Created: 2/7/2008 5:30:07 PM 
High Point, NC - Some Guilford County students are getting an early lesson in parenting. 7th and 8th graders at the Piedmont school will take care of life-like baby dolls for a week. The doll babies cry when they need to be fed and changed.
It's all a part of the school's sex education program. The goal of the baby doll project is to show students how hard raising a child can be. Students are four days into it and they are already learning valuable lessons about early parenting and abstinence.
Since caring for the life-like dolls, students have had to give up some of their luxuries. "I'm not getting as much sleep. I'm a little more grouchy," said Maria Adams, an 8th grader.
"I just have a really hard time keeping up with everything at the same time," said Riley Davis. "We have to change the baby, feed the baby do homework and class work."
Teacher Kay Cheek says the baby project works.
"Hopefully with just this weeks experience they'll understand that it's not a lot of fun and a very big hardship to have a baby at this age," said Cheek. "They're tried. They're grades have suffered. They are restricted in what they can do with their friends. I think the message has come through loud and clear."
It opened discussion about sex and pregnancy at school and at home.
"My son asked me the first day after an exhausting evening if I ever felt like shaking him when he was a baby. I certainly did but never shook him, and he just has an awareness now that even normal activities like homework become challenging when you haven't had the sleep that you need at night," said Davis.
Taking care of the baby doll helped Maria Adams make a decision in her life. "It scares me to know that it's possible to get pregnant. But it's come to me that I'm not going to do that."
The baby doll project is in its third year at the Piedmont School. Students will keep the dolls through the weekend.
WFMY News 2
