What's the deal with the egg baby activity? Does it work?

So what's the deal with the egg baby activity? Does it work?

Well that depends what it is being used for.  Is it effective at making young people hold off on sex? That would be tough to prove, but what I do think it is great teachable moment to talk about delaying parenthood. It is a great way to get kids to critically think about and consider how much time it takes to care for something. A pet can do this much better than an egg of course but it proves a point.  There are also some great follow up questions you can ask to get kids thinking. Questions like:

• What sort of things do you think someone might miss out on if they were a parent before they were ready?
• What would you like your life to look like before you become a parent someday (if that is something you'd like to do)? 
• What challenges do you think a new parent feels? 
• What is different about a real baby versus an egg?

How can parents make this activity more effective? 

If you are asked to babysit: Don't be so available to babysit. Make them pay for babysitting.

Reminders: Remind them of their duties as a parent to not neglect their egg. Remind them of the instructions to hold their baby.

Field trip: Take them down the baby aisle in the next store you go to together and look at things babies need. What do items cost? How many diapers do you think babies go through each day, month, year?

Share stories about young parents and how it changed the trajectory of their life or look for these stories in TV or movies to discuss. 

Ask questions: What do you think it would be like to be a parent all by yourself? What would happen if a real baby was neglected? How much money do you think you need to make to support yourself and another human?

Share your values: Tell your kids what you think and hope for them and why. Say something like, "My hope is that you aren't a parent until you are ready to be and that to me means you've finished college, travelled a bit, lived on your own, are financially independent, etc." "I think its important to have the right partner to start a family with and to have the time to spend devoted to parenting." "I believe in using birth control to help time your family and how many children you have and when." Things like that in your own words of course. 

The point at the end of the day is to plant the seed that parenthood should be planned and on purpose, not an accident. Being a parent is a big responsibility and should be delayed till they are older and have found themselves, finished school, started their careers, and made progress towards their own goals and aspirations.

 If you'd like the downloads (egg baby instructions/journal/certificate) I referred to in the video just send me a quick email at [email protected]