For the past three weeks, the percentage of teen parents at Ridgeline High School has skyrocketed. Adult Roles teachers Alana Lange and Becca Olsen have been spotted distributing electronic babies to each of their students. These babies mirror the needs of real babies. Some of these needs include being fed and burped, having their diaper changed, and being rocked. The babies even include sensors that record their temperature, the time they spend in their carseat, and how much support their heads receive. Students are responsible for these babies’ needs for one day between the hours of 3pm and 8am. 

These babies have also been said to be having technical issues, resulting in excessive stress and headaches for the students and teachers involved. Lili Howard, a student currently enrolled in Adult Roles, recently took a baby home for a night. The next morning, she stated, “My baby had head support issues so it would scream every time I moved it. It was fun for the first few hours, but then it got real annoying real quick.” Kylie Bishop, another student taking Adult Roles claimed, “Mine was broken because I was given the wrong key. In order to take care of the baby, you have to use the key first but mine was programmed for the wrong baby.” Both students seemed to be excited about this unique project, but instead ended up being overwhelmed with a crying baby they couldn’t help. Fortunately, the babies will be replaced with newer versions next year, because of all these problems.

Another student taking Adult Roles, Lucia Martinez, seemed to have no technical difficulties, but still faced other challenges. “Somebody decided to take my baby and bounce it on the trampoline. At that point, I knew I was failing so when it kept me up in the night, I buried it under a pile of blankets so I couldn’t hear it cry anymore. I killed my baby.” I  think it’s safe to say that by bringing up the number of teen parents at Ridgeline, the Adult Roles teachers are ultimately bringing the number of future teen parents down.