Many parents and students wonder why they need to learn Family Life in grade 6. Other than the obvious reason that it is mandated by the BC Ministry of Education, it is a sad fact that today our children are exposed to more and more inappropriate images and ideas through music, video and the internet. We cannot control every situation they will find themselves in, but we can help them prepare to make PROPER choices! Many students will even be exposed to inappropriate situations by the time they reach the end of grade 8!
Yes, this is too young! THIS is the reason why children so young, in Grade 6, need to learn the FACTS. They need to have the proper information to make a PROPER choice, should they ever, unfortunately, be put in a situation through peer pressure or other that requires them to make a choice.
Here are excerpts from student journals reflecting on what they learned as teen parents:
"My thoughts about teen parenting are that you may be physically ready to have a child, but you are very far from being mentally prepared to have a child. I now understand that teenage parenting can be associated with poor educational achievement, and poor physical and mental health. Although parenthood can be a positive and life-enhancing experience for some young people, it can also bring many negative consequences for children and their young parents. I now think that education and employment is a big problem for teen parents because these children take up so much time in their lives and there isn't enough time to go to school so most of these parents drop out of high school. The parents will have tough times getting jobs because they haven't gone to school to do anything in their lives and if they do get jobs, it would probably not be a steady job. I think that the women are usually left with the child and have to raise them as single parents, and when the child grows up, they won't have a real father to be around. What I think is sad is that the men usually never even know that they have children of their own."
"Yeah! I reached my goal! Nothing dangerous happened to my baby! This obviously tells me that all the mistakes I made helped me learn not to make them. For example, when I hit his head on the desk, I made sure his head was projected...This project taught me that I do NOT want to have a baby until I graduate from university. It also taught me that it's very hard to take care of a baby and do other daily activities. This has been a amazingly fun and interesting project. It totally makes me look at caring for a baby differently. There's so much more to think about and do than sit on the couch and feed a baby for a few months. Yes, there is waaay more to it. I have learned a lot in this past week."
"My final days as a parent were hard. I got so tired of holding my baby, carrying it around, making sure it's warm. I remember on Thursday I had to give my baby to my mom because my arm got so tired of holding it. My mom said to me that I should try to be a real parent where you have to change it's diaper, feed it and clean it up."
"This project may seem uninteresting, despite the fact that this will help us in the future. This project will really help us understand how it would feel on a parent's perspective. They would have lots of pressure on themselves. Sometimes they can be stressed because they feel trapped. A few students may be happy that this project is only a week, but that doesn't matter. It is supposed to help us understand that having a baby isn't the most entertaining thing to take care of, it actually takes time and can be boring. This can be tiring as well. I feel this project is one of the best projects though-out the year because it is a week-long experiment."
"I know this project only lasted for 1 week, but after 1 week you can't just throw a baby in the closet or throw it away. Once you are pregnant, you will be with that child until it graduates from high school or longer. You must be committed and ready. If you are in grade 10 and think you have found "the one," fine, but that doesn't mean to have a child."
Here are excerpt from parents:
"My child began the journey with a “baby” with excitement and anticipation. I was unsure how this project would affect him and if he would, indeed, experience any “real” lessons. At the end of the week, I can say, without a doubt, that he experienced some insight into a world outside of thinking solely about himself."
"We often told him, when he was busy and engaged in something else, to picture what it would be like if his baby was crying, screaming or needed a diaper change just as he was heading out the door or something... that made him realize that a baby is extremely time consuming and changes your life. I think my son became aware of a lot of things he never thought about before; how a baby is a huge responsibility. Thank you for this project, my child really enjoyed it and learned a lot."
"Overall I was very impressed with my child as a parent, uncomfortable with the idea, yet proud of how she took care of all her baby's needs.
I found this project very interesting and extremely effective. It opened up a great dialogue between the two of us regarding many aspects of parenting. The responsibility that comes with having a baby and the sacrifices you would need to take when having a baby in your life."
"I feel that my child has gained an understanding of the lifelong responsibilities that go hand in hand with having a child and how encompassing a baby is."
"My child discussed the family life activity and the purpose of this activity with me and also he let me know what he has learned from the school. I think from participating in this activity, he has learned a lot."
"I think my child did a great job being aware of the needs of a baby, but was surprised at how much time those needs took up. He asked lots of questions about feeding, changing, dressing, etc. and tried to incorporate that into caring for his baby. Interest in the baby definitely waned as the week went by. The excitement of the 'project' was replaced with the reality of all the things he had to do to care for the baby. I think he realized how much his list of things to do was much harder to accomplish when he had to think of the baby first."
"Seeing the realization that the huge responsibility that is required to care for a little human being is priceless! My child took this project very seriously and enjoyed the caring nurturing aspect that was required.
Thank you for allowing me to see what a wonderful parent he will be one day be in the very distant future!"
