Handing in the Baby

I spent a lot of money at Costco last night. Like, a lot of money. I love that store. I bought six pounds of ground hamburger, enough strawberries to last a month, enough green grapes to feed me until tomorrow (have I mentioned my love of green grapes?), black beans to feed an army, coffee to fill me up until next month, edamame to snack on, and even a cute tennis skirt (since Josh and I have played tennis once). Anything in bulk is awesome!

Oh, but wait. Costco, or how much I spent at Costco, is not the point of this blog. The point is, I walked into Costco last night, and as I walked past the checkout line, I heard a lady tell her cashier, "If someone would have told me all the work it was to be a mother, I never would have had kids. It's a lot of work." The cashier chuckled a nervous laugh. The lady thought she was hilarious. I wanted to throw up.

They make you pass a test to get a driver's license.

They make you go to school for 18 years to get a college degree.

You have to attend practices to make the team.

Why aren't there classes on parenthood? Where are the courses that talk about how hard it is to be a parent? For that matter, why aren't parents talking to their children about parenthood?

I understand that nothing can prepare someone for parenthood. Even the best class on how to raise children will never do justice, but I see children having children as if it's just another Saturday night. I had a student with a three year old child (she gave birth in 8th grade!).

At Chatfield, we have this awesome class that I think every student should be required to take. Students in this class are given a fake baby for a week. This baby cries, pees, poops, cries, sleeps, cries, burps, cries. There is a computer system i the baby that records EVERYTHING. The student is graded on how well they take care of the baby (and in a timely manner). For an entire week, students carry their baby to class, work, and play. The baby cries for hours in the middle of the night. The baby needs feeding at 3 a.m. The baby poops at 10 a.m. during math class. It's great. For one week, these students see the real truth about what it means to be a parent. I often hear students say after they turn in their baby, "That was hard. I don't plan on having a baby any time soon."

They recently handed out the babies to the students. One girl, after one night of baby care, came back with her baby, marched into the classroom, and handed her baby back to the teacher. She said, "It cried every single hour for the entire night. I've gotten less than two hours of sleep. I am tired. I am cranky. This is too hard. I quit." She returned the baby and received a 0 on the assignment.

I doubt she'll be having a baby anytime soon.

I think EVERY person should go through this class. I almost recommended it to this lady at Costco, but I looked at her with scorn in my face and walked away.

I feel sorry for her kids.