Year 9 Child Studies
Year 9 Child Studies
Year 9 Child Studies have been engaging in the virtual baby task. The virtual baby is a baby simulator that is programmed to simulate caring for a newborn. The newborn weighs 3kgs and cries, requiring students to determine what the baby requires, much like if it was a real newborn baby.
Each weekend, 3 students take on the role of a first time parent, caring for a baby from Friday afternoon through to Sunday evening.
This experience provides an invaluable opportunity to tend to a baby's every need from nappy changes, to feeding, burping and rocking. The baby must have its head supported adequately and be dressed appropriately to the temperature and record any mishandling or times where it wasn’t fed, rocked, burped or had its nappy changed as required. This is all recorded on the report that is generated from the baby at the conclusion of the experience.
We would like to congratulate the students who have completed this task already for the way in which you have embraced this new challenge. Please enjoy these photos of some of our students, excited and nervous on a Friday afternoon and a series of reflections from some students.
Reyana Montecillo
Despite the numerous challenges that came with being a first-time mother, I found the experience to be quite enjoyable. While I enjoyed having a new member of the family, I found it difficult to get up in the middle of the night and early in the morning to tend to the baby's needs. When I couldn't figure out what the baby wanted, the cries were especially annoying. Despite my illness, my family and friends were excited about the new arrival, and I treasured the time I spent at home with the baby.
I would advise other students who may find themselves in a similar situation to remain calm and not panic when the baby cries. If the crying becomes too loud, they should take a step back, take a deep breath, and think things through. This experience taught me how difficult it is to be a mother, and I realised that what I went through was only a fraction of what most mothers go through. Babies are unpredictable, and caring for them can be difficult, but despite the constant feeling of exhaustion, mothers persevere and get through the day.
Lara Temel
While taking care of the baby, I encountered many challenges and emotions which I eventually overcame. While taking in my responsibilities as a new ‘mother’, I had to learn new ways to complete tasks while also making sure my baby is receiving enough care. I had to find the right time to shower so I didn't have to worry about caring for the baby mid-way, I had to learn how to feed myself while also feeding my baby, I even learnt how to change the diaper with one hand so I can still care for myself. Alongside all these negative experiences including the weird looks I got from people around me, I also had some positive experiences. My father was able to live with a ‘baby’ again and although he was frustrated with the crying, he loved the baby just as much as he would if it was real. It was fun being able to experience how a mother would feel with a baby that doesn't stop crying. It was fun guiding myself through all these challenges that I faced and it allowed me to realise how hard it is for a new mother to handle a baby, especially on her own, as well as how much mothers care for us. The baby disrupted my sleep a couple of times, 5 times at 5am on Saturday and 3 times at 1am on Sunday, but overall, the other times it had cried were reasonable. It was difficult trying to get a full night's sleep but eventually all worked out. I had only taken the baby out once during my time with it when I had to attend an evening party. It was difficult trying to get the stroller sorted out when taking it in and out of the car and it was difficult trying to keep the baby safe from all the other kids, but I was able to keep my baby far from the kids and had my dad and aunt there to make sure the baby doesn’t get damaged in any way or played with. My advice to other students taking the baby home is to try rocking the baby before anything else. The second time my baby had cried, I had spent so much time trying everything to figure out what it needed only to realise it wanted to be rocked. Also, don’t waste your tears on a robot baby, hearing it cry while you're wanting to, only makes you more frustrated. Just take deep breaths and try to block the crying out while trying to figure out the baby's needs. I genuinely liked being able to experience being a mother but it was a struggle trying to eat as whenever I was about to, the baby would start crying, and by time I finished feeding it, my food would go cold. I learnt how difficult it is to be a mother, especially a single one.
Mary Arshillo
The positive experience when having the baby was showing my lovely parenting skills, when handling the virtual baby. The negative experience with the baby was the lack of sleep, as it woke me up several times in the night and made everyone wake up. During my experience with the virtual baby, I decided to go to church with it, and it began to cry every 10 minutes, which attracted others to frequently look at me and ask questions like, Is it real?
The baby continued to cry on the first day, then wasn't as loud on the second day, and finally wasn't as loud until when we went to church. I took the child to the park and church. It was fine at first, but then it started crying all the time. When there was a large throng observing, it was difficult to keep the child calm.
