Teacher’s fake baby assignment leads to hilarious student meltdowns

Teenagers at Chippewa Secondary School in North Bay, Ontario got a taste of real-life parenting, and they are absolutely not OK.

As part of a Grade 11 course called Raising Healthy Children, teacherAndrea Lefebvre assigns her students robotic “Real Care” babies to take home for the weekend. The goal? Help them understand the demands of caring for a newborn. The result? Total chaos.

Lefebvre posted screenshots of student texts, and the internet immediately understood their pain. These aren’t just robotic dolls—they cry, whimper, need to be fed, changed, and rocked just like actual infants. And, unfortunately for the students, they don’t come with a pause button.

She’s not dead ... yet.

so far, so ... good?Reddit

Please shut off my baby.

Struggling with the assignmentReddit

This one just a bit too accurate.

Finally, some sleepReddit

One student texted, “They don’t stop,” and honestly, that just about sums it up.

They're not wrongReddit

Quiet time? With a a baby?

Babies don't respect your need for quietReddit

Lefebvre wrote, “Our students are in a grade 11 class called Raising Healthy Children. The students bring home one of the Real Care babies for the weekend to apply their learning for the caring for a newborn unit.”

An actual, real-life

But judging by their responses, many were clearly not prepared for just how real it would feel.

Waterproofed babies?

It's OK for babies to get a little wetReddit

Parents chimed in with their own mix of laughs and sympathy.

“I wish I would have known about that emergency shut off a long time ago!!! Can you still use this feature when they are teenagers???” joked one commenter.

Another shared, “At times, I wish I could put my child in my bag so I don't have to carry my clingy 3-year-old daughter.”

Taking care of a fake baby still pretty challengingReddit

The assignment struck a nostalgic chord for people who had gone through similar baby simulations in school. One commenter remembered:

“I had one of these babies in middle school and on the way home the bus was going more slowly after school. So the kids asked why. My mom, the bus driver, replied, ‘I’ve got my grandson on the bus.’ Never have I had over 40 people turn around and look so quickly.”

Others reflected on how accurate the experience actually is, even with the fake baby.

“I’m almost positive I would’ve been like at least two or three of these students if I had though. Full-time parent to a newborn is by far the most exhausting, frustrating & emotional (yet rewarding) experience I’ve been through so far.”

No word yet on whether the students passed their assignment, but based on the emotional damage, it’s safe to say the lesson hit home.

This article originally appeared last year.