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I, for one, welcome robot babies

Oh baby! When I was growing up the only advice I ever remember receiving regarding premarital sex was: “Don’t do it.” Period.

Oh baby!

When I was growing up the only advice I ever remember receiving regarding premarital sex was: “Don’t do it.”

Period.

No discourse about intercourse in those days! At least not in my family and not in the schools.

I guess that’s fine if you don’t have the typical teenage hormones raging throughout your body or your parents have you chained up in the closet until you’re safely wed.

In fact, I was so ignorant that, at one point I kissed a boy and spent a good long time certain that I was going to have a baby. I was only 10 or so, but I clearly remember the terrible fear until my older sister wrangled it out of me, and after a long, hearty laugh, explained that no, kissing in itself would never yield a baby.

So, like many girls my age, I had to educate myself. That education, unfortunately, was based on a mish-mash of articles quickly read under the cover of blankets, folk lore, and “information” gleaned from peers who, for the most part, were just as ignorant as I.

In retrospect, it’s not surprising that I found myself 18, unmarried and pregnant.

To say that pregnancy impacted my whole life would be a huge understatement and even now I can feel the sting of that unplanned teen pregnancy.

I’m not ashamed to speak of that when I think that maybe some of what I might say will cause someone else to think twice before having unprotected sex.

In fact, I would go as far to say that the best sex at that age is no sex. In other words, abstinence is the preferred and most logical method of birth control.

I’m glad that in today’s world, teens are being educated in an open way when it comes to sex. I’d be curious to see if the teen rate pregnancy is less than 40 years ago.

That’s why I was pleased to see my teenage niece come to a gathering at our home packing a baby. Yes, I said pleased because the “baby” my niece was packing was an electronic baby provided through her family studies program at SHSS.

That baby came complete with diapers, clothes, bottle and a mighty cry should she become hungry, tired or wet. It was up to my niece to ensure that this baby was well-cared for and that was monitored via an electronic bracelet on her arm and electronic workings within the doll.

Quite honestly, it made me sad to see my 16-year-old niece shackled to the baby. It seems her friends were out and gallivanting that Saturday night, but because of the “baby” my niece was relegated to rocking, feeding, diapering and burping.

I well remembered those days. What a cold, cruel, splash of reality.

To her credit, she was very attentive to her charge. Her grades count to her.

But come this morning after a long, sleepless weekend with the “baby” and just prior to returning the doll to her teacher, she posted this on Facebook: “So tired. Stupid robotic baby!!!”

I laughed, and then I reminded her that this baby would soon be nothing more than a slightly unpleasant memory.

So it should be with every young teenager.

Congratulations to those educators who understand that frank discussions of sex and its consequences isn’t something to shy away from.

My only concern is that I fully believe that teens as young as 13 would benefit from the program as much as their older peers (if they are not already).

If you would like to read more about these electronic dolls go to http://individual.utoronto.ca/elaine/baby.htm