experience of working with children and becoming a parent.

[iwillbrushmyteethbefore10am]

Just wondered if working with children in anyway prepares you for having children? Anyone out there who thought they would find parenting a doddle because they worked with children but found that when they had children it was much harder than they imagined?

[Octaviapink]

I'd worked with children as a nanny, au pair and housekeeper. It was more that it was different, rather than harder or easier. Experience dealing with lots of different children was incredibly useful as it meant I was more aware than I might have been about children showing their own personalities at a young age. However, loving other people's children as a carer hadn't prepared me for the fierce love I have for my own. Something to do with them being so absolutely reliant on you for everything in those early months - you really do feel like you 'built' them and it gives such pleasure as they start going out into the world and interacting with it to watch them handling it all.

[EverythingsNotRosie]

I thought it would be ok because I work with children. I couldn't have been more wrong! Thirty of other people's children are much easier than one of my own! The only thing I would say is that as a teacher I was very used to being very busy so I found time hung heavily during maternity leave. That may have been because I had a fairly content baby, however!

[pandorasbox21]

I think its loads easier at home. Its so easy being at home at your own compared to having loads of them imo. Im used to working with 0-5s so suppose thats why. I think its hard if you work with your own children and ots of others at same time as most nursery staff/s do but at home its a doddle.

[pandorasbox21]

sorry that was meant to say nursery staff/childminders!

[RitaMorgan]

I was a nanny before I had ds, and I do think it was good preparation. You've already made all your mistakes on other people's children I find looking after ds much easier and more enjoyable than nannying - I think it also gave me very realistic expectations of the newborn/baby period so it wasn't a shock.