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Old 02-25-2007, 06:45 PM   #1  
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My friend and I were talking recently about careers, jobs, school etc. and she told me that she thinks I'd be best working with babies and children, and I got to thinking about it, and I realized that she was right, I've always enjoyed working with kids and babies.

We later went to visit a friend who just had a baby, but also has 2 other kids, and I was looking after the baby (3 months) and her daughter (6 years) while my friend and her friend went outside for a smoke, and her daughter was playing with raw spagetti or "sketti" noodles as she calls them, and we were sticking them in my hair and her hair, and I told her they were antenna, and that she was a butterfly, which she just loved lol

Well my friend came back inside from having a smoke and saw me with spagetti noodles in my hair, and she thought it was "so cute" and said "well I guess I don't have to worry about you keeping my baby occupied" (she is pregnant currently and I'm the Godmother) and I realized that I really enjoyed being with kids (something I've always known, but never really focused too much on before)

Anyway what I'm trying to get at is, I'm trying to think of all the possible careers with babies, and children, and even pregnant woman.

I've come up with:
Pediatric Nurse (I was told you could not be a pediatric nurse ONLY and you had to go to school for ALL of it, which I'd rather not do, does anyone else know anything different about this??)

Neonatal Nurse (working with premature babies, again I'm not sure if you need to go through school for nursing and then specalize in neonatal or if you can just go to school for neonatal..)

Obstrician (working with pregnant woman, delivering babies etc. I read that most OB's become GYN's as well...and I don't think I'd want to be a Gynecologist..lol)

Early Childhood Education (working in nursey schools, pre-schools, babysitting etc.)

Child Welfare (Working with the Children's Aid Society etc. as something like a Social Worker)


Those are what I've come up with, I'd like to know if there is more that I've missed, and I'd also like information on Nursing and if it is at all possible for me to just work with babies, children and pregnant woman, so in the Pediatric area??


Thanks
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Old 02-25-2007, 08:19 PM   #2  
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To be a nurse working with kids, you are a nurse first, a specialty in that field second. If you have an interest in kids, but not really an interest in the medical field then this is REALLY not the field for you. The medical field gets pretty messy, its not all cute kids to take care of...these are VERY sick children at times and if you dont have a love of medicine then you will not have a love of this field.
If your love is for babies and children, then find something that focuses on that, not healing babies and children. Sounds more like a personal nanny or day care would be more your cup of tea.
Especially with the example you gave of playing with the child...if you are a nurse for the child, there will not be much playing. Find a job where you can do what you want to do with children, not just a job around children. Does that make sense?
I wish you well.
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Old 02-25-2007, 09:29 PM   #3  
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Yep, have to second what Stacy said. You become a general nurse, and then when you choose a hospital to work for, you begin an extensive orientation for the unit you work for. It's kind of like medical school - you learn everything, then choose how you want to specialize at a later point.

Social work is another field where you have to love the field to love what you do. You often see neglected or abused children, or families who struggle to make ends meet. There's a lot of heartache involved. I'm sure there are a lot of rewards as well, but you have to be prepared to deal with the good and the bad.

To me, it sounds like you'd rather do something like early childhood education, which you mentioned. In this case, you can specialize in one certain area. A nanny, daycare provider, or perhaps a youth advisor for parks & recreation, camp, etc all may work well for you.

To get started, you may also want to check into requirements for substitute teaching. You can get a feel for it, without committing to all the schooling first.
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Old 02-26-2007, 03:26 AM   #4  
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for what it's worth, social work isn't about having fun with kids and playing games. you see the worst of the worst who the powers that be saw fit to make parents. you see the aftermath in their children. you see the results of things done to defenseless children that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. it's not same thing as being involved with kids as you have described. don't get me wrong, there's room to do a lot of good in social work, but the burn out rate is high, and it doesn't seem, to me, the way you want to be involved with children or babies as you described in you post.

have you thought of becoming a teacher? from what you described in your post, you might really enjoy being an elementary school teacher. k-6 or so might be something to consider.
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Old 02-26-2007, 06:29 AM   #5  
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I've been a pediatric nurse and am currently a neonatal nurse. I've love both of them, but it's not all playing with the kids and babies. There's a lot of other stuff that goes along with it. You have to deal with a lot of really sick kids, some that don't make it. You really have to like the nursing/medical part of the job to make it work, and yes you do have to learn about all the fields of nursing before you specialize. Nursing is a great profession with lots of different fields. My friend always thought she wanted to work with the newborns, but after going through school she now works at a rehab facility with spinal cord injured adults. She loves it. If you're interested in nursing at all, look into it.

