Dear Editor:
It is that time again where the “raising healthy children” course (formerly called parenting) will be offered at Centre Wellington District High School (CWDHS) i Fergus this semester.
Students not only learn skills of how to be a good parent, but also how to ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby, how children develop and learn, understand discipline and behaviour management strategies, and have hands-on experience with young children through reading buddies at JD Hogarth and planning activities for young children in our classroom.
This course also offers the unique opportunity where students take home our “baby,” an infant simulator that is programmed to reflect a real life baby where the student has to feed, burp, change, and comfort the child when it cries.
Over the past 20 years of teaching this incredible course, at the end of the semester, my students always comment on their experience they have with the community and the baby, and sometimes the reactions from the community are not what they expected!
Please be kind, patient and open-minded to my students when you see them and their “baby” in the community. Remember these students are taking this course to learn how to be good parents in the future. The infant simulator and this course helps them realize the importance of waiting until they are older and allows them to prepare to be future parents!
Tiziana Ceccato,
Family studies teacher, CWDHS