Here at Ben Davis, we have tons of different classes to choose from. There are a lot of classes and a lot of different teachers who are here to put knowledge into our brains, but a popular class that is almost always taken up is Child Development.

Susan Cinkoske, who teaches Child Development, has robot-like babies that she uses to teach students about the struggles of parenthood.

“The students take the robotic baby home for one weekend, and they are responsible for the baby at all times, and they must be the primary caregiver.” Cinkoske said, “The baby requires them to feed, diaper, rock, and burp the baby on a schedule that is set by the company. They have to pack a diaper bag and carry the baby in a car seat. They lose points for shaking the baby or being too rough while taking care of baby.”

Students who take this class get an idea of what taking care of an infant is like by studying the consequences of teenage pregnancy and infant care.

Many students learn how difficult it is to care for an infant, even if it is a fake baby.

“I think students get a chance to see what parenting is like, especially the hard part.  Carrying a car seat and baby and a diaper bag can be heavy,” Cinkoske said. “Having to get up 2 or 3 times a night with a sick baby is really eye-opening, and having to stop what they want to do and feed an infant for 20 minutes can be frustrating. Many feel people are judging them when they are out in public, and of course, the baby can start crying while they are in public and that embarrasses them.”

Getting pregnant as a young kid in high school can definitely be a hard struggle, and this class really shows people how to take care of infants.