Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Baby Simulators Available

Thirty ethically diverse Baby Think-It-Over infant simulators are now available through a cooperative effort between the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at Henderson State University and the Clark County TEA Coalition.

Purchased by the TEA Coalition, Baby Think-It-Over infant simulators are available at no cost to any group or organization for educational purposes.

Teen pregnancy costs the public $29 billion each year. Over half a million U.S. teens give birth annually. Eleven percent of all U.S. females aged 15-19 become pregnant. In addition, one-fourth of teenage mothers has a second child within two years of their first.

Baby Think-It-Over has proven to be a powerful tool in teen pregnancy prevention, according to a news release. Baby Think-It-Over provides a realistic simulation of parenting. It helps young adults explore the physical, emotional, social and financial consequences of teen parenthood. The infant simulator (baby) cries at random unpredictable times 24 hours a day and requires care up to 30 minutes, approximating the amount of time needed to care for an infant.

The parenting simulation is designed to help young adults understand that infants' demands are unpredictable, and that infants require a great deal of time and attention.

Lisa Tucker has recently been hired to coordinate the Baby Think-It-Over program for Clark County. If your group or organization is interested in borrowing Baby Think-It-Over or is interested in seeing a demonstration, call Tucker at 245-3235 or the Henderson Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at 230-5051 for more information.