Real Care Baby

The Get Real curriculum includes the “Baby Think It Over Program”.  The girls in the program take home an amazingly realistic infant simulator that offers learning by doing.  Baby requires feeding, burping, rocking, and diaper changing on a 24-hour schedule.  The girls learn the realities of parenting in one short weekend.  This part of the Girl Scouts “Get Real” Mentoring program has made a deep and lasting impact in the life of the girls.

Parent Comment

 Nancy Samoga, a parent, had this to say about the program:  “Even though my 12 year old daughter could not finish her time allotment with the baby, I felt that it was an excellent learning experience.  Both she and my 17 year old daughter were left alone with the doll for several hours.  Neither one of them could handle taking care of the needs of the baby.  As a result, both of them now have a much greater respect for the trial and tribulations of motherhood.   I believe that these dolls are an excellent tool for giving teenagers a glimpse into what is in store for them if they make poor choices.”

Additional Babies

In addition to the baby simulator the girls take home, they are shown the effects of drug and alcohol abuse during pregnancy on a baby with the Real Care Baby Alcohol and Drug Simulators that cry and shake uncontrollably as well as have realistic birth defects and deformations during a Girl Scouts “Get Real” session. The girls are also taught about the dangerous effects of shaking a baby with the Reality Works Shaken Baby Simulator.

Girls Response to Program:

Questions asked:

How did the baby affect your daily life?

“It affected how I slept!”

“I couldn’t do anything fun or go anywhere.”

“I had to stay in the house all day”

“It got on my nerves”

When do you think it would be a good time to have a baby?

“After college”

“After marriage”

“After marriage and college”

“When I get married”

What is a sure fire way not have a baby before you meet your goals?

“Make sure to be abstinent.”

“Not have sex AT ALL.”

“Abstinence”

“Stay focused and true to myself”

Parent Guardian Response to Program:

Questions asked:

Has the Baby Think It Over Program had a lasting impact on your daughter?

“Yes, too much responsibility for a young girl.”

“She learned that having a baby is adult business, its a lot of work”

“Not become a parent at a young age”

“She now wants to wait longer to have kids.”

When asked if the program achieved its goals of giving an understanding of responsibility of caring for a baby and preventing teen pregnancy, 100% parents that responded said yes.

When asked if they had any suggestions the only response was:

“Keep it going”

“Should offer to boys”