this program was established by gAPT in 2001.  the purpose of the project is to provide an opportunity for teenagers to have a simulated parental experience.  the experience takes place in a setting where supervision is provided by a teacher, parent, therapist or other adult supervisor.

the experience is facilitated by a mechanical doll baby known as realcare iI which is battery operated, life size, and comes with a variety of features.  the baby must be feed and diapered and has many attributes of a real baby. it even cries in the middle of the night.  it can be very demanding, just like a real infant.

the project gives teenagers the opportunity to learn what having a baby is really all about.  typically they are given custody of the baby for a day or two during which they must comply with all of needs the infant exhibits. 

they learn a great deal about childcare in a very short time span.  read some of their comments below under testimonials below.

to see the baby and learn more about it

if you would like to see the baby you may do so by visiting the website of realityworks who manufacture the baby.

how gAPT's

program works

gAPT will purchase and loan the realcare iI baby to organizations which have contact with teenagers.

if you believe your organization could use the Realcare iI baby doll with teens in your organization you can obtain details by contacting...

 trudypostsprunk@charter.net

feedback from the baby

the baby keeps track of the effort the student makes to keep the baby comforted.  the following is a sample of the information about for a student who had the baby for 1 day, 19 hours, and 43 minutes.

feed  15   neglected  1

burp 11    neglected  0

diaper 9   neglected 0

rock 4    neglected 1

fussy 1 

happy 7  

cough 0 

no diaper 2 

wrong position  0 

rough handling  0

head support 3

shaken baby  0

total crying time   44 minutes

testimonials

my experience with taking care of the baby was okay.  i was the babysitter for the baby and i really do not want to watch it again.  the reasons why i would not want the baby is because when you try to sleep it will wake you crying all the time. then you have to change the diaper and feed it so it will stop crying.  it is just too much responsibility to take care of a child at my age because you got school and i play sports so i could not play, i would have to sit and watch other people play.  this is how i fee about taking care of the baby. 

rebecca age 15

what was it like to take care of the baby?  well, at first i was kind of nervous.  why? i don't even know.  i kind of got the hang of it after the first 20 minutes.  after the first night, i kind of started to feel real.  like it was a real baby, like my very own son.  then it kind of made me realize what my mother went through.  i really enjoyed it. 

john  age 15

an anonymous 16 Year old student kept a diary for four days about his experience.  to read it click here