RN School and Family Life

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Aug 14, 2012

Ok, I'm going to admit that after reading for awhile I started to just scan, because your post reads pretty much like dozens (and I do mean dozens) of others who have young children and are considering nursing school or going to nursing school now. I don't mean to offend, but your situation is far from unique.

Many MANY people juggle young children/older children while going to school, myself included. Frankly, because so many people think of nursing as a later-start career (because they were laid off from another industry, because their first degree is useless, etc etc) it's as common as dirt.

The bottom line is this: what do you want to do, will it improve your family/home life by doing it (at least in the long run)? If it means going to school, then you WILL FIGURE IT OUT.

What do you do when one of the kids is sick? Better have a backup plan, because you're right: you will NOT be missing classes and/or clinicals because of it. School vacations, holidays, snow days....always have a strong backup, because you WILL NEED IT.

Sometimes we know what our kids need medically ahead of time. Sometimes not. You know your husband will not be available much; do you have a strong network to pull from? If yes, school is an option. If no....it really isn't.

If you are dedicated to the desired outcome (becoming a nurse), then the rest is just scheduling. Guilt? If you're an unhappy woman who will always regret not returning to school, believe me this won't impress your kids later on down the road. A happy mother is a better one, IMHO.

Now, if you're the type who will put school on the backburner because of glitches (snow days, sick days, etc etc etc), it won't matter that you "want to help people"...you won't succeed in school.

Decide what your goal is, and GO for it.

caliwife09 · Aug 14, 2012

I agree, that many people are struggling out there. I have a family and work full time and I am doing my pre - nursing. My husband is also back in college, as he wants to become a nurse also. We are busy and we have a 2 year old. We are just determined to not give up. And though we may struggle now, the future will be worth it. Keep your head up and if you want it bad enough you will achieve it.

Mommy2010 · Aug 14, 2012

Please keep the responses coming. I want the truth and appreciate all of your honesty. I am currently in route of finding someone that will take the kids while they are sick. I have a very reliable person to watch the kids but it is at her home and I would rather have someone come to the house so that way I do not have to worry about going and dropping the kids off. Plus the added "if the kids get sick". That is my biggest dilemma right now.

Liamsmama · Aug 14, 2012

Ok, I'm going to admit that after reading for awhile I started to just scan, because your post reads pretty much like dozens (and I do mean dozens) of others who have young children and are considering nursing school or going to nursing school now. I don't mean to offend, but your situation is far from unique.
Many MANY people juggle young children/older children while going to school, myself included. Frankly, because so many people think of nursing as a later-start career (because they were laid off from another industry, because their first degree is useless, etc etc) it's as common as dirt.
The bottom line is this: what do you want to do, will it improve your family/home life by doing it (at least in the long run)? If it means going to school, then you WILL FIGURE IT OUT.
What do you do when one of the kids is sick? Better have a backup plan, because you're right: you will NOT be missing classes and/or clinicals because of it. School vacations, holidays, snow days....always have a strong backup, because you WILL NEED IT.
Sometimes we know what our kids need medically ahead of time. Sometimes not. You know your husband will not be available much; do you have a strong network to pull from? If yes, school is an option. If no....it really isn't.
If you are dedicated to the desired outcome (becoming a nurse), then the rest is just scheduling. Guilt? If you're an unhappy woman who will always regret not returning to school, believe me this won't impress your kids later on down the road. A happy mother is a better one, IMHO.
Now, if you're the type who will put school on the backburner because of glitches (snow days, sick days, etc etc etc), it won't matter that you "want to help people"...you won't succeed in school.
Decide what your goal is, and GO for it.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post. I certainly concur.:yelclap:

