Nursing School and Kids

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Hello, everyone! I am currently on the waiting list for my local nursing program. I have always wanted to be a nurse and I am very excited. I'm starting school a little later than most (I'm 22) so I feel a bit anxious jumping back into school. I have two kids (4 and 3 months) and I'm paralyzed with the fear that me going back to school is going to cause me to miss out on them growing up. When my first was born, I was just finishing up high school and missed a lot of her "firsts" so I think it may stem from that. I had starting nursing school but inevitably dropped out because I was too overwhelmed working full time and going to school.

Now, I have a very supportive husband, and family. Both his parents and mine want to see me graduate and I'm thankful for them. I just don't want to be "dumping" my children on them all the time to study, and not be active in their lives.

Is it possible to do both? Be a mother and go to school? I just need encouragement knowing I'm not making some big mistake and hurting them. They both mean everything to me.

Any tips, or advice is greatly appreciated!

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First off, congratulations on your acceptance! It's great to hear that your family is so supportive with your decision because they'll be the ones who will remind you of why you're doing this. It's not an uncommon thing for mothers to go to nursing school, and some wait until they've been out of school for almost a decade, so it will probably be an easier transition for you.

It's really all about time management. Yes, nursing school will take up a lot of time during the week, especially the studying it requires outside of school. However, it doesn't mean that you will absolutely have no free time at all. You just need to set time frames aside to spend time with your family. And, since you said your family is supportive, they will understand when you ask them to take care of the children because of the extra studying you need for an upcoming exam. I wish you the best of luck! I'm still waiting to hear back from my nursing school :)

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

If you can think of it as a short-term sacrifice for a long-term investment for your family, it might make your decision a little easier. I am kind of in the same boat as you. I have a daughter who is almost 2 and am pregnant with my second right now and am putting off nursing school for a year for those very same reasons. I know exactly what you're facing right now! However, it sounds like you have a wonderfully supportive family that is willing to help and wants to see you succeed. That's way more than some mothers in nursing school have. I think you can do it, and I think you should! :)

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

Many of us make it work. It does suck to be away, I'll be totally honest, but that said, this is something (at least for me- we all have to judge for ourselves) that's TOTALLY worth it for a short time in the grand scheme of things.

Make your time together count. Try to study away from home, because that way, when you ARE home, your total focus is on "home stuff," rather than being distracted with school stuff. School will definitely be a time suck, but if you can manage your time and you have a lot of support, which it sounds like you have, you can make it work. :)

Congratulations!

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Specializes in ICU.

Having a good support system is what is needed to make it through. I was worried about the same things you are and my is 8!! I was worried about missing too much. He does competitive judo and I am usually studying in the dojo every night. I study when we travel on weekends. My ex has been good about taking him when needed and I have a close friend who watches him when my ex can't. We do make special time for us though. It may be something simple like last night we sat on the couch and played some silly games with each other for 30 minutes or we have what we call talk time where he sits on my bed and talks to me about what his thoughts are. When the weather gets warmer, we like to take walks. The fact that I make this special time with him makes it easier for him to let me get my school work done. He is a little older though and understands what I am doing. It's just a matter of prioritizing and scheduling everything. My weekly schedule is done every Sunday night and I try to stick to it.

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My children are older too, but I don't want to leave them in the dust. It seems like support and time management are key.

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I have a 5 year old and an 8 year old..I start nursing school in January......honestly...It's possible if you are determined enough to make it work. Are you going to miss somethings? Probably....but you just have to accept that...make the free time you have with them quality time....don't be too hard on yourself. and TIME MANAGEMENT......have a schedule and stick to it...make sure you pencil in time to just hang with your kids or do something fun. For me it's all about balance... I was a full time stay at home mom since my oldest was born until I went back to school to work on my prereqs a year and a half ago....I had never missed a ball game...school performance....ANYTHING.....it KILLED ME at first to miss things...But I just schedule and rearrange things the best I can to be there as much as possible...then I have to make myself be ok with missing the things that are unavoidable...once I taught myself to be ok with that and convinced myself that I was doing everything I could I was much happier and successful.

I have an extremely supportive husband and family who help out so much (My mother in law literally kept my kids/fed/bathed/finished homework with them and had them ready for bed when my husband picked them up 4 nights a week last year while I went to school at night). Another good thing that has come from this for our family.....My kids were SOOO dependent on me ALL the time..... My husband works in the oilfield and has never had a consistent schedule...works super long hours and at times I was pretty much the only parent. So even when he was here they ran to mom out of habit. I feel like they have gotten so much closer with him and have a completely different relationship with him than they did before I went back to school. THey get a lot more one on one time with him and he has grown so much as a dad if that makes sense. It was easy for him to take a back seat before because I was so used to do most things on my own I rarely asked for help...and now I don't even have to ask most of the time.

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As previous posters have stated, it's all about time management and such a short term sacrifice for long term benefits. I just mailed in my application packet today and am hoping to be accepted to start in Spring 2015. I myself am a Mom and am so nervous because I am not married, I'm single and don't have much family support. I have faith you'll do just fine. Your kids will really look up to you in the end. :up:

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Specializes in PACU.

To be honest, I think you are going to hear a lot of stories that say "yes!" and a lot of stories that say "no!"

I think the most important part of being in that "yes!" category is having a very good support system. My mother started nursing school with a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old and survived. I have no adverse memories of my mother missing from my childhood (I was the 5yo) and remember my mom being pretty active in my life. She went to all my kindergarten activities, etc. Honestly, I didn't even notice her being in school save for my favorite past-time of doodling while she studied.

My mom had both sets of in-laws and my dad chipping in. For the first half of her program, we were actually living with my dad's parents and my uncle. There were 7 people in the house and somehow my mother managed to study, etc with all that chaos going around. I do remember she used to lock herself in the bedroom when it got too hectic, much to my brother's dismay because he was (and still is) a momma's boy and needed her every second of the day (and no one else).

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It's great that you have a supportive family. You'll find a way to make it work if you manage your time well. I have similar worries, but my kids are older (in elementary school). I think a good percentage of parents who go into nursing school have this guilt and worry about starting.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Med-Surg, Psych, Geri, LTC, Tele,.

I had a fake support system. My in laws and family said they were there to help me and my kids. But when I wasn't available, they told my kids I didn't love them.

I hope,no, I'm sure your family isn't like mine. )-:

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Totally feel your nervousness. I have a two kids that will be 4 and 18 months when I start nursing school. Right now I go to school full time but I only physically go to campus two days a week because half of my classes are online. When I start school though I will be traveling at least 4 days a week, 2 days of clinical and 2 days of lecture/lab.

My husband works 3rd shift so he is basically unavailable during the day Sunday-Thursday. Im nervous too but I have managed so far this semester with 17 credits. I just try to think of all the parents before us that have done it, if they can, with time management so can we!

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