Teens Had to Learn to Care For Children Using a Fake Baby, and It Could've Gone Better

Updated on 12/12/2019 at 4:45 PM

Taking care of an infant is no easy feat — just ask the 11th-grade students at Chippewa Secondary School in Ontario who are enrolled in a class called Raising Healthy Children. Taught by Andrea Lefebvre, the teens were required to take care of a fake newborn baby for the weekend. And according to a post on the school's Facebook page, the little experiment wasn't all that enjoyable.

"The babies are back!" the caption read. "Looking forward to class discussions about the experiential learning that happened this weekend. Everyone is looking a tad tired this Monday morning."

Andrea had encouraged her students to contact her via cell phone if there were any problems, and it was pretty much buzzing all weekend. Because the take-home assignment was meant for teens to apply what they know about having a newborn, the dolls were incredibly lifelike. They cried, and they needed to be held, fed, and have their diapers changed. Additionally, the dolls had the capacity to record any roughness or abuse.

Despite the hilarious reactions, most of the students who take the class look forward to the weekend that they temporarily become parents. "Our school board owns the babies and each school accesses them through the year for their classes," Andrea told Bored Panda. "Lots of use! Students look forward to this unit when they register for the course. We really love this unit. Great discussions and real-life learning."

Take a peek at the hysterical text exchanges between Andrea and her students ahead.

Andrea's Text Exchanges With Her Students

For the record, Lucy the doll didn't actually end up "dying" from her fall. As expected, people long past their high school days could totally relate, sharing their own experiences in the comments section. "I had one of these baby's in middle school and on the way home the bus was going slower," one woman shared. "So the kids asked why we were going slow over the bumps and stuff. My mom — the bus driver — replies, 'I've got my grandson on the bus.' Never have I had over 40 people turn around and look so quickly!"

Another woman chimed in saying: "My sister's was defective and stuck on 'colicky baby.' She didn't fund out until after she brought it back after the long weekend." Yikes! Either way, taking care of a fake doll is something these students will never forget.