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    Practice Babies

    *not sure if this should be here or in debates. Guess we will see!

    Practice babies? What's that, you ask? Well get ready! Apparently during the years 1900-1969, colleges had babies you could 'practice' being a mom with.
    What Were Practice Apartments?

    Beginning in the early 1900s, collegiate home economics programs across the nation included "practice house" programs designed to help female students learn "mothercraft," the scientific art of childrearing. At Cornell each semester, eight women students lived with a resident advisor in the "practice apartment," where they took turns performing a full range of homemaking activities in a scientific and cost-efficient manner.

    In 1919, the first practice baby, named Dicky Domecon for "domestic economy," came to Cornell. Cornell secured infants through area orphanages and child welfare associations. Babies were nurtured by the students according to strict schedules and guidelines, and after a year, they were available for adoption. Prospective adoptive parents in this era desired Domecon babies because they had been raised according to the most up-to-date scientific principles.

    Flora Rose, an early proponent of the program, believed that babies were essential to replicate the full domestic experience. Albert Mann, Dean of the College of Agriculture, called the apartments "essential laboratory practice for women students." As time passed, however, new research in child development pointed to the need for a primary bond with a single caregiver, and social changes in the lives of women made the practice house focus on domesticity seem old-fashioned. In addition, by the late 1960s, the ideology most prominent in the college favored hard science over practical applications. By 1969, the year the college changed its name, practice apartments were dropped from the Cornell curriculum.
    baby sauce

    So what are your thoughts on this? Have you ever heard of this? Do you think there were cons to this? Or is this something we should bring back today?
    Satan is my spirit animal

    #2
    Re: Practice Babies

    Considering how well kids are being brought up now days I think it might be a good thing to bring back ...
    I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them ... John Bernard Books


    Indian Chief 'Two Eagles' was asked by a white government official; "You have observed the white man for 90 years. You've seen his wars and his technological advances. You've seen his progress, and the damage he's done."

    The Chief nodded in agreement.

    The official continued; "Considering all these events, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong?"

    The Chief stared at the government official for over a minute and then calmly replied.. "When white man find land, Indians running it, no taxes, no debt, plenty buffalo, plenty beaver, clean water. Women did all the work, Medicine Man free. Indian man spend all day hunting and fishing; all night having sex."

    Then the chief leaned back and smiled; "Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that."



    Comment


      #3
      Re: Practice Babies

      I think so long as everyone there was responsible, that'd be an great idea. But if we're talking about today's college kids, I dunno that I'd give access to infants to just anyone, but in 1900 with the elite of the college crowd, seems like a capital plan.
      No one tells the wind which way to blow.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Practice Babies

        Huh...as weird as that sounds, orphanages back then were more similar to the ones now in Russia. Strange way to be raised, but those kids probably got the lucky draw...loving attention and care from multiple people is better then none at all.

        Even now, that's not that different from living in multiple foster homes. Possibly better, because no one is going to mistreat their shot at a good grade.


        ETA: Also, it always kinda blows my mind that 100 years ago we still had a culture where even the elite few women who made it to college usually did so to become "advanced scientific mothers". Of course, my mom graduated from a church-run college in the 70's with a major in Marriage, Family, and Home Development....which is great training to host tupperware parties.
        Great Grandmother's Kitchen

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Practice Babies

          I think home economics & life-skills classes of all sorts need to be re-introduced, not just for girls but boys as well. If you've got junior high to college kids taking care of other kids, it may go a long way into reducing the whole unwed teenage mother problem. I know a big part of my deciding to be child-free came from finding out early on that I can't stand babies - and kids stay babies for a loooong time, and then they develop language skills and become even more unbearable.

          My husband is a complete nincompoop when it comes to anything mildly householdy. I've had to label the washer & dryer, give him precise written instructions on manning the microwave... walk him through car & plumbing repairs. His mother was (and still is) a Perfect Housewife, stayed home, prepared the meals, cleaned the house, took care of the bills, etc. My husband & his sister didn't even really have chores. Home Ec would have at least taught them how to cook noodles or something.
          The forum member formerly known as perzephone. Or Perze. I've shed a skin.

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Practice Babies

            There's another side to this too.

            Where I live in Wales, it has always been considered a poor area. Girls in the very early 1900's - 1930's were taught a LOT of home economics, and were told at the time that this would make them better housewives and mothers.

            Actually, the plan (and it was a plan, drafted at quite a high level of government) was to provide a ready made pool of young servant girls to be sent away to look after the wealthy upper classes. Girls who looked after babies became nannies, others were just skivvies, working in the laundry, or scrubbing the floors.

            Makes you wonder why they weren't more honest about it, doesn't it?

            www.thewolfenhowlepress.com


            Phantom Turnips never die.... they just get stewed occasionally....

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Practice Babies

              Home econ does offer a base in how to do things, but I learned much more in the kitchen with my grandmother than in classes. Sadly the skills most guys learn in there they forget, I know many who forgot how to sew a pillow or hem pants by the time they graduated lol.

