A taste of parenthood - Eckert Youth Homes uses doll simulator to show what it is like to be a parent

Earlier this year, the Eckert Youth Homes, an adolescent youth treatment facility for children experiencing substance abuse, welcomed its youngest resident: a newborn baby.

The infant, a roughly seven-pound little girl named Clara, stands out among the residents at the home, not so much because of her age, but more because Clara is a doll.

Technically, Clara is a RealCare Baby 3 Simulator, which Eckert purchased earlier this year, thanks to a $2,175 Blue Cross Blue Shield North Dakota Caring Foundation BUILD Grant. (The baby is named after Clara Eckert, who with her husband Fred established the Eckert Youth Homes.)

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