Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

CCIC Learn About "Baby Doll"

Members of the Clark County Industrial Council recently learned of steps area schools are taking to help prevent or reduce teen pregnancies.

Students are being given "babies" to tend to for a specific period of time. These "babies", however, have the ability to tattle on their teenage parents.

This is because the little darlings are computerized and have specific programs which must be followed to the letter by the "parent".

Arkansas ranks high in teen pregnancies. When teenage girls get pregnant, Wendy Ledbetter, who provided the program, said, the state loses valuable resources both males and females.

In Arkadelphia, the "baby" was named Percival Brown. The doll is realistic in size and weight of a newborn and has the same needs as a real infant, with one benefit this one doesn't have to be changed.

For the program, students are required to take care of the "child" for a specific period of time. The programing will let the parent know when the "child" needs something, and it is then up to mom or dad to figure out what the child requires.

The parents are provided with a tool which will stop the infant from crying, but there's a catch to using the tool. Because it's spring loaded, pressure must be constantly maintained on it. Once it's released, baby Percival Brown begins crying again.

Ledbetter shared a story of going into a convenient store and leaving the "baby" in her locked car. However, the "baby" began crying and good Samaritans were ready to call the police and report an incident of child abuse.

The baby's computer has three settings to provide for the infant's temperament. The settings are for good baby, great baby and cranky baby.

There are a variety of "babies" on the market, including multi-racial infants. Some of these babies were "born" of mothers on drugs and have to be "weaned" of their habits.

According to Ledbetter, most schools have five to seven such babies for students to use. In Gurdon, she said, three or four would likely be enough.

The CCIC agreed to purchase the first such doll for Arkadelphia High School, with the dolls running about $200 each.

This project is being undertaken as part of the welfare reform plan to help get people off the welfare docket and into the work force. Baby Think It Over, as it is called, is the battle plan for teenagers.

The program will also have the baby tended by single fathers as well as single moms.