To encourage my 9 year old into medicine already?

[SunshiningBetty]

My 9 year old daughter is very mature and academic. From a very young age she has loved anything medical and devours books and TV shows about the body and hospitals. She is desperate to become a doctor already. I am worried about encouraging that too much as I know how hard the life of a junior doctor can be. She is constantly asking to find a club, group, camp or course which would foster her interest but I have had no luck finding anything. Is this something I should help her pursue already and does anyone have any ideas of what she could do? Or should I stick to something more neutral like brownies?

Oh god get a grip, she's 9.

I have a 17yo was passionate about science at that age. He knew all sort and way beyond what you would expect from a child that age.

Thé it became that actually biology was boring and he hated it.
He did his GCSE last year, chose physics and maths as one of his subjects and has now decided that, actually, he doesn’t enjoy either maths or physics and his passion is about geography and economics.

My point is that children change. Don’t stop her looking at Medicine, saying she wants to be a doctor etc... but don’t make it her identity already. Praise any other interests she has the same way you would with biology/science/maths.
Maybe she will be a doctor, maybe she won’t. She shouldn't either be pushed or stirred away from it.

There's nothing you need to do to prepare a child for a career they'll have 20+ years in the future. Just allow her to follow her interests and support her but don't push or 'encourage' her. The second you do that is the second she'll find it a chore rather than an interest or hobby.

If she's interested in the St John's ambulance events/groups for children, let her try them. But don't make her entire life revolve around something she might grow out of.

I'd be careful over encouraging g it, because if she doesn't make it to medical school, she will feel, at 18, like her whole life's dream has been shattered.

By all means, encourage her to be the best she can be, but make sure it includes other stuff too.

Funny isn't it though, I've always said to my kids, no medicine, no military, no motorbikes please! Watch them both be army medics who get around on motorbikes!

I did Red Cross as a child loved it, now a nurse it was just what I wanted to do. I didn’t really need encouraged but hope your daughter fulfils her dream if that’s what still still wants to do later on

Btw I would look for kids program around science to sustain her interest. And books.
Don’t eliminate the ‘hard ones’. Children get much from those programs than we think.

And of you can’t find any groups/clubs around her subject then tell her that. In a few years time, she will be able to do some volunteering in care home etc.. that would be invaluable if she wanted to be a doctor.

When she is old enough, maybe volunteering in a Care Home. DD2 did this as part of her DofE Award and thoroughly enjoyed talking to residents about their lives and other things. I'm sure it would positively support her application into medicine or nursing.
I can also recommend St John Ambulance from personal experience. It's so much more than just First Aid.

I've tried, I've really tried, but it's St John Ambulance. No 's', no apostrophe.
I was going to say the same but @luckylavender got in first. 😁

@MysteriousMonkey

St John's Ambulance and a musical instrument (tell her so she has dexterity, helpful if she wants to be a surgeon) 😁

Actually, that is a good point, even if made in jest

www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-46019429

(Professor of Surgery says that medical students lack the dexterity of their predecessors because they didn't do as much sewing, craft, woodwork etc as children)

I agree with ParadiseIsland.
Prioritise happiness and resilience in the mean time. Being a junior doctor is hard but not a reason not to go into the field if you are cut out for it in my opinion.

I’m a doctor and would say that far better to have a wide range of experiences than just sticking to ones that might be allied to medicine further down the line. Brownies or Cubs etc - mixing with different people and learning a variety of skills and having fun! There are things like the St John Ambulance cadets as well but she is 9 and right now is seeing medicine from a view of tv - I promise you it is nothing like that!! She has years ahead to foster interests and decide what she wants her future to be and just think more valuable and fun to do different things as well!

St John's cadets seems to have a long waiting list. DD has been on it for over 2 years now. (They did warn me when I added her)

My 9 year old is the same. I told her that doctors have very busy jobs and have to work hard so, if she wants to be a good doctor, she needs to find hobbies to help her relax with and a good way for that is music and sport. She decided to take up an instrument and join a sports club.

