Waking up to the sound of crying is not anyone’s ideal weekend. 

Family Studies teacher Penny Christensen has started to give out Real Care babies to her students. Real Care babies are lifelike baby dolls that have the same needs and wants as an actual newborn. This project can help many teens realize what having to take care of a child would be like. 

They cry, sleep, need to be fed, have their diapers changed and rocked every so often. They also simulate the same sleep schedules as some newborns, waking up at crazy times during the night. 

“At first I was excited and then I got home. It was definitely an interesting experience. The worst part about it was the baby would cry every 45 minutes at around two, three, four in the morning,” sophomore Madison McGovern said. 

Many students thought it taught a good lesson, however. 

“Even though I lost a lot of sleep and was really irritated by the crying overall, I thought it taught a really good lesson about knowing what it would be like to be a teen mom and why not to have kids in high school,” senior Taryn Inlow said. 

Sophomore Kari Ky, who just got her baby Friday, was nervous for the weekend. 

“I’ve heard so many good and bad things about the babies, so I’m kind of scared to see what happens,” Ky said.