sapadgett · Aug 14, 2012

I am also going to school with small children, (Boys, 6 & 2.5) Luckily, my oldest is in school so that does help. Right now I'm only going 2 days a week and my youngest is in daycare on campus with me. I will, hopefully, be starting nursing school in Jan. and will have to find other arrangements for him since the campus I'll be attending doesn't have child care. "What is one of them is sick" is always in the back of my mind, but to be honest you have to take that chance if nursing is something you really want to do. Nursing school takes a lot of time, energy, devotion etc. and if you really want to do it and do it well then you have to let go of all of the what ifs. I've decided that I DO want to do this and I will just deal with the emergency situations as they come (if they come!). When I first went back to college in 2010 I moved up the kids bedtime to 7:30-8. It had to be done to make sure I had adequate study time and could still get into bed at a decent hour. It's works very well now because they are used to it and my oldest has to get up pretty early to catch the bus anyway. When I decided to go back to school I had to make sacrifices...child care arrangements, time away from them (at school or studying), etc. I had to learn to schedule and separate my time to make sure I could get everything done, including family time! But, this is something that I really want for myself and also for my kids so I look at it like a sacrifice now with good things to come in the future! I say if you REALLY want this then find a way to do it and let go of the what ifs!

gottagetmyrn · Aug 14, 2012

Start with baby steps if you have to! If you haven't even begun your pre-reqs yet, you have a while before you would need to sweat that kind of stuff (it is not the end of the world if you miss a pre-req class for a sick kid, like it would be in NS) ....Talk to an adviser and get going on those classes!! Many of them are offered online/hybrid/nights. Start with that and quit worrying about the rest! You sound so much like myself this time last year! I hope to start NS in fall of 2013, and I worried so much about how I would do it all.. (money, childcare, working, etc..) But I just set my goal, and got going, and everything DID fall into place (well so far, anyway:). Just do SOMETHING and everything else will fall into place if it is meant to be, girl! I agree that you will need to have a strong backup plan if possible. But really, if you can take a chunk of your pre-reqs online or when someone is available to watch your children, then you have a while to be coming up with other plans once nursing school comes into the picture. (Your post was really long, so If I missed something...lol, I am sorry!) Just know that there are tons and tons of moms just like yourself getting through nursing school. If you really want it, and are willing to sacrifice and work for it...you will have it!!! Don't beat yourself up about your family, like everyone else says, this journey is only temporary and you AND your family will benefit greatly from your hard work!! I wish you the very best of luck in all that comes your way!!

cheri1859 · Aug 15, 2012

I'll put in my 2 cents :twocents: ....

I have a 12 year old daughter and a 10 year old son. They are the light in my eyes! So is my wonderful hubby. I've been working on my pre-req's for about 2 years. One class at a time, during the day. Yes, it is took a loooonnnng time....but I wanted to get A's as well as be able to be here for the kids if they get sick (one class = about 2 days a week for an hour and a half, not including lab time). i am turning 48 in October....sometimes I wonder how old I will actually be by the time I am ready to work as an RN.

Anyway...I am starting my 2nd semester of NS on Aug 30th at night. Yes, I miss a lot of the kids afterschool activities (mostly just the taxi duties and homework....not so bad in retrospect :)) Last semester I was able to tuck the kids in at night probably 6 nights of the week. I am home studying while they are at school (able to pick them up from school if they get sick...I was even my son's class mom). When I get home late and they are asleep I sneak in and give them kisses and hugs. (usually they don't even wake up but it makes me feel better).

I'll be honest....I don't like going at night but I felt that I had no choice...my kids are up later at night now that they are older so realistically I would only be able to get about an hour of proper studying after they go to bed (without waking up with the textbook covered in drool!!). Weekends are for the family (unless I have an exam coming up - which seems like ALWAYS!). I don't get to have "date nights" with my husband since he works most weekends (he's a fire fighter so shiftwork is a must...). The only way this works is that my hubby is hugely supportive....I have a wonderful mother-in-law about 6 minutes from my house if I run into trouble as well as a friend that has kids the same ages as mine (lots of playdates). She works, so if her kids get sick, I pick them up from school and if I need a hand she reciprocates.

I guess my point is....maybe take the slow road - one class at a time. Look at all options (nights works really well for parents in my program) Does your school offer an evening program? I don't think there is a right or wrong way to do this nursing school thing. As long as you do it, right? Things tend to fall into place (well everything but the laundry and toys....I no longer get aggravated at the dust bunnies - i just give them names and consider them part of the family).

