Can teenagers learn to be a parent in just a weekend?

Can teenagers understand parenthood by caring for a lifelike doll over a weekend? Gwen Loughman puts the question to students in a virtual parenting programme.

BACK in the nineties we had Tamagotchis. Quirky digital pets that required nothing more arduous than adhering to certain virtual disciplines including feeds, playtime, cleaning up after a mess and preventing illness in order to keep them alive.

They were hugely popular and played by all ages.