NS with young children at home?

MrazFan · Apr 4, 2009

I am in my first semester of NS and I have 3 kids. My two older children are in school, and my youngest is only 3 so he's too little. Fortunately, my parents are retired, and my mother in law works 2nd shift. They take turns coming over and putting the two older kids on the bus for school and then sitting with the little guy. I only have classes on 3 days of the week, so I'm also home some days. It is a balancing act, but it will be worth it. And I'm very lucky, I know that not everyone has family to lean on like I do. If I didn't have them, I don't think I'd be able to be in school.

SydneyJo1 · Apr 4, 2009

I have two kids ( 6 and almost 4), and my mom watches the little one while I'm at school. The 6 year old is in kindergarten all day, so she's not as much of an issue, but my mom picks her up from school for me. I don't think school would be possible without that kind of help, either in the form of a relative or some sort of child care provider. My kids go to bed at 8:00PM, so any studying I don't get done at school has to wait until they are asleep. It's not easy, but it's doable if you stay organized and have good, reliable child care.

tigress_8207, ASN, BSN · Apr 5, 2009

I have two kids ages 6 and 9 and go to school full time.I rely tremendously on every bit of help i can get.Hubby takes the kids to school which causes him to be late for work which he hates and always complains about and then they go to my moms after school as she lives in close proximity to the school and then i pick them up after school.It is tremendously challenging but doable you just need to formulate a plan and remember that it won't be forever and will be worth it in the end.

ange26s · Apr 5, 2009

I have a 10yr. old and a 2yr. old. When I first startes NS my daughter was 9 months old.It has NOT been easy.I am very lucky b/c my mom watches my daughter for me and picks my son up from school.If it weren't fpr my mom helping me I don't know what I would have done.My husband has been really supportive as well.He takes the kids out of the house on the weekends so that I can study alone.The biggest problem I have is spending time with my kids.I wish I could be with them more.It is very hard to balance kids and school, but you can do it!

lilbeans · Apr 5, 2009

I have three kids- 6 year old, 2 year old, and 11 month old. I get a lot of help from my husband. He has a very understanding boss that schedules his hours around my school hours. So one of us is always home. My kids go to bed at 8:00 too. I have to do my school work when they go to bed. It is very challenging. I would be doing better grade wise if they were in school or something. I am just concentrating on passing all my classes and doing the best I can with the time I have. Good luck. It takes some work but it is well worth it.

june2009 · Apr 5, 2009

I have twin 5 year olds and I have to say that I wouldn't be in my last few weeks of school without my mother. The kids go to preschool from 9-2 monday through friday, on the my husband works different shifts all the time so they stay overnight at my mom's house frequently and she gets them ready for preschool. otherwise I would be dropping them off at daycare at 6 am at least three days per week so I can be at clinical on time. As far as studying goes, I have learned to study in chaos and being constantly interrupted by the kids.

1andrea1 · Apr 5, 2009

I am also a SAHM with three children ages 7, 5 and 1 1/2. I completed some of my pre reqs while pregnant with my last child and I am completing my first year of and ADN program right now (I have class Tues and Thurs nights and clinical on Saturdays). It is difficult because you don't have tons of free time to study and everything always gets in the way. My two oldest boys are in school so while the baby naps during the day is when I get most of my studying done (probably about 1 or 2 hours a day) and on weekends I try to get my hubby to take all three out for a couple of hours to get some study time in then.

I have managed to carrry a 4.0 through my pre reqs and the first year of nursing, so it is possible, you just have to be creative about how you find the time to study (every free minute).

Good luck, you can do it! :yeah:

picurn10 · Apr 5, 2009

I'm a single mom of a 4yr old and it's doable. I'm just finishing up my first year (really my LPN program) and I start my last year in August. My program has been 5day/wk=40hr/wk with clinicals and class time. I was really nervous because my son had never been in daycare, but he goes to the program at my school, and has really enjoyed it.

I have to be at clinicals by 7am and class by 7:30 so we get an early start, but I'm also done for the day at 2:30p. Typically I pick him up, get him something to eat and sort of unwind, then he plays for a big (and I squeeze in homework) then we do dinner, bath, and reading, etc... to get him ready for bed and then I study after he's down. Lots of times I've been too tired to study at night, so I get up about 5 and get in a couple hours before class time.

