TEHACHAPI, Calif. -- "Baby, think it over." It’s a part of Tehachapi High School’s child development class and each student takes a simulation baby home for the weekend.

Teacher Linda Munoz explained why the assignment is so important.

“It gives the kids, the students, an opportunity to understand how consuming a child is, how having a child, the priority in your life is now the child,” said Munoz.

The babies are equipped with computers and are programmed to cry when they’re mishandled or they need care.

“The simulation is supposed to be more then just feeding the baby because babies cry for lots of reasons. So, they have to keep the key in the baby until the baby indicates it doesn’t need care anymore and that could be somewhere between 10 and 30 minutes,” said Munoz.

Half of the students have already spent their weekend with the fake babies, and for some, the most difficult part was waking up with the baby throughout the night.

Student Wendy Villegas said, “It was hard. Especially at night, it would cry every two hours.”

For others, it was the looks they received when out in public.

“They just wouldn’t stop staring at me, and I would look at them and it just felt awkward," said student Jasmine Beoo. "'Why are you guys just starring at me? But I get it, we get it. We’re too young to have babies and it’s just to show you that you don’t want a baby when you’re this young.”

And while these students know taking care of a real baby would be much different, spending a weekend with the fake one’s was enough for these teenagers to think it over.

Cody Fincher said, "With the fake babies and all the videos we’ve seen in this class, it’s a big reality check." His girlfriend, Kelby Dunlap added, "Yeah, it’s something you don’t want to go through, it puts your life on hold.”

Villegas said, "It really made me think about it even more, like, 'Wow, it’s really hard to take care of a baby.' Like, I know I’m not ready to have a big responsibility like that.”

The students are graded on this unique take home assignment. Thanks to the computer system inside the baby, Munoz can tell how long the baby cried and if it was mishandled.

The students also have to create a baby book and do research on the costs of raising a child from diapers and formula to day care.