A young girl walks around school, going in and out of classes anxiously.  Her friends talk and  laugh around her. Meanwhile, she silently thinks about a very big life decision she has to make soon….  

She is pregnant.  The big decision is whether she will keep the baby or not. 

Bell High used to have a program called Baby Think It Over.  In this program, students needed to take care of a baby doll for a week.  That doll would be considered the student’s child and it was like a real life baby, with realistic computerized responses like feed it, change its diaper and carry it around.  The student needed to have a wristband on in order for the baby to identify its parent.  After a week the doll would be connected to a computer to see whether the student did a good job in being a parent.  

Bell should bring back the Baby Think It Over program even though some people might think teen pregnancy is not an important  issue right now on campus.  By bringing this program back, it can help students make a firm decision on whether they want a baby or not because this program has students experience the feeling of being a parent for a week.  The program lets them see if they are really ready..

This program can help students rethink their actions and become more responsible. It could help prevent teen pregnancy from becoming a problem again.  It could also help young adults explore the physical, emotional, social, and financial consequences of teen parenthood.

Ms. Pickard ran the Impact program when the Baby Think It Over program was active.  The Impact program helped students who were teen parents or who faced other challenges.  She doesn’t see the need for a Baby Think It Over program now because, “there aren’t as many pregnant students now as there were back then.”  

But if we bring back this program, perhaps teen pregnancy will not become an issue again.

 Pickard stated, however, she does think the program worked. “A lot of students took it as a lesson,” Pickard said.  “A lot of female students got on birth control.”

The program should take place either freshman or senior year. During freshman year students are starting high  school and that is when the chances of risky behavior begin.  Senior year is when some students might begin thinking about starting a family.

The program can make students ask themselves, do I really want to have a baby? 

”My son took it home and he got to really feel what it’s like to have a baby and he didn’t like it,” Special Education Assistant Marcela Isordia said. “The baby’s can really make you change your mind. He is 31 and doesn’t have any kids.”

“I know many people who are pregnant or had an abortion, as well as taking a plan B,” stated a junior student in the Global Studies academy.  Some students here at Bell might actually be considering getting an abortion, and this program could help students make this life-changing decision.  And the program could help males and females later on in life if they do end up with a baby, because they already had practice with a baby doll.

Bell needs to bring back The Baby Think It Over program.  We need it now.