On Sept. 28, students in Jessica Thomas’ 7th period Intro to Child Development class learned how to care for newborn babies using dolls. 

“This gives the students a real hands-on experience that they might need if they like to take care of newborn children and things that are involved with it,” Thomas said.

Throughout the class period, students visited multiple stations, which each had a different purpose to help the students grow their knowledge in child care. 

“My station was the formula station, and we needed to learn how to clean bottles and feed babies,” sophomore Alayna Weesner said. “There was also diaper-changing, cleaning, putting them in a car seat, bathing them and swaddling. I wanted to advance my knowledge about taking care of kids. I might work with kids. I might be a teacher, so it is a necessary thing.” 

Learning how to properly care for a newborn while a student gives those in class more insight, practice and time to prepare for future careers or parenthood if they decide to have children of their own.

“The purpose of the stations was to learn how to take care of a child so when you have your own, you will know what to do and how to do it correctly,” senior Grace Gagne said. 

Students learned that there is more to taking care of a newborn than they thought, including how to keep the newborn safe. 

“I hope that the students can see how much goes into taking care of a newborn,” Thomas said. “And just see some more fun ways to look at it and have them realize that there is a lot more to taking care of a newborn than you think and realizing all the precautions and safety concerns you have to be aware of.”