Nurses & their children..

[jellybean321]

My question is to nurses with children. Do you believe, being a nurse, has effected your family in a negative way at all? Have you ever missed one of your childrens important events, like a play in school, because you're a Nurse? I do not have kids, but I plan to eventually and as a new nursing student, this is something I am terribly afraid of. I do not want to miss any of my childrens milestones in life and that is very important to me. Does Nursing effect your life at all in that sense [family & kids] due to the crazy hours/hectic schedule you have?? Thanks for your input :)

[queenjean]

I was soooo sad when I missed my oldest child's first day of kindergarten. What sort of horrible mom was I? I was in school, had clinicals, and absolutely could not miss to attend. My mom came to visit and took her to school instead.

Years later, the topic somehow came up and I mentioned how badly I had felt. My oldest (a wonderful, well-adjusted, delightful 13 year old) looked at me quizzically and said "You didn't take me on my first day? I don't even remember that."

Sometimes I think *we* as parents put too much on the importance of certain events. Yes, I've missed some things. I've also attended a lot of things, and because I'm home during the day, I'm able to do more in their classrooms. They have also benefitted from having a nurse as a mother, during the times they have been ill or injured.

They have a mother who is the primary breadwinner in the household, who went to school when her children were babies, they watched their parents balance school, work and family to make it work for everyone. They've been more involved with their father, and their father has always taken on more then his fair share of household chores because of my school and career. They are able to take music lessons, attend camps, and go on vacations domestically and abroad on a regular basis because I earn enough money for us to be able to do these things.

Overall, nursing has been a wonderful career for me, in terms of how it has affected my family.