My DD1 announced that she was going to be a Doctor at 4 (!) after seeing a fish skeleton and then wanting to know how bodies worked.
She never changed her mind...she's 29 now..and a doctor :)

BUT we never pushed it , or her, and encouraged her to have a variety of interests.. sports, art,(she's not musical) and to be independent and also as a 6th former, to work part time... there is nothing like a few stints in MCDonalds or similar to boost survival skills! She also volunteered with disabled children and in a nursing home and did the less fun jobs.. cleaning bottoms, mopping up sick, and it stood her in good stead..she's known as a doctor who is happy to pitch in and do the care work as well as the more 'doctoring' bit.

We also always encouraged her to think of a plan B as medicine in incredibly competitive.

Some kids do know what they want early on, but it is really important not to be focussed on that too much . My others all found their paths later!

I grew up wanting to be a doctor and studied all sciences. Did my work experience and realised it was the looking after people side of medicine that I liked and became a nurse.

Anything to do with socialising and team work would be fun and worthwhile.

Medicines a really hard career. Read “This is going to hurt” by Adam Kay and you might keep dental in mind instead. Well paid and 9-5 5 days a week.

I honestly don’t know how anyone survives working as a dr.

Well you need good grades to be a doctor, so encourage her particularly with science and maths.

I guess you could get her into s science club, but being rounded is also important, so maybe stick with Brownies.

Congrats that she knows what she wants to do.

Thank you for all the comments. I have contacted St John Ambulance and they have got back to me already for a taster session online tonight! So I am very impressed. I think I will also get in touch with Cubs and maybe see about her having a taster session there.

With regards to other hobbies - she has piano and singing lessons as well as drama which is her other passion. Sports wise she plays on a netball and football team and does karate. So she does have other interests. I just want to help her follow her medicine/first aid interests without pushing it too much so St John might be perfect.

Thank you for the suggestions about an anatomy model. I will look into getting her one of those. I’ve also bought her the Kay’s Anatomy book by Adam Kay which looked quite good. Her grandparents got her a Body Science Kit at Xmas which we haven’t got out yet that’s something for the weekend.

Lots of amazing suggestions so thank you.

There’s no need to do anything OP, 9 is very young, who knows what career she’ll follow.

Just encourage her in her interests, help her keep diversifying, build her life skills, ensure she’s having fun along the way. Jobs a good one.

I work in a Medical School and am involved with admissions - the key things we are looking for are curiosity and a flair for problem solving not an interest in the body. The death answer at a med school interview is "I want to help people". Does she like solving puzzles, crosswords, a Rubiks cube anything like that. Encourage that for now and let her be 9. FWIW I wouldn't want my children to be Drs

Teach her to sew! It will come in handy whether she becomes a doctor for doing stitches or any other career and just has a button fall off.

She's 9 :S it's an interest and a hobby at this stage, it doesn't need to be a life plan.
There's nothing you can do aged 9 to prepare her for a seriously gruelling university degree. Neither do you need to worry about how stressful it will be being a junior doctor - because she might end up deciding she wants to be a professional wrestler like I did age 9. Just let her be interested, but I don't think you need to be so invested in her medical career just yet.

Support her, but don't push her. People pushed into medicine are miserable. But don't discount her dreams. I was younger than that when I picked medicine. It's not an easy job, but it is fulfilling.

First aid training: When things open up again, you could find the local St John's Ambulance youth group and let her join

www.sja.org.uk/get-involved/young-people/

Look for short courses training the public in basic CPR (includes children)

If you have pets and take them to the vet, include her to encourage her to be aware of wider physiology and biology than just human.

Encourage her to be as physically fit as possible, because Drs need to be.  So lots of sport, excercise, healthy diet.

Encourage her to broaden her social skills (also part of Dr's skillsets via unrelated hobbies and activities with other kids.

All those are general lifeskills which can appeal to her natural interest without narrowing her outlook or options.

The best Drs in my view are excellent communicators. Listeners, not just talkers. I agree with PP who have suggested volunteering or working in a residential home as she gets older.

Thinking more broadly, being a team member is also good for mental health, so I would encourage team sports, orchestra or whatever else might give her support and an outlet valve.

Whilst I appreciate you motivations are good, you might want to reign it in a little.

My parents where like this with me. I was obsessed with space and stars. They when so ott, that by the time I was 12/13, I’d completely lost interest.