              The practice babies would be a good environment to see if people would make a good parent, at the same time teaching them how to be a parent. In a local chat I go in on my phone at work it seems to be a fetish to make the kids and run away... and many seem like they want to amass a collection of kids without raising them. It's often seen "I want to be a baby dad/mom" (versus seeking out a commitment first) and so many more teenage girls are single mothers than when I was growing up. I guarantee these kids don't know how to raise kids and were probably raised by parents who didn't know how to raise kids.

              My last ex was the oldest son and had to care for his younger brothers, he said many times he didn't want to be a father cause he didn't want to deal with the baby/toddler stage. His practice run of watching his siblings helped in that decision. As I know I'm much better the aunt than the mother from watching little ones, after a few hrs I want to send em back to mom no matter how good they are lol.
              -=Ex Ignorantia Ad Sapientiam; E Luce Ad Tenebras=-

              My art and writing http://khaotyk-artwerx.tk/
              (whole site is marked adult, the adult and gore sections are in their own section so you can opt not to view them, adult and/or gore stories are marked with an *)

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Practice Babies

                I don't know. If we're talking about the college crowd, usually the college educated end up being the better parents anyway. As for high school, there are SO many holes in life skills already that might lead to a better family life whether or not the person has kids, such as proper nutrition, time management, and financial/budgeting skills.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Practice Babies

                  As for reducing teen pregnancy, this is a sex ed issue. One girl got pregnant in my school of 1000 students. ONE. Maybe a couple more had abortions, but no one found out about it. There are direct links to strong and factual sex ed at the start of puberty (12 onward) and reducing teen pregnancy.

                  Whereas efforts to simulate parenting in high school RARELY manage to meet the demands of actual parenting. Teen parenting classes in Canada are not country-wide, and same goes for Australia and Western European countries, but sex ed is strong in all of the above, so I think the evidence is stronger for sex ed.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Practice Babies

                    Sex education is compulsory in UK. And where I live apparently has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Europe.
                    www.thewolfenhowlepress.com


                    Phantom Turnips never die.... they just get stewed occasionally....

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Practice Babies

                      I think it also depends on how it's taught, and starting early...It doesn't do any good if you do sex ed at 16 but not at 12.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Practice Babies

                        Though, I don't know when they start sex ed in the UK, admittedly.

                        HOWEVER, the public education system in the UK does have a lot of inequalities. I think this isn't an issue of sex ed but a socio-economic one.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Practice Babies

                          I think there has been some lack of training that can also be attributed to progress ... I remember shop classes in high school ... Metal shop taught me to solder and make simple containers ... I could figure out what the pattern to make something had to be in my head ... Wood shop taught me to make from bookshelves to kitchen cabinets ... They might have been simple but they worked ... Made some outdoor furniture too ... Now auto shop was a blast ...

                          But now you need a degree in computer programing to run just about the simplest machines ...
                          I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them ... John Bernard Books


                          Indian Chief 'Two Eagles' was asked by a white government official; "You have observed the white man for 90 years. You've seen his wars and his technological advances. You've seen his progress, and the damage he's done."

                          The Chief nodded in agreement.

                          The official continued; "Considering all these events, in your opinion, where did the white man go wrong?"

                          The Chief stared at the government official for over a minute and then calmly replied.. "When white man find land, Indians running it, no taxes, no debt, plenty buffalo, plenty beaver, clean water. Women did all the work, Medicine Man free. Indian man spend all day hunting and fishing; all night having sex."

                          Then the chief leaned back and smiled; "Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that."



                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Practice Babies

                            [quote author=magusjinx link=topic=1346.msg27399#msg27399 date=1294451751]
                            I think there has been some lack of training that can also be attributed to progress ... I remember shop classes in high school ... Metal shop taught me to solder and make simple containers ... I could figure out what the pattern to make something had to be in my head ... Wood shop taught me to make from bookshelves to kitchen cabinets ... They might have been simple but they worked ... Made some outdoor furniture too ... Now auto shop was a blast ...

                            But now you need a degree in computer programing to run just about the simplest machines ...
                            [/quote]

                            Haha true!

                            I think for stuff like finance, even though it's gotten a lot more complicated, the things like budgets (which often contain more than a budget in the past but the format is still the same) and how credit works haven't really changed in a while.

                            Nutrition is such a big one. I was talking with my mom, who is a teacher, and it's a big deal that the kids in her class aren't eating properly. They're tired, cranky and sluggish. She said the reason a lot of parents aren't feeding their kids properly is because they themselves don't know proper nutritional skills. She made up something called "fruit and veggie hour" because a lot of kids weren't getting breakfast. At first she just let them take something from their lunch (we do packed lunches in Canada) but they were always choosing the worst thing, so she said they could eat but it had to be a fruit or veggie (and REAL fruits and veggies, no fruit snacks). She tries to teach some nutrition stuff in her class, but since it's not in the curriculum I bet lots of teachers don't.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Practice Babies

                              Hmm...that sounds like socio-economic issues, too, Danie. I mean, I *know* what is healthy for my kids to eat, but the last week of December, we lived on ramen and pancakes. I can only imagine what a teacher will think if we're not in a better spot by the time I need to pack Allie lunches next year.
                              Great Grandmother's Kitchen

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