This is William. He’s the baby doll Olivia got for her Early Childhood Education class. Now let me introduce you to Olivia. She’s 14 and will be 15 in May. She’s the oldest of my four kids. I also have a 6-year-old daughter, a 4-year-old son, and a newborn baby girl just three weeks old.
Since Friday night, Olivia has been taking care of William. She’s already beyond tired and says she wants to give him back or maybe even throw him across the room. She wasn’t joking either.
The best (and worst) part for me was when she came into my bedroom crying around 3 in the morning. She was holding William, trying to feed him, and she was in real tears. She begged me to help her because all she wanted was a little sleep. I said no. This was her project.
Then on Sunday night, just as I set the table for dinner, William started crying. Like he knew it was dinner time. Olivia had to warm up her food three times. Every feeding took at least 20 minutes plus a burp, a diaper change, and a good 10 to 15 minutes of rocking him gently.
After dinner, she tried to take a shower. She even brought William’s car seat into the bathroom with her. She told me later that she didn’t even wash her hair just sat in the bath for a few minutes because she was scared he’d start crying again.
In the end, Olivia failed the assignment. She thought that having younger siblings would make this easier, but it didn’t. This experience showed her just how hard being a parent really is. Honestly, I think every teenager girls and boys should have to do something like this.
It taught her more than any textbook could. And guess what? She just came in with another baby doll this one’s named John. She’s going to try again next weekend.
Let’s see how long she lasts this time.