When taking the child home, I would advise other students to be able to afford to take some time to calm themselves down, because it would get chaotic at some point. Another piece of advice is to not leave the baby's equipment lying around because you will need to access it at some point. The part of the baby that I liked was that it began to cry less, which was supposed to make the process of caring for the baby easier. Something I didn't enjoy was repeatedly placing the chime on the baby's chest, which made it less efficient.
During this experience, I learnt to be more responsible and the shackles of motherhood, understanding it is not easy. I also learnt that the baby will not be silent right away and that you must determine exactly what it needs for it to cease crying.
It was intriguing to note that the child sobbed more on Friday than on Saturday or Sunday. I expected it to cry most of the time, but it remained relatively calm after Friday.
By Saturday, I had discovered a pattern with the baby: when it wanted a diaper change, it would make these pooping sounds before crying, and when it wanted milk, it would make sobbing sounds first. Every time it was fed, it would require a nappy change. Normally, you would have to feed it for around 10 minutes, and if you forgot to put the bottle in, it would make noises, requiring you to replace it.
Kaelah Garcia
When having this baby experience, some positives I had were having the feeling of being a “mother” and how my family was also excited to be an extra hand with the baby. The feeling of being a mother was exceptional. I felt like I was a real mother taking care of a baby. I didn’t take the baby out to public so I didn’t get any looks or comments from the public which I didn’t want to experience.
When having this baby experience, some negatives I had were when the baby would cry and you would need to figure out what the baby needed and what position to hold the baby in. Sometimes it was difficult to make the baby stop crying which would annoy some of my family members especially during the night, waking up to the sound of the baby crying and having to fully wake up around 2AM-5AM and take care of the baby.
I learnt that being a mother is not an easy job. A baby needs a lot of care, support and attention. Not only just looking after it but also doing stuff with the baby such as entertaining it. It’s harder if you're not educated on how to take care of a baby because you’ll have a lot of struggles in taking care of it. Although there is a lot of prioritising in a baby, it’s an experience that you have once where you can learn so much to be prepared for in the future.
Chloe Bax
Today was the first day in which I participated in taking care of the virtual baby. There has been much change, and I have noticed that looking after a baby really does change your lifestyle. Doing little things like going outside or even taking a shower, need to be thought about and one needs to figure out who can watch the baby and notify you when it is crying or in need of something. This made me think of single parents and how it must be a struggle, to make sure that a baby is taken care of and is healthy; while also taking care of themself and having a personal life of their own. Luckily, I am surrounded by people who are willing to help me and support me in watching the baby and providing me advice along the way.
Tonight, I had a soccer game and I brought my virtual baby too. My parents and I discussed how we would look after the baby as I was playing, and we came to the conclusion that it was important for me to play; and every time the baby needed something, I would sub off and attend to it. Before the game, I feared how it would work and the possibility that the baby would be fussy; making it difficult for me to play. Luckily, I was playing a position where I was close to the sideline, making it easy to attend to the baby. I could not have done it without the help of my parents, who were willing to help and hold the baby while I was playing. I think that a lot of people underestimate the difficulty of keeping fit and playing a sport, while also having to attend to a baby. This made me think of those women who may be in lack of support, and not being able to play a sport; because no one can look after their child.
While out in public, many people came up to me and asked whose baby it was. Many people thought that it was a real baby, and that it was my mum’s. Though, while I was holding it when leaving my game, I did notice that people looked at me differently, holding a baby. Given my age, I think that people would have thought negatively of me, as they thought that it was a real baby. This made me think of teenage parents and the judgement and criticism they may receive; due to looking after and having a child young.
I found that it took a while for the virtual baby to settle down that night, and it wasn’t until 11 pm that it went to sleep/ stopped crying. This was a change, though it was tolerable and I expected it. Overall, I think that this experience is going to educate me and this program is extremely beneficial to those wanting to learn about babies and their needs.
Over the past 2 nights, I have found that I am constantly making sure that my family is not disturbed by the baby’s cries. Especially during the night, I find myself making sure that the baby could not be heard from outside my room. I think that this is something that someone else looking after a baby would feel, constantly making sure that no one is disturbed by the baby. While my family is fine with the baby, it is hard not to think that they are not disturbed at night by the baby.
Overall, participating in this project has helped me in learning more about caring for a young child, and how much work it really requires. I think that this project will help my studies and improve my knowledge of the studies of children. Especially from talking to people who do not have this opportunity at their school, I think that being able to participate in this project is a great privilege that anyone doing Child Studies should experience to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the care and needs of a baby.
Mrs Borg and Mrs Brogan
Year 9 Child Studies teachers