Tips for a mom's survival in Nursing School and beyond

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Firstly, if I posted in the wrong forum, I apologize. I am mainly looking for ideas and tips from mothers and (fathers too) who have made it through and that are working now. I am 29 years old and I am a mother of 3 young children ages 6, 4 and 2. I have the support of my husband and my mother who is the person caring for my children in my absence. This allows for a great amount of flexibility, which I know can be a luxury. However, the idea of juggling everything; making sure I spend enough time with my kids, time for husband and enough time to study is quite daunting. I am doing my pre-reqs at the moment and I know the load of nursing school will be a lot greater. So, how do you survive? What are some tips for managing school and a family? Also, in nursing school itself.. what are some do's and don'ts? For the record, I am doing a 2 year ADN program at a local Comm. College. I appreciate all comments and tips. Thanks!!

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It's great that you have an excellent support system. That's the biggest thing to have. That way, you can study.

Good luck!

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I just posted ideas on a similar post, but as a mom of three myself I think the best thing to do is get away from the house when it's time to study. It will be quieter, you will focus better, have less distractions, and not fall asleep. Make a study schedule and study everyday. So, if your family eats dinner at 6pm, have your husband clean up and get the kids ready for bed while you head up to the local coffee shop to study for a couple of hours. If I tried that at home it would be madness! The kids would be asking for things (like they are right now), you'd be distracted by the tv, and then you'd fall asleep.

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I am a mom to a 5.5 year old, 3 year old, and I'm due in June with our third boy. I had class in the mornings (8:30-12:30) 4 days per week, so I just stayed at school until 3:30 or so to get my studying/skills practice out of the way. By the time my oldest son was home from school, I was just getting home and was able (most nights) to spend time with the family and husband after the kids went to bed. Anytime I came home right after class, I'd get caught up in housework and end up not studying. As long as you keep up with everything, you'll do great! I'm a HUGE procrastinator, so this has been a learning process for me.

I also want to add, that you 100% can do this with kids. I got so many negative and discouraging comments from people when they heard that I have two young children and am pregnant. Half of those people haven't made it through the program, but I'm still going strong (just finishing up my first semester of an ADN). As long as you have a strong support system, you'll be fine.

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Specializes in ER.

well i haven't made it through yet, but i think i can offer some advice. i am almost finished with my first semester of a 2 year adn program and i also have three kids, ages 6, 4, and 2! my husband is very supportive, when he is home anyways. he is an rn working 4-5 twelves a week so that definitely puts a strain on things. we do not have family to help with the kids (well we do, but they won't help), but we do have an awesome and flexible daycare provider who is just around the corner.

i'm not gonna lie, it is hard! i just started my second clinical rotation this week and my schedule is absolutely bonkers. i was in class all day monday and tuesday then at the hospital all day wednesday and thursday. i studied for about 2 hours on class days and then spent about 6 hours after each clinical day working on my care plans. i have a pharmacology exam coming up on monday and a med-surg exam on tuesday, both of which i still need to study for. i plan to spend all day tomorrow and several hours on sunday making sure i am ready for those exams. then back to the hospital for those marathon shifts/care plans.

my house is a mess and i haven't cooked a meal in months. that was a difficult adjustment for me to make, but it's all about priorities now and those don't happen to be very high on my list anymore. my husband has had to pick up a lot of the slack. more than he bargained for, but he understands. we've had to get creative and flexible with kid time. they wake up earlier than they used to because we try to snuggle in bed with them together before the day gets going. i make sure i sit down with them every night for one-on-one time, which usually amount to only 10 minutes per kid. we try to schedule family time each week, but some weeks (like this one) it just doesn't work out. i just sat by the jacuzzi for an hour listening to a pharm lecture that i recorded watching the kids splash and have a blast (bonus: that counts for their bath, too!). they were just happy that i was there to watch them have fun.

now that i've shared the ugly side, i want to mention the good things. i love nursing school! i love the theory, i love the patients, and i love the adult interaction. i love that i'm working toward my goals and my kids can look up to me. i want them to see how important education is. in a year and a half, i will be done with school (until i go back for my bsn). so i try to remind myself this isn't forever.

my tips for nursing school with a family are this:

1. get organized and stay organized. i pack my lunch and set out everything i will need the night before. i also try to pack the kids' things the night before so the morning rush is a little easier. get a calendar and write everything on it. last week i was so caught up in studying i forgot to take my 6yo to her daisy meeting. just completely forgot! it's on my calendar now.

