feedings were missed, and whether or not the baby's neck was supported.  Apparently, it was the neck support thing that killed it.  Who knew?  We didn't even know that was a problem.  It was a good learning experience for the whole family.  Our children are no where ready to be parents, and we are not ready to be grandparents. Not a big surprise there, but a good thing to know.