Good luck Sweetie....

aureliarye · Aug 15, 2012

I have wanted to be a Nurse since I was 13 (I am now 52). Due to life getting in the way I am just now in my 2nd semester of Clinicals. It is a full time job. My son just turned 19. I did my pre-reqs when he was young while working a full time job and I regret the time away from him. I am going to go way off the wall here and recommend that you stay home with those babies for a while. You will not regret one minute of time that you spend with them when you are done. Take some classes here and there if you can work it out with your husband but don't take the time away from your babies. They are more important than anything else in this life. The rest can wait.

ssv78 · Aug 15, 2012

I am a mother of three and taking pre requisites now. My kids are 9, 7, and 4.

I took A&P I and II and nutrition this summer. It is very very hard to juggle house, child care and studying. I could not have done it without the help of my husband. My mother has pitched too. I suggest you don't take more than two classes a semester and try to balance them out in a way that they're not both hard classes.

It is, however, doable. I managed I finish both with As, of course I have had no life outside of studying and the kids. Every spare minute I tried to be with them and the rest I studied all the time.

Your kids are at a tough age too, they get sick so often when they're little. It gets better, that's or sure.

Good luck!

BloomNurseRN, ASN, BSN, RN · Aug 15, 2012

Many MANY people juggle young children/older children while going to school, myself included. Frankly, because so many people think of nursing as a later-start career (because they were laid off from another industry, because their first degree is useless, etc etc) it's as common as dirt.
The bottom line is this: what do you want to do, will it improve your family/home life by doing it (at least in the long run)? If it means going to school, then you WILL FIGURE IT OUT.

This. I know it's not easy but really if you want to make it happen, you will make it happen. I have two small children, now 5 and 3, who were 2 and not even 1 when I started doing my nursing school pre-req's part-time. I was working two part-time jobs to make it work and did a student ambassadorship at school both for the experience and for the small scholarship. It wasn't easy but I knew it was what I wanted to do.

Last year I started my nursing program and was worried about making everything work, especially on sick kid days and things like that. My son started pre-school so of course that meant more runny noses than before but we made sure he got his vitamins and we did our best to make sure he got lots of sleep to keep his immune system up. Luckily I only had to miss one day in the Fall and that was because I had a fever and wasn't going to subject my clinical patients to that. In the Spring I was able to get through it without missing any days. Actually, one of the most stressful things was my son's half days of pre-school because I would have to use my lunch break to pick him up and take him to my grandma's house.

Have you looked in to a childcare voucher program or something like that for your children to be able to go to daycare/pre-school? As a family of five you may be able to receive something like that depending on your husband's income. Just a thought.

Again, I can't say too much about your individual situation but I know LOTS of mom's in my program including mom's of special needs kids, that are making it work everyday. With some preparation and organization I'm sure you can too if you want to. Best of luck!

NightNerd, MSN, RN · Aug 15, 2012

I just want to say that I admire any mom who goes back to school, especially when the program is an overtime commitment like nursing. Y'all are my heroes! :)

Mommy2010, you will be OK if you just get started and roll on through! Your kids are pretty young, but you can start small and do one or two pre-requisites at a time; they are usually scheduled to be convenient, only a couple times per week in the daytime or evening. Once you get into the swing of studying and taking care of the family all at once, the transition into nursing school will still be tough, but doable. The more you do, the more you can do.

As for the kids getting sick, just make sure you've got a good support system in place. Piece together a list of people who can probably help you out from time to time:

-Your husband, especially if he works days and you get accepted into an evening/weekend program (hopefully y'all could arrange a date night every now and then =/)

-Moms, sisters, friends

-Any college-age baby-sitters looking for work a couple afternoons per week (as someone who did this all the way through my first college degree, it was my favorite job - cute kids, great families, and a little money to sweeten the deal. If you can find two or three girls who would alternate days watching the little dudes, that might be a good way to make sure they have someone without spending too much money)

Whatever you decide, best of luck!