It's funny because I've done my time.

Did you know that they teach "Parenting" in high school now? I didn't until Raven filled out her course calendar last spring. It's part of the Humanities group of courses for Social Science credits. It's a whole course! Here's the description, "This course focuses on the skills and knowledge needed to promote the positive and healthy nurturing of children, with particular emphasis on the critical importance of the early years to human development. Students will learn how to meet the developmental needs of young children, communicate and discipline effectively, and guide early behaviour. They will have practical experiences with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, and will learn skills in researching and investigating questions relating to parenting. Sign up for this course to gain essential knowledge and skills for effective, healthy and happy parenting or leading to a career working with children."

I was both impressed AND somewhat concerned that Ray wanted to take this course but last night any doubts I may have had were laid to rest. In my opinion, this course should be mandatory for all students, like English or Math. You see, they have robot babies. Oh yes, robot babies that scream and cry and need attention. Bags of flour cannot do that.

This photo was taken just 10 hours into the care of her little robot baby, Fez. In this photo she's having a meltdown because he was crying uncontrollably. I thought it was so funny that I just had to share.

Fez is completely computerized, has a flexible neck and limbs, he wakes her up through the night, he has fussy periods and needs to be fed, burped, rocked, and changed. She wears a bracelet with a chip in it so that she is the only one who can care for him. The bracelet cannot be removed without a tool that the teacher possesses. The diapers and bottles also have chips so the computer knows that she's changed him or how long the bottle has been held there. He needs to burp in the middle of feedings and she has to figure this all out on her own, just like the rest of us once did. The computer will also log if the head hasn't been supported (and he cries if this happens) or if she missed responding to his needs. She's got 2 days of blissful motherhood to look forward to and she's already batshite crazy. Wicked!

She has to carry her little bundle of joy around to all of her classes and assemblies today and will have to try to quiet him while her classmates look on. Teehee...

It was a rough night for our little Raven and I think she now has a much deeper appreciation for the physical demands and the psychological stress of parenthood. That being said, it's been a pretty cool experience so far. Of course, I can say that because I slept all night. Bahahahaa... He did wake me up briefly at 4am though (I guess I haven't completely lost my mother-ears) but she's already noticed the different types of crying and associated some of the needs to them. I had to show her how to buckle in the car seat and held him through a fussy period for just a minute while she had a pee break, other than that she's been a very good Mama. However, she has decided that maybe a life as a crazy cat lady is more her style.

I'm okay with that.... for at least another 10-15 years anyway.