HEALTH

VCE UNIT 1 & 2 HEALTH AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT - ‘BASIC INFANT CARE PROGRAM

This ‘Basic Infant care program’ is integral to Unit 2, Area of Study 1: ‘Healthy and Respectful Relationships, Parenting and Prenatal and Early Childhood Development’.

The objective of this work component is for students to explore parenting and the considerations to make before deciding to become a parent. Students experience many of the duties required while being the primary caregiver of a new infant. Students are required to care for a computerised infant simulator that is to be supervised and cared for, at all times. Babies cry; they need to be fed, burped, rocked and have their nappy changed and it is the student’s responsibility to tend to the baby’s specific needs. 

The baby is programmed to replicate the actual schedules of 15 different newborns, which ultimately means that the babies need their primary caregiver at very inconvenient times, including when they (the student) may be sleeping.

The students took their role of primary caregiver extremely seriously, exemplifying their maturity and resilience. Unpacking expectations and responsibilities of progressing into adulthood were also learned during this opportunity.

Thank you to Mrs Georgia Schmidt and Ms Tiffany Zikou, who facilitated the roll out / student coordination of this program for 2022. 

Ms Carmen Moloney

Head of Health

“As a part of Health and Human Development Units 1 and 2, we learnt how to look after a child for two nights with a simulator baby that replicated a real infant’s actions. We had to feed them, put them to sleep, change their nappies, and look after them when they were in distress. I enjoyed looking after the baby, it was a fun educational experience, however, I really did not enjoy being woken up numerous times in the middle of the night to feed, change and rock the baby. It really surprised me how much effort it took to look after the baby, and to calm her down when she was crying. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the baby simulator task as it gave us a taste of what it’s really like to be a parent”. 

Emma Fischer Year 11

“The robot behaves like a real baby, crying whenever it needs something and us students having no clue what to do whilst we guess what to do to get the baby to not cry. It was a tricky task that kept me up for the majority of the two nights that we had it for. The two sleepless nights and disruptions to my day helped me and perhaps all the students who participated in this task, realise what it means to actually be a parent and what struggles our parents went through. Whilst this task was very challenging for me and my family, I believe that asking for help when it came to knowing what to do based on the pattern of the baby helped us grow closer”.

Shuban Balamurugan Year 11                                            

Couch cuddles - Picture provided by Jodie Silberthau Year 11