I also worked in daycares and afterschool programs throughout high school and college. I loved it. You got to love and play with all the kids, and at the end of the day give them back to their parents and get a good nights sleep. It was perfect!! I liked teaching the kids and watching them grow and learn. I worked with one and two year olds primarily. They change so much during that time, it still amazes me!

I was also a nanny for about a year during college. I took care of a premature baby that had some special needs. It was a lot of fun to be the primary caregiver for him three days a week. We really bonded, I still keep in touch with him and his family.

Right after high school, I also worked as a teacher's assistant working with special needs elementary aged kids. I had two kids with cerebral palsy that I shadowed in the classroom. That was a very rewarding job!

Wow! After writing them down it's made me realize I've had a lot of jobs! They all have involved kids, and there hasn't been one that I haven't enjoyed. There are all sorts of jobs that involve kids and babies. My suggestion is to start looking around and doing some research. Good luck!
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Old 02-26-2007, 06:45 PM   #6  
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Thanks for the replies, some of you had comments about Social Work, and I've considered social work before, I realize it wouldn't be playing with kids but I also would like to HELP kids, and I considering social work or child psychology a few years back b/c I felt that I would be able to relate to the kids and help them since I had a pretty hard childhood and was involved with the CAS and I had a social workers, I was even in foster care at one point, and went to "play therapy" as well as normal therapy.

I don't want to just play with kids, but I'd also like to help them in some way. I understand though about nursing and how I'd need to have a love for medicine and my job as a nurse first, which makes sense, but I've known for a long time that I could never handle being a nurse when it came to the elderly and older people who are extremely sick/dying/were in an accident etc. The only part of it I've ever been interested in is working with, caring for and delivering babies, that I can handle.

I have considered being a teacher, but I don't think I could do the schooling required to become a teacher...and I would only want to work with JK to maybe Grade 2 or 3...

Anyway thank you all for your replies
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Old 02-26-2007, 07:18 PM   #7  
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I thought I'd pop back in because you mentioned the schooling aspect of it. Many hospitals are beginning to require a minimum of a bachelor's degree for nursing - especially if they're magnet hospitals (which is good). The hospital I work for is trying to achieve magnet status right now, and all of a sudden our nurses are finding that their managers are pushing really hard to have everyone go back to get their BSN if they haven't already.

Social work is another field where you need at least your bachelor's degree, and I know a lot of places are seeking people with their master's degree. Just another couple things to think about.

Helping kids is a great goal, so I hope you find something you're comfortable with!
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Old 02-27-2007, 11:53 AM   #8  
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What about early childhood education? If you like playing with them, this would be perfect!
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Old 02-27-2007, 10:40 PM   #9  
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Day care is an option. Spend a few years working for someone else, then try your hand at it. Its fun and although turn over rate CAN be high, if you love it, you love it.

I did and still do alot of volunteer work within my community when I was doing my clinicals for my degree. It convinced me I truly didn't want to do Social Work for the county of Los Angeles, I can tell you that much. Or Riverside, or Orange or any other county. It's to emotionally battering. If you want to help kids, you can always work at camps for disabled/ill kids. They always need helpers. I still volunteer locally for a few of those camps around here. It's usually kids with leukemia or other debilitating diseases, so there's no guarentee these kids will be back next summer, but I love seeing them try and do, and actually do. It's rewarding.

You could also do some sort of skills testing. Most colleges offer this, basically you take some tests and speak with an advisor about what you're genuinely passionate about and they take that interview and your test scores and show you different career options as well as schooling required.
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