I tried to work for the first couple of months of ns, but that meant ds was in daycare 60hr/wk and we were both a mess. So I've lived off financial aid, and loans since I quit. I don't know how I would have made it this far still working. As you know kids are a full time job, 40hrs/wk in school is like a full time job, then adding 20hr/wk of work, and squeezing in homework was just insane!

Now, when my RN program starts in August, it's actually a lot less time. We have 2 clinicals/wk, but only 2 short class days vs. the 8hr days I've been doing. So I do plan to work as an LPN while I'm in RN school. I know it's going to be tough, but I'll only be 2 semesters and then I'll be done, so I'm going to try anyway....

Good luck! It takes an extra amount of planning and discipline compared to students who don't have kids to care for, but it's still totally doable!

Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN · Apr 5, 2009

I started pre-reqs when my son was 2 months old, so I did a lot of my prerequisites online--I was able to keep my son at home except for the times that I had to go in for tests, labs, practicals, etc. When NS started, I enrolled him in full-time care. Studying gets very creative: whenever my son and I go out I tote my notes, I read a lot of my notes and textbooks to him, I use flashcards to take advantage of any minute I get, and I open the books the minute he passes out for the night and study for 3-4 hours.

We've both had to make sacrifices though: the weekend before test means that we're not going out a lot or playing a lot with each other. But he's 4 and pretty resillent, and I try to make it up to him by getting up early in the morning to spend some quality time with him before our day starts.

It's worked so far (3.92 GPA) but it's also starting to take its toll on me. Thank God it's only 6 weeks to go!

tfleuter, BSN, RN · Apr 6, 2009

I started my pre-reqs in the fall of '07; my oldest son was 3 at the time. Spring of '08 I found out I was pregnant, but decided to keep going in the fall. I had my baby 3 weeks before finals, but thankfully I was able to complete the semester with good grades. Currently I have my now 4 yr old and 5 month old being watched by my SIL for about 15hrs a week while I am in class. I am thankful for this b/c I struggled with the idea of putting my newborn in daycare.

I would say it has been difficult to keep up with studies since my youngest was born. The 4 yr old for the most part can entertain himself and I can manage to get stuff done, but they baby has more needs and keeps my arms full (literally) I know some people find ways to study while holding an infant or other distractions, but I can't. I need to give things my full attention or it won't sink in.

Hopefully, I will be accepted into the nursing program this fall and I have come to realize that I will need to put both my boys in full time daycare at least 2-3 days a week in order to have enough time to focus on school. My parents live out of state and my husband works so much that he basically comes home to sleep and eat dinner during the weekdays. I wish I had a family member who could watch the boys (and for free) but I have to rely on daycare once I get into NS.

It's taken me longer to finish pre-reqs, and I'm always scheduling my classes so that I'm never going quite full time. Since my husband is gone so much, I feel like it's really important that I'm at home as much as possible since our kids are so young.

Adams_Mommy_07 · Apr 6, 2009

I'm wrapping up my pre-reqs now and I have a 20-month old little you know what on wheels :) !!! I also work 40 hours/week as a personal banker. My ex-fiance and I still live together for the sake of our son and fortunately his parents live next door and are retired--so they watch him while I attend class and work. I already have a B.A. w/disciplinary honors (completed right before my son was born) which has prepared me for juggling school and work successfully. However, NS is very rigorous from what I hear so once I start the ADN program I will cut back to working 32 hours/week. The RN-BSN portion will be online after I graduate, and the NNP program will be online as well--so that helps tremendously.

My ADN program will be 4-5 days/week all morning until 11am most days and one day until the early afternoon. I will work after class every day (even clinical days) and study after my son is in bed (8pm-11pm). Whenever I have free time not occupied by my son I will be in my garden or cleaning---eek loads of fun

I am actually more worried about AFTER (especially a year or two after) I graduate. By then my ex and I will officially be separated, my son will be preparing for/just entering grade school, and I will be working crazy hours. I am already anticipating that I will need to buy a home in the rinky dink town we live in now and commute 1 hour one way---which is crazy, but my only real choice.