2. give up on being the perfect mom/wife/housekeeper/friend/student/whatever. you can only do what you can do. figure out what your priorities are and let the rest slide for now.

3. learn to say no. family members will give you grief when you can't go to their picnic, friends will be upset when you can't go to the movies with them. tough. you have different priorities now.

4. take care of yourself as much as possible. i don't rush to pick my kids up from daycare if i get out a little early. even though i miss them like crazy, i need time to myself too. sometimes i come home, take a bath, and then go pick up the kids.

i wish you the best of luck. nursing school is an adventure, so enjoy the ride!

-a

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Specializes in L&D.

I have 4 children, 9, 7, 5, 2. I am almost done with my 3rd quarter. My recommendation is to stay organized. Also like a pp suggested, learn to let things go. I have a hard time with that. I get stressed if my house is very messy so get irritable sometimes with that. I also do a lot of volunteer work, so that keeps me busy as well.

Good luck!!

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This is all such great advice! I am half way through my BSN program and am expecting my first child in July. I have been extremely stressed out about the future. I pray every night that I will be able to get through school, pass the NCLEX, and get hired. My future child is depending on me! Seeing mothers of multiple children that are succeeding in nursing school gives me so much hope! Good luck to everyone!

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Thanks so much for the advice so far! It's good to see that it is possible to be successful in nursing school and be a mom at the same time. I am so excited to finally get started on fulfilling a life long dream, but knowing what I know about nursing school is also anxiety provoking because it is different from your pre-req type classes. I appreciate all the great suggestions so far. Great to know I am not alone!! LOL

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Hello! I'm almost done with the second semester of my RN program and I've got two kiddos. When I started they were 4 months and 4 years old. I was breast feeding the baby which only added to the craziness but we've all survived. Some tips I would give would be...

study at night when you lay the kids down ( have them in bed by 8, even if that means working to adjust the schedule to that, you're going to need that time!!)

If you can afford it, don't feel guilty about getting a housekeeper every few weeks to come in and clean your house. It's the best gift I gave my self second semester!!

Allow your family to help you and don't feel guilty for needing the help

you're doing something awesome and one day it will all be worth the sacrifice!! doing the program with kids is difficult, but possible and I really feel like if your hubby is supportive and can adjust then that is half the battle! Good luck

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This is all wonderful advice! It's inspiring to read about other parents successfully managing all the craziness. :)

I'm starting an accelerated BSN in August, when my daughter will be 15 months old & I have already been stressing about the balance of school/family time. My husband is very supportive, but works long hours (8am--6:30pm), so nailing down reliable, flexible childcare is our top priority.

For those of you already graduated & working, has it gotten easier without the additional stresses of studying & exams? Classes & clinicals are long, but it's those extra hours I'm afraid will tip the balance.

I love the advice about studying away from home, since it will be very hard to resist the delightful distractions of my hubby & baby girl. :)

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Hello! I have three children as well, ages 5 1/2, 4, and 4 months old. I am almost done with the first semester of nursing school which ends on May 11th. I started the program in January of this year, exactly when my third child turned 4 weeks old. I will not lie....it has been HARD!!! My advice, is to definitely have a support system which it seems like you already have. My significant other luckily works from home and not only is he trying to keep up with his work (which is what is paying for me to go to nursing school and of course bills, food, etc!) he is also Mr. Mom. He takes the older two to school, dance lessons, homework, t-ball, Daisy's, etc, etc. It has been incredibly rough for me, especially since I just had a baby. My house is constantly a huge mess and I have not cooked a real meal in months. And it is funny that another mom on here posted that they forgot to take one of their kids to their Daisy meeting. Guess what, this literally just happened to me this past week. I'm sorry, but being up for close to 24 hrs, writing up a concept map that took 8 hrs. and then leaving the house for clinical at 5:30 am....the Daisy meeting was not even on my mind! But, if you have a support system, you can do this! Good luck!

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I am about to finish my first semester... Nursing school is hard. But not THAT hard. I also am married with three kids. It definatly rocks your normal world. I have daycare and 2 kids that are in school so anytime I have that is not in lecture/clinical I tried to study. Also have your husband make outings on the weekend so you can form study groups. If your a clean freak let priorities slide...because if you have time you will want to relax not scrub! You will have time for your kids and when your not there explain to them why. They will be proud! Good luck to you!

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