"Baby Think It Over" Realistic Baby Dolls for Teens?

Question

when I was in high school, we did a project called "baby think it over". The project was for about 2 days and it was to lower the risk of teen pregnancies. we got to choose any realistic baby dolls of all ethnic backgrounds and a key was attached to our wrist. If we cut out the key, we would fail. Then we had to take the baby with us everywhere we went and we slept with it too. Everytime the baby cries, we would stick the key on the doll's back and leave it there until it was finished feeding. At the end of the project, there is a machine that totals how many times you abandoned it and how many times it's been fed.
**Did you guys have to do this project for school or know someone who has?

If yes, how did you do on it? Did you pass?

The baby doll would cry at random hours, sometimes every hour. at one time it cried every 20 minutes.

Answer 1

I had to do it in eighth grade and so did my brother. My brother did "okay" and I passed with no problem. Our dolls had two lights in their backs that told our teacher when the baby had been "abused" (hit or dropped) and when it had been "neglected," (left to cry for longer than 1 1/2 minutes). There was a key that was attached to our wrist with a hospital type band and was to NEVER be taken off or you would fail. This way no one else could take care of your baby for you. We had it for two days and were also given a diaper bag with two changes of clothes and diapers, etc. We even had preemies who required to be fed even more often than the full term babies. So it sucked if you got the preemie. They all weighed around 6 or 7 pounds and we had to take them home with us and to all of our classes. It was pretty cool I thought....but then again I am a girl and loved babies so I didnt mind it at all. I know they are still doing it here where I live b/c my friends 13 year old daughter just finished doing it a few weeks ago.

Answer 2

I had to do that back in October.It was the simple modle where you just had to put the key in the back and hold it untill it cooed.The project wasnt that bad,it was actually kinda fun because I was able to freak people out on the streets and it actually helped to change my sleep pattern around so that I was able to actually wake up on time for school instead of being late.The teacher wanted to change my attitude around so she put it on cholic so during the night it cried every 45 minutes and surprisingly I passed with the highest mark in the class.
Next year I plan on taking Child development class,which give you the Real Care doll2 Think It Over Baby which you actually have to care for it,like change its diapers,feed it stuff like that and it has different cries which you have to decipher in order to know what it wants.Instead of having it for a night like with the one I had in october you have to keep this one for a week.
Best thing about it is that your other teachers get really pissed off to have you have a crying doll in their class,they sometimes even get you to leave their class and not come back if the doll cries enough.
I actually do think that this project can be somewhat helpful.One of my friend's friends wanted to have a kid and then she took the doll home and she broke down and had to give it back the next day because it was too much work and now she has completely changed her mind on that subject.

Answer 3

I did not have this when I was in school, but let me tell you how great I think this is! It's very, very hard having a baby and a huge responsibility. Maybe young people would be more responsible and use condoms or abstian. It's a great tragedy to have a child when you are young. Dont get me wrong I had a child when I was 15 and my son was born with a birth defect. I had no clue what to do. I thank God everyday I had my parents who adopted my son. My son had a great life. The thing is that it has effected me in every I mean every other aspect of my life. I still have issues with it today and I'm 37 years old.

Answer 4

I remember doing all of the above! The egg in jr high. The sack of flour in 9th grade and the doll in 11th grade. I became pregnant soon after the Baby Think It Over. I remember the doll being easy. Put the key in and the baby stopped crying. It didn't scare me about having a baby. I didn't try to get pregnant either.

Answer 5

I had to do that in high school. It had many keys, one for feeding, burping, diaper change, attention.....etc. but we had to stick the key into a keyhole in the doll's back. It also had a sensor in it to see if the doll was abused. If you were too rough with it or if you forgot to feed it, this little green abuse light would pop on and you can't get it to turn off. Only the teacher could. They also had a "crack baby" doll too. It had this high pitched screech and it would shake real hard when it cried. It would wake up about every 15 min. and it would take about an hour with each key to get it to stop crying. That was a horrible weekend of my life!

Answer 6

I took one home just for the heck of it. I wasn't in the class that did the project, but knew the teacher and she let me take one and then checked the results. I thought it was stupid beacause the doll i ended up with, it's batteries started to die in the middle of the night and it wouldnt' shut off at all. I pulled out the battery pack and shoved it in a drawer. Looking back I now realize I don't see how this would lower the birth rate, since that baby seemed to have nothing to do with real life parenting.

Answer 7

I think it's a great idea. When I was in high school many moons ago we did the flour sack thing. Same principal but not so high tech. We had to keep a journal of the days activities and it was checked every day in class. it counted for about 75% of our grade for that semester and we had to do it for 2 weeks even weekends! I hated it. But it made me realize that it would be worse if I had a child and not a flour sack. More and more girls are having babies and not thinking about the consequences. We need more women going to college and making there mark on a male dominated world.

Answer 8

Wow! When I was a kid it was bags of flour or eggs and we failed if they broke (how easy is that to fake?!)... I think the doll concept is really cool! I did read an odd news story recently though that a teenager crashed her car because her school project baby doll wouldn't stop crying (now I understand more what that doll was about). I don't remember doing that type of project myself personally, maybe they did it the semester I was out having my first son. Oops, too late!

Answer 9

From reading some of these answers, I'm thinking that this would work better if only a few students did it at a time. Perhaps when all the kids have them at once, it gives the impression that being a teen parent doesn't cause you to be isolated from your friends and peers.
They should also install a dollar slot in the doll that the "parents" have to feed their allowances into!

Answer 10

I signed up for the class twice but never took it. I moved a lot my junior year and everytime I signed up for the class, we moved again. I never got to take it my senior year because the school I went to didn't offer the class. Oh well, I got pregnant at the begining of my senior year and had the real thing...lol. I still don't think the class would have changed my mind about having my daughter, who will be 3 in April.