Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 15, 1994 TAG: 9406290001
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By DONNA ALVIS-BANKS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"Her name is Kimberly," he said. "She weighs 4 pounds, 8 ounces."
I got so choked up, in fact, that my husband was ready to perform the Heimlich maneuver.
Wide-eyed, I stared at my son. Was that peach fuzz on his upper lip?
Nah. Chocolate milk.
"Calm down," I told myself. "After all, he's only 12 years old. He plays Super Nintendo. He watches Nickelodeon. He's into rollerblading, spitting and trading baseball cards."
Babies?
Nah. ...
"Yes!" said Wayne Carlson and Kat McClinton.
The two Christiansburg Middle School teachers believe part of their job is to teach kids what it's really like to have kids of their own. That's why they devote time in their health classes to "The Baby Game."
"All the kids talk about the baby game," said Carlson. "It's funny and silly, but the whole idea is to get them thinking about the possibilities. We're trying to get them to think on a deeper level."
"Initially, the boys especially are very apprehensive about playing the game," Carlson noted. "They want to know right away if they have to bring an egg baby to school."
As part of the game, the students prepare a hard-boiled egg that represents their "baby." Lucky parents of twins get to boil two eggs.
McClinton takes this part of the game very seriously. Her students learn quickly that she's not amused when they take their parental responsibilities for granted.
"One student complained that she dropped the egg and broke it," McClinton said. "I told her she wasn't taking very good care of her baby!"
"Another left her baby in her locker, and one boy put his egg in a plastic bag," she added indignantly.
Of course, McClinton jumped at the opportunity to explain that plastic can suffocate children and that good parents entrust their children to worthy caretakers when they have to be away from them.
"You should have seen the looks on their faces," McClinton said, eyes twinkling. "It was amazing!"
As part of the game, the students draw cards each day that pose hypothetical situations. They also prepare budgets and record their feelings and thoughts in a daily diary. They even have a homework assignment that requires them to get out of bed for "the 2 a.m. feeding."
My son came home from school one afternoon looking somewhat pensive.
"I lost my job today," he said. "I had to deduct $250 from my budget."
"Formula costs a lot," he added wearily.
Carlson said some of the issues raised during the course of the game give the students a crash course in reality.
"Suddenly, they have a doctor bill for $200. I ask them what they have at home that's worth $200."
"They start listing: my stereo, my TV, my Nintendo."
Carlson said other issues raised in discussion generated through the game include alcoholism, drug use, birth defects and sexually transmitted diseases.
"They realize the importance of learning about the health history of their partner," Carlson noted.
Carlson and McClinton make no bones about the fact that the object of the lesson is to underline the hardships of being a teen parent.
"The students find out they have no life," McClinton said.
"When they find out they have to work on Saturdays, they ask, 'What about cartoons?'"
"We talk about their future," Carlson added. "We ask them what they see themselves doing between the ages of 16 and 27."
Carlson said the message he wants to get across is clear:
"The bottom line is abstain until you are mature enough to make a mature, informed decision."
Carlson and McClinton tell their students having babies is a great experience.
They also tell them something else.
"It's the greatest responsibility there is."
Like many parents, I was cynical when the term "Family Life" hit the schools. I figured it was just another euphemism for "Sex Education."
I worried some about the content of the curriculum. I worried some more about the qualifications of those who would be teaching my children.
I worried a lot about opening a can of worms.
I think I worried about the wrong things.
"Kids are a reflection of what's going on in society," Wayne Carlson told me.
Carlson, a health and physical education teacher at Christiansburg Middle School, thinks projects such as "The Baby Game" can help adolescents consider the consequences of having sex before they are ready to handle the responsibilities that go along with it.
But Carlson doesn't fool himself into thinking that the Family Life Education Program is a cure-all for the problems facing teens.
"The Baby Game" made some of Carlson's students do some serious thinking about teen pregnancy.
"But not all of them," Carlson admitted.
"They feel immortal. They think, 'I'll never get AIDS, I'll never get pregnant.'"
Carlson said a 12-year-old student at the school recently gave birth to a son.
"She brought him into school and was showing him off," he said.
Kat McClinton, Carlson's colleague in the school's health and physical education department, said the student was proud.
"The new mother said she would live on welfare," McClinton said, shaking her head.
"This is not the first time and probably won't be the last," she added, "but, hopefully, this program will make a difference."
Carlson said his young students like to think they know all about sex.
"The truth is they bring a lot of myths, rumors and misinformation to school," he said.
"There are those who say by teaching this we encourage kids to experiment. The other side sees the program as a positive impact."
"We know kids talk," Carlson noted. "We just hope they're not passing on myths."
Carlson also hopes the lessons he teaches in the classroom are carried into the dining room.
"In some families, it helps to break the ice on some topics," he said. "It makes parents recognize that their children are changing. I can see that helping."
by CNB