Students at Santa Maria High school take on the challenge of taking care of a kid. Students currently taking child development with Mrs. Pearson took care of a fake baby (babies are from RealCare program). The purpose of having the students take care of these babies is said to be so that the students can understand what it’s like to take care after a real baby and to show that taking care of a baby is not as easy as it seems. The students are graded by how well they are able to respond to the sounds of the baby crying and how they well can identify the reason for the baby’s cry.

The babies are programmed to cry when they are hungry, need a diaper change, need to be burped, and when the baby is fussy. Students wore a bracelet that has a sensor on it so that students can scan the baby and be able to care for.

Some of the students who took care of these babies said that they didn’t think it would be hard to take care of a baby. “I was trying to do my work, but the baby suddenly started crying. I thought I was never going to finish my work, “said Junior Cristina Rodriguez.

-Mrs. Pearson (Child development and culinary teacher at Santa Maria High School.)

Saray Gonzalez (Junior at Santa maria High School) says “I was very excited when Mrs. Pearson told us that we were going to take care of a baby but unfortunately, we only took care of them for one day. I wished we could’ve had them for a bit longer.”

The students covered the carriers and the babies with blankets and put stuffed animals they had at home. A student showed excitement by embroidering a blanket with the name the student gave the baby.

Teachers who have students who took care of a baby say that it was funny to see how the students reacted when their babies started crying in class.