Dear Parents and Family

Dear Parents and Family,

Your student is enrolled in the Family & Consumer Science course. The primary component of this class involves fetal development and how to care for an infant. For the fetal development portion your student will be reading “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” so please do not be alarmed when this book comes home. For the parenting simulation we have four Real Care Baby II infant simulators available for your student to sign out so they can experience the splendors of caring for an infant.

The Real Care Babies are designed to help young adults to understand three important facts about infants: 1. Infants’ demands are unpredictable and must be met promptly. 2. Infants require a great deal of time and attention. 3. Infants can change a parent’s life profoundly.

What You Need to Know About Baby 1. Real Care Baby will require care through the day and night. Baby’s schedule is based on the schedules of real infants. 2. When Baby cries, it is the student’s responsibility to attend to Baby’s needs. 3. The student responds to crying by touching an ID to the contact point on the infant. Baby will chime and then the student parent will have to figure out what baby needs. 4. Baby will need to be fed, burped, rocked, or a have a diaper change. Baby will also make “happy” or “fussy” noises for brief periods (these do not require a parent ID). 5. Baby will cry if it is roughly handled, held in a position it doesn’t like, or if the head is improperly supported. 6. It is your son or daughter’s responsibility to care for the Baby. They have been assigned this task as a single parent as the majority of teen parents are single parents. 7. Any attempt to help make this experience as real as possible would be greatly appreciated. PLEASE do not do the activity for your student. 8. PLEASE instruct your student to not tend to the baby if it starts crying in a car. In real life they would have to pull over to change the diaper, they should do the same for this activity. Please make sure that the infant is transported and strapped in a car seat (the school provides these). 9. This provides an opportunity for you to talk about dating, sex, marriage, parenting styles, etc. Your student has been informed that if you start these conversations, they cannot run away. The experience with the Baby lends to a more conversational approach rather than a lecture as students seem a bit more open for advice and want to share their experiences.

You will be able to see what weekend your student signed up for on our class web page at http://www.quia.com/pages/msjfcs.html under calendar. If there are any questions regarding the parenting simulation please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected].

Please turn over for Parental Consent Form PARENT/GUARDIAN CONSENT FORM Student name: ______

As the parent or guardian of a student who is eligible to participate in the Baby Think It Over Program, I have read and understand the following:

The Baby Think It Over Program requires my son or daughter to be the sole caretaker of Baby Think It Over, a computerized infant simulator whose crying replicates that of an infant. The experience is intended to demonstrate to my son or daughter the full-time commitment required for parenting an infant.

The Baby cries at random intervals throughout the day and night. When it cries, it will be the responsibility of my son or daughter to attend to Baby’s needs.

Baby’s crying and need for care may cause my child to lose sleep and possibly disturb other family members.

I agree to reimburse Wiesbaden High School in an amount up to $500 for any damage to the infant simulator, or any equipment issued with it. Charges which maybe assessed are:

Damaged head, arm, or leg: Approximately $12 per appendage Damaged electronics: $300 Missing bottle, diaper bag, diaper, etc: Cost of replacement ($5-20)

Other charges may be assessed for damaged or missing accessories.

_____ I agree to allow ______to participate in the Baby Think It Over Program.

____No, I do not wish ______to participate in the Baby Think It Over Program. I understand that if I do not allow my child to participate in this project, he or she will not receive a lowered grade because of my refusal. I understand that an assignment requiring an equal amount of work will be given as a substitute for this project.

Signed ______Date ______