Did being a parent make you feel more confident?

[PhilliesFan26]

Sometimes I wonder, does being a parent give you any advantage (specifically the first year) as a nurse? I'm a single girl, no kids, 6 months as a nurse. (I'm mostly talking about working peds) I have seen and trained with so many amazing nurses who seem to have that "motherly touch" and just have this overall amazingness when working with kids, or any age patient for that matter.

Of course I know theres a million AMAZING nurses out there without children of their own! :) I'm just wondering if it maybe.. helped your confidence in the beginning being a parent? I've been around kids my whole life, but I still feel like I don't have that special characteristic when working with peds patients that I've seen in nurses who have their own kids have.

I realize experience as a nurse is the big part of this. But do any of you feel like when first getting started that being a "care giver" to your own little one made it easier starting as a nurse? Or does it not matter and the first year you still felt as ackward, especially around peds patients, as I do?

[roser13, ASN, RN]

I think any life experience helps prepare you for the next day, month and year, no matter what type of experience it is. And sure, getting used to holding/manipulating your own babies helps build confidence in dealing with other children.

However, I would be willing to bet that you are not nearly as awkward-appearing as you think. I don't even know you, but since you have observed and learned from so many "AMAZING" nurses and you are so conscientious about performing your first nursing job, I imagine that you're doing just fine for a youngish, 6-months-into-her-first-job nurse!

[cna23]

Well... i have a 17 month old son and I am a new CNA, and I think it helped me deal with BM better than I thought I would've

[Jenni811, RN]

i can't speak for someone who has children. i don't have any for myself, im only 22 and only engaged. so not quite there yet. buuut, throughout college i did respite care for a boy with cp, my age, and was total care. i was hired by the county to do a few hours a week care for him so his parents could get out and do things. it was a sad situation really, because respite care isnt covered by insurance, his mom had to quit her job to care for him. so i was their "relief." they usually took me for two hours, two times a week.

anyway...i know its not me being a mother, but its that caring touch i learned through this. it's helped me gain compassion to others in difficult situations.

i still have noticed this two, that some nurses have that natural touch. i personally don't think it has to deal with having children or not, it is something you just have...and i'm sure you are doing perfect!! don't be hard on yourself about it, your new and just trying to absorb everything. and there is alot to learn in pediatrics.

[tokmom, BSN, RN]

I have seven kids (yes all ours, all bio, lol) and in some ways I'm more comfortable because I easily know the milestones of each age and know how to relate. On the other hand dealing with very ill children is something I dont do because I do have kids. I put myself in the parents place and have a difficult time putting emotional distance between being a mom and a nurse.

I can take care of elderly people and don't think of my mom. But kids? That's a different story.

[GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

Being a parent has made me less awkward with kids, and more caring with patients. I see everyone now as someones kid or someones parent.

[RNperdiem, RN]

People can regress when under stress.

I have experience with toddlers, so some of that patient and family behavior lacking in adult maturity is familiar.

Being a parent has made me comfortable in taking a leadership position, communicating clearly and made me a more assertive person.

[MomRN0913]

I started my nursing career trying for a child. I had my daughter a year and a half in. I dont think it made me anymore confident, but I did work with adults. I however started asking some of my patients if they went "pee pee" or "poopy" and at night I would tell them to go "night nights" Nurses in general I believe have that motherly touch, hopefully. With or without kids.

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

Being a parent doesn't come naturally...it's learned through trial and error and reading lots of books!

A peds nurse who is not a parent will learn the finer points of soothing children and providing basic care, too. Give yourself time, just as we parents also allowed ourselves a learning curve.

What a peds nurse has--and most parents don't--is the knowledge required to provide top-notch care to acutely ill, hospitalized children. You, the nonparent peds nurse, will be teaching parents! How's that for a turn of the tables!?