Which is harder?

Well, it's not like working full-time now means you're a no-time mom. I would say that full-time work + part-time mom (whatever that means) + full-time school would demand more time and energy than full-time mom (which means what?) + full-time school. Of course, full-time work is a more predictable schedule than full-time parenting.

None of the programs that I've looked at really lend themselves to full-time anything in addition to school only because classes and clinicals happen during the day-time hours.

I think it depends on how much help you get. I'm a full time mom with three little ones and I was able to take a full course load but I was able to hire a part time nanny. Otherwise, I would not have been able to do it.

I think they both come with complications. I can't speak to which is harder since I am not a stay at home mom...I would think it is a better situation than working FT and going to school FT and only seeing your family in passing. As a stay at home mom, you would have it better in that your children may see more of you. I will be attending school 5 nights a week to start and work FT. My kids will only see me on the weekends and I will probably be studying most of the time. Once clinicals start, I will only see my family 1 day a week. My husband and I have been preparing our children for this for a while now. I would think that anyone that works FT and school FT really must have a strong relationship with spouse and with their children. It is a big sacrifice for the student and the family. If I could afford it, I would not work and go to school at the same time.

I don't think the OP meant which is harder: going to school and being a mom OR going to school, working, and being a mom.

She just hears people say it is hard to work AND go to school. But she doesn't need to work, but is a mom full time and wonders how that compares. Whew, I don't think I explained it any better..... :)

Is working full time plus nursing school full time harder than full time mom plus nursing school full time?

I heard a lot of people say that its really hard to work full time and do nursing classes full time. But in my case i dont have to work. Im a stay at home mom and recently decided to go back to school take nursing major. I have my doubts, i know nursing classes plus clinicals takes lots of work. But if anyone done it, then i know its possible.

Let me put it this way, there is a lady in my school who has 6 kids, two sets of twins in this mix, who are under the age of 10, she works full-time as a flight aid for NICU, and goes to school full-time. She does not have a sitter and she makes good grades.

There is another lady who has no kids, does not work, and is making blah grades.

There is me, and others like me, who have kids, mine are teens, do not work and make great grades.

It all DEPENDS on YOU! You will have to devote a lot of your time to studying and your family, at times, will have to be put on the back burner. If you are driven, focused, and determined you can do it without having a nervous breakdown. It is all in how much you want it, how much your family is willing to give in to your needs, and how well you deal with organization and prioritizing your home and school life. GOOD LUCk

LOL- how about working full time and being a full time mom to three kids and going to school full time?

I think we have many parents around here who work and go to school- it's all hard- no matter what you do nursing school is going to be hard- without kids and another job though you will have more time to study- so if you have other things going on in your life and are going to nursing school you will run out of time- so you will need to to study smarter not longer.

I just finished my first semester and passed, but not with the grade I expected- I can't stop working and have a house and health insurance for my kids- and I can't stop being a mom, so I will have to stop being the girl scout leader and doing school parties and start saying no more. I tried to keep doing my normal life and go to school too- I passed but as the classes get harder I don't think I will, so I am going to eliminate some things from my to do list for this next semester and concentrate more on school.

Good Luck!

I can't say which is harder but I know going back to school and still trying to be a SAHM really stunk last semester!!LOL You have to find a rhythm to everything. Getting kids to help out more or DH to help will really take a load of of you as a SAHM.

The biggest thing for me was finding a shedule. As a SAHM, schedule was like a dirty word for me. The only really schedule we went off of was what time the kids' school started. When MY school started, I had to learn to stay on task. There are deadlines in school where there is really not much that can't be put off until tomorrow as a SAHM. The two worlds can collide and it may not look pretty. I learned alot from that and it really helped with both situations. I am more organized with school and home now.

Since SAHM life is so unpredictable, my best advice with school is to start working on things as soon as you get them. Better to take 30 minutes or an hour a day to study for something coming up than try to cram. Setting aside time each day will really help as kids get used to schedule and deal with it better. My kids knew that I was going to give them time everyday after dinner to be with their dad. DH took over their care during that time and I was allowed to study without interruption. It also helped for me to get a bedtime schedule and get up earlier than everyone else. I would go to bed at 10pm, get up at 5am, and get the kids up for school at 6:30am. Having that hour and a half to study and knowing that I wasn't taking time away from anyone to do it sometimes made all the difference in the world.

Find what works for you and make sure not to fall behind. That makes being a SAHM and going to school manageable for me. Good luck

Is working full time plus nursing school full time harder than full time mom plus nursing school full time?

I heard a lot of people say that its really hard to work full time and do nursing classes full time. But in my case i dont have to work. Im a stay at home mom and recently decided to go back to school take nursing major. I have my doubts, i know nursing classes plus clinicals takes lots of work. But if anyone done it, then i know its possible.

I don't think that is a clear cut answer, I think it depends on the person, the circumstances etc...

I don't have to wrok thankfully, but do have 3 kids, they are 8,8 and 10 though and are able to understand I have to study and often help me. I am also able to have my classes around their school schedule. I think people who work might have other challanges, of courese it's always hard having people (little people) rely on you, you can't account for the unexpected, like them getting sick etc...

Still all in all I just don't see a comparison different challanges for each and your comparing apples to oranges.

It varies with the person and the program. i have not found working full-time and going to school to be impossible, and i just finished my second semmester (one of the hardest in our school) with a decent grade. I know some people who failed fundamentals last semmester and had no jobs and no kids!!! One of the women with the highest grade in our class has two kids!!!

From what i have seen i have come to belive that having kids in nursing school must be harder than any full-time job(kids are more than a full time responsability after all and you can't call out or give your self a day off) but many of my classmates are doing it.

So, to all the mons out there who are going to school, you have my admiration and respect.

I think it depends on the ages of your kids. If your kids are school-aged, then you will have the time where they are in school to do homework/study. If you kids are younger, then you can use nap time to study (though depending on the number of kids and their schedules, studying may not be possible during that time).

I am a WAHM--worst of both worlds, imho. I need to carve out time to both work and study around my preschool kids' schedules (yes, I can function on very little sleep and LOTS of caffiene!!:smilecoffeeIlovecof). But, I'm making it work--just have NO time for a social life, kicking back and watching TV in the evenings, etc. It's hard, but I am motivated and feel it will be worth it in the long run. HTH!

My class has a fair amount of diversity in it and we all tend to look at our classmates who are in different positions than us and wonder, "How do they do it???!!"

Women who work, no kids, look at us mothers and wonder how the moms make it. We usually laugh and ask them how they make it working all the time... Then there are the few who work, have kids, and get good grades, they make us all feel like we should be doing more...

It all depends on you and your support system. My school discourages working while taking classes, but we can't really ditch our kids completly. I am going into my last semester and am in a different position. Our school has the first year of nursing classes on campus with clinicals at local hospitals. Our last year is based in a local city about 1 hour 30 mins away. Many of us have had to leave our families behind and share rent on apts. We miss our families but have noticed that it is a releif not to have to take care of them and be able to focus on class work. We go home on the weekends and try to do the laundry and what not.

~Dads were reluctant at first for obvious reasons, but they now have confidence. They CAN take care of the kiddos without us, plus the kids and dads have closer relationships.~

drifted a little off topic, sorry. The point is whatever your position you figure out how to make it work for you. It might not be perfect or pretty, but you make do and get by...

~BlueBug