# Not sure if you want a baby? Take a test drive! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 19, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937 "2005-02-19T21:24:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/1 "2005-02-19T21:24:10Z")
[Computerized baby simulators](http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050219/NEWS01/502190302/1002) > [@](#): > > Doughty said the computerized baby simulators have been in use at Bennett High for about 10 years, though the school has been using more advanced models for the past couple years. Students who volunteer to care for one of the infants have the choice of taking them home overnight or over the weekend. The simulator records details of the care period, which Doughty then reviews with the student. > > “Not only does it cry to give them some instant feedback, but it records that situation in the computer,” Doughty said. > > With the simulators currently in use, it’s not simply a matter of carrying the doll around. Like an actual baby, its head has to be supported properly. When students lie the simulator down, they can’t lie it on its stomach. > > “You have to make sure you don’t bend its head back, so it starts crying,” said Linda Powell, a 10th-grader at Bennett. > > Educators say the simulators teach students an important lesson about how difficult it is to care for a child, and thus, hopefully, help lower teen pregnancy rates. Doughty said students who participate in the program generally say caring for the simulators reinforces their decision that “now’s not the right time.” > > “I didn’t want one anytime soon,” wrote Dickerson in her post-simulation questionnaire, according to Doughty. “It (the experience) really stressed the importance of abstinence and it really reinforced my beliefs.” > > The infant simulators are in use at Bennett Middle School as well, although there they are part of a program called Children at Risk Educationally and Socially. > > “It started with one baby and now we have nine babies,” said Stacy Thomas, who directs CARES at Bennett Middle. “They’re basically, if you look at them, they look like a real baby.” > > Like real babies, the simulators will wake students up during the night to be cared for. Thomas said parents like that, as it illustrates just one of the challenges of caring for an infant. ---
**Author:** ![WomanofScorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@WomanofScorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WomanofScorn)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/2 "2005-02-19T21:31:12Z")
I haven’t clicked on the link yet, but just reading the part you posted sounds brilliant to me. Just brilliant. I wish they had something like that when I went to high school. Hell I think if I had one now it would stress me out. geeze. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/3 "2005-02-19T21:38:28Z")
I don’t know if I like the “abstinence” angle, and this has the (tiny but real) potential to damage kids psychologically\*, but overall I think it’s a great idea. \*What I mean by this: I read an article once where they interviewed some of the writers of _Buffy The Vampire Slayer_, who talked about real-life events inspiring some of the episodes. Apparently, the second-season ep “Bad Eggs” was inspired by the tamagotchi craze, and the odd effect it had on some children. Sometimes, kids became overly attached to their virtual pets, and heavily emotionally involved in their success (or failure to thrive). There was a case of two preteen girls who, after one accidentally broke her virtual pet, made a suicide pact and killed themselves. The interviewer spoke to a psychologist who mentioned a few isolated incidents of teenagers who took “virtual babies” and couldn’t give them up when their time with them was finished, or were traumatized by the severing of the relationship between them and their virtual baby. The reason the psychologist gave for this phenomenon sounded reasonable: kids mature emotionally at very different rates, and some are just not mentally capable of handling the strain of being responsible for another person. When they are forced into that situation, they may overcompensate by giving all of their emotional resources to their charges, not keeping any for themselves, until they can’t tell the difference between themselves and the person they are responsible for. I know this is very rare and not a cause for alarm, but it’s possible, and I think that before students are engaged in this kind of program, the schools that implement it should be aware of the possibility, because beyond what I read, I’ve never seen any other discussion of it. I’m going to look stuff up online to see if I can find cites, meanwhile. Maybe this is something we can discuss here in another forum. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/4 "2005-02-19T22:04:35Z")
The program the OP cites are actually condemned by some of the mainstream churches in my area (very conservative christian) because they might discourage girls from wanting to be mothers, or to have lots of children. The prevailing ethos here is “marry young, have lots of kids early”. As for **lola** ’s concern, I’d have to say this as a health professional: IMHO, those individuals very likely had pre-existing psychological problems which would have appeared somewhere else in their lives, and possibly in worse forms, had they not had the tamagochi experience. Personally I believe the experience described by **Astro** ’s OP is a positive one that succeeds in dissuading a lot of girls from having their first baby quite so soon. Sadly, good studies which prove this effect seem to be lacking. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/5 "2005-02-19T22:16:24Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > As for **lola** ’s concern, I’d have to say this as a health professional: IMHO, those individuals very likely had pre-existing psychological problems which would have appeared somewhere else in their lives, and possibly in worse forms, had they not had the tamagochi experience. I agree 100%. I have also heard theories that eating disorders can be expressed in people with similar personalities: perfectionist, eager to please, issues around handling responsibility. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/6 "2005-02-19T22:31:47Z")
I had to take care of one of these for 10th/11th grade health class. I remember thinking that it would make more sense to give them to the 8th and 9th graders instead of giving them to the 16 and 17 year olds. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2005, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/7 "2005-02-19T23:47:05Z")
We did them at the school I used to teach at. The nice thing was that , though it took two turns, all the kids - including the boys - were responsible for one at some point. And it wasn’t for a day or two either. They had to carry them around all school day, at home, over the weekend. One boy did manage to flunk when he got so sick of his robot baby crying (and it’s a terrible crying sound, very rough on the nerves), he set it out on the back porch and forgot about it. ---
**Author:** ![Scarface\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Scarface\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarface_Z)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2005, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/8 "2005-02-20T00:45:38Z")
_Sigh_ Whatever happened to the good ol’ days when the gym teacher gave you an egg and you took care of that? That built character, and imagination to boot. But the most impotant point is, does the doll make dirty diapers? Do they smell? ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2005, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/9 "2005-02-20T01:18:18Z")
kiddoeaddi had to take one home back when she was in the 8th grade. I thought it was idiotic, for the most part. The kids treated it like the novelty it was. It also had an unintended effect, too. She _liked_ taking care of the damn thing. Thanks a lot, \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Middle School. ☹ She didn’t win the Mother of the Year award, though. She lost points for _“abuse”_ when some boy grabbed it from her and drop kicked it down the hall. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2005, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/10 "2005-02-20T05:44:11Z")
My daughter had one of these for her Child Development class when she was a sophomore. It was optional, but the kids who didn’t take the baby home had another assignment to do. She was all excited because she got to keep the baby over a three day weekend. By the end of the weekend she was exhausted. The stupid thing cried at random times, like babies do, but it was completely random. I had to tell her that if it were a real baby she would eventually have been able to feed it before she went out with it, and probably it would have been able to stand a messy diaper for the five minutes it took to drive home. So it was educational, but not as realistic as I could have wished. It did get a little scary, though, watching her and her boyfriend take care of the thing. Made me think they were enjoying it just a little too much. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2005, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/11 "2005-02-20T05:47:11Z")
The ones our school has are called “Baby Think It Over”. Totally subtle. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2005, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/12 "2005-02-20T10:19:21Z")
I’ll wait for Japan to build a model for retail sales. They can sell it as Kid Tomodachi and charge $100. Every kid will want one and then they can learn babies cost money too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Pixiesnix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/14 "2011-06-08T06:41:06Z")
Reported by Real Reporting Simulator. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2011, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/not-sure-if-you-want-a-baby-take-a-test-drive/290937/15 "2011-06-08T11:56:00Z")
Closed in the wake of a spammer.