"I am very happy that you did this project. Shows a child how much work is involved in taking care of the baby."
"Thanks for reminding my child that as parents, we work hard every day to make ends meet. It was a great project to educate them about parenting especially when they are entering this age."
Yes, this is too young! THIS is the reason why children so young, in Grade 6, need to learn the FACTS. They need to have the proper information to make a PROPER choice, should they ever, unfortunately, be put in a situation through peer pressure or other that requires them to make a choice.
Here are excerpts from student journals reflecting on what they learned as teen parents:
"My thoughts about teen parenting are that you may be physically ready to have a child, but you are very far from being mentally prepared to have a child. I now understand that teenage parenting can be associated with poor educational achievement, and poor physical and mental health. Although parenthood can be a positive and life-enhancing experience for some young people, it can also bring many negative consequences for children and their young parents. I now think that education and employment is a big problem for teen parents because these children take up so much time in their lives and there isn't enough time to go to school so most of these parents drop out of high school. The parents will have tough times getting jobs because they haven't gone to school to do anything in their lives and if they do get jobs, it would probably not be a steady job. I think that the women are usually left with the child and have to raise them as single parents, and when the child grows up, they won't have a real father to be around. What I think is sad is that the men usually never even know that they have children of their own."
"Yeah! I reached my goal! Nothing dangerous happened to my baby! This obviously tells me that all the mistakes I made helped me learn not to make them. For example, when I hit his head on the desk, I made sure his head was projected...This project taught me that I do NOT want to have a baby until I graduate from university. It also taught me that it's very hard to take care of a baby and do other daily activities. This has been a amazingly fun and interesting project. It totally makes me look at caring for a baby differently. There's so much more to think about and do than sit on the couch and feed a baby for a few months. Yes, there is waaay more to it. I have learned a lot in this past week."
"My final days as a parent were hard. I got so tired of holding my baby, carrying it around, making sure it's warm. I remember on Thursday I had to give my baby to my mom because my arm got so tired of holding it. My mom said to me that I should try to be a real parent where you have to change it's diaper, feed it and clean it up."
"This project may seem uninteresting, despite the fact that this will help us in the future. This project will really help us understand how it would feel on a parent's perspective. They would have lots of pressure on themselves. Sometimes they can be stressed because they feel trapped. A few students may be happy that this project is only a week, but that doesn't matter. It is supposed to help us understand that having a baby isn't the most entertaining thing to take care of, it actually takes time and can be boring. This can be tiring as well. I feel this project is one of the best projects though-out the year because it is a week-long experiment."
"I know this project only lasted for 1 week, but after 1 week you can't just throw a baby in the closet or throw it away. Once you are pregnant, you will be with that child until it graduates from high school or longer. You must be committed and ready. If you are in grade 10 and think you have found "the one," fine, but that doesn't mean to have a child."
Here are excerpt from parents:
"My child began the journey with a “baby” with excitement and anticipation. I was unsure how this project would affect him and if he would, indeed, experience any “real” lessons. At the end of the week, I can say, without a doubt, that he experienced some insight into a world outside of thinking solely about himself."
"We often told him, when he was busy and engaged in something else, to picture what it would be like if his baby was crying, screaming or needed a diaper change just as he was heading out the door or something... that made him realize that a baby is extremely time consuming and changes your life. I think my son became aware of a lot of things he never thought about before; how a baby is a huge responsibility. Thank you for this project, my child really enjoyed it and learned a lot."
"Overall I was very impressed with my child as a parent, uncomfortable with the idea, yet proud of how she took care of all her baby's needs.
I found this project very interesting and extremely effective. It opened up a great dialogue between the two of us regarding many aspects of parenting. The responsibility that comes with having a baby and the sacrifices you would need to take when having a baby in your life."
"I feel that my child has gained an understanding of the lifelong responsibilities that go hand in hand with having a child and how encompassing a baby is."
"My child discussed the family life activity and the purpose of this activity with me and also he let me know what he has learned from the school. I think from participating in this activity, he has learned a lot."
"I think my child did a great job being aware of the needs of a baby, but was surprised at how much time those needs took up. He asked lots of questions about feeding, changing, dressing, etc. and tried to incorporate that into caring for his baby. Interest in the baby definitely waned as the week went by. The excitement of the 'project' was replaced with the reality of all the things he had to do to care for the baby. I think he realized how much his list of things to do was much harder to accomplish when he had to think of the baby first."
"Seeing the realization that the huge responsibility that is required to care for a little human being is priceless! My child took this project very seriously and enjoyed the caring nurturing aspect that was required.
Thank you for allowing me to see what a wonderful parent he will be one day be in the very distant future!"
"I am very happy that you did this project. Shows a child how much work is involved in taking care of the baby."
"Thanks for reminding my child that as parents, we work hard every day to make ends meet. It was a great project to educate them about parenting especially when they are entering this age."