Lawren Cole Galloway knows a thing or two about raising children. As a mom of four, she’s well versed in catering to the needs of her young ones, and all the stresses that tend to accompany everyday life.
Which is why she released a sigh of exhaustion when her 14-year-old daughter brought home a baby that was about as real as it gets without actually being real.
Lawren determined not to intervene in her daughter’s task, which was part of an assignment from her Early Childhood Education Class. Since the baby had all the “real” needs of a genuine child, the mom knew what her daughter was in for.
What she didn’t know, however, was what would come of this most interesting of tasks …
As Lawren explained on her Facebook page: “Meet William. He’s Olivia’s interactive baby assignment for her Early Childhood Education Class. Now, meet Olivia with William. She’s had him since Friday night. She is absolutely exhausted and ready to quit the class and give William back. (Maybe even throw him back).”
Of course, it had been a major learning experience for the 14-year-old, who had to take on the role of mother for the weekend. Lawren’s favorite moment was when her daughter burst into her room at 3am, crying because she wanted sleep.
“She was crying real tears while feeding him his bottle. She was begging me to help her because she just wanted to get some sleep. ?? Yeah, no,” Lawren told.
While Lawren was busy being a mom for real – to a 3-week-old newborn – her eldest daughter had a taste of what it’s like to be the sole carer for another life.
As the weekend progressed into Sunday, the 14-year-old then had the pleasure of experiencing what would normally be her chill-out time. Only this time, baby ‘William’ had other plans.
Lawren wrote: “Long story short, Olivia had to warm her plate up 3 times. His feedings were taking nearly 20 minutes, he required a burp, diaper change and about 12 minutes of rocking. After a disastrous dinner, Olivia went to take a shower. She loaded William up in his car seat and took him in the bathroom with her. She finished up rather quickly and explained that she decided to take a bath instead.”
Needless to say, by the time Monday had rolled around, Olivia couldn’t wait to hand William back. The interactive baby recorded that 3% of the time he was subjected to ‘rough handling’, while Olivia got dinged for not providing proper head support.
“Olivia failed her assignment. Having siblings in NO way prepared her for what it might be like to have her own child. This assignment should be mandatory for both boys and girls in high school,” Lawren finished.
We agree! Taking care of a baby is no easy task, and many young teens need to be aware of what an impact it will truly make to your life when you have one. With more and more young people getting pregnant, perhaps exercises such as this one are needed to solve the problem!
Share this article if you think teens should be made aware of just how difficult it is to raise a real baby!
