Since the end of 2000 pedagogical practice in Germany addresses motherhood/parenthood with the help of computer-assisted infant simulators in school and out of school contexts. This US-developed instrument has spread at a phenomenal rate and unites teachers and social workers in unusually cooperative agreement. Data analysis shows that mostly young women in low qualifying educational streams are targeted and then confronted with mental overload scenarios and public shaming – justified in the eyes of the practitioners as it is supposed to mirror limitations of personal freedom to be expected of motherhood. As in the media discourse, which clearly differentiates between societally desired as well as undesired parenthood, young women are supposed to fail their simulation challenge and postpone motherhood to a later biographical date. Participants first reacted positively to the projects, expecting a useful learning experience addressing issues relevant to themselves and their environment. However, they were forced to realise that in addition to their difficulties in entering the job market due to economic conditions, they now have to start doubting their personal perspectives with regard to founding a family as well – the computer assesses their failure as mothers in percentages. Attitudes towards young people with migration backgrounds are shaped by omissions and neglect, diffuse beliefs about “foreign” cultures and stereotyping clichés, often expressed along gender lines. The data continuously showed racialised speculations about taboos on female sexuality, laments about non-accessibility of young men with migration backgrounds and attributions of joint family clichés with clear gender role distributions.

In seven group discussions, students in agreed to speak about their expectations and experiences with regard to motherhood, life planning and the so-called “parenting internships”. In addition, quantitative data was collected from disseminators with a questionnaire (N=90, return rate 42%), administered Germany-wide, concerning issues as in distribution, concepts, cooperation and intentions, supplemented with qualitative data from 27 problem-centered interviews.

Research results showed, that Doing Class, Doing Ethnicity and Doing Gender processes were not sufficiently reflected. With the vague intention of “saving” girls and wrongly presuming dramatically rising rates of teenage pregnancy, mothers under 20 were portrayed as failures, doomed to neglect their parenting responsibilities – disastrous, if early pregnancy becomes biographical reality for participating young women.