Text messages have replaced text books when it comes to teaching Grade 8 to 12 learners at Burgundy Estate’s Riverside College about the responsibilities of parenthood. Boys and girls at the private school in Cape Town are give a “newborn baby” – a freshly talcum-powdered 2.5kg bag of flour – and sent text messages “throughout the day and night to simulate the real-life and unpredictable experience of parenting”.Riverside College principal Dave Swart explained: “Babies don’t cry or get sick according to a schedule. By using text messages that are sent at random times‚ we could replicate a real-life scenario.“The novelty of having a newborn baby quickly wears off when it’s waking you up for a feed at 3am and then again at 4.30am because it has colic.”Both male and female learners are taking part in the project because “parenthood is a dual responsibility that comes with a lifelong commitment”.Examples of the text messages include: - “Sent at 11pm: Your baby needs a nappy change (reply to confirm action); - Sent at 1.30am: It’s feed and burp time (reply to confirm action); - Sent at 2.45am: Your baby is crying non-stop (reply to confirm action); and - Sent at 5am: It’s feed time and burp time (reply to confirm action)”.According to statistics from the department of basic education‚ about 21,000 schoolgirls‚ including 717 still in primary school‚ became pregnant in the 2013/14 financial year...