Is OU study with a newborn realistic? - 30/60 point courses (SD226 or ED209 in particular)?

[docket]

I'm working towards a degree in psychology with the OU. The next logical step would be Biology of the Brain (30 points but apparently very 'scientific' so I'd probably find it hard) or 'Child Development' (60 points, more reading, more assignments, but prob less complex. Both start Feb '10. BUT DC3 is due in December. I want to carry on if I can as I feel it will be harder to start again if I don't but I have no idea whether it'll be doable. DS and DD will both be at school in September. Has anyone got any words of wisdom?

TIA

Docket

i started my law degree (distance learning) just before i got pregnant. When ds came along i couldn't find the time to fit it in. I always found myself doing the washing or other housework in my spare tme, anything other than studying. In the end I gave in. when DS was about eighteen months I did an OU starter course (10pts) which i managed to do ok. I have also done an ILEX level 6 cousre in family law (degree standard but only in one subject) and managed that.

I was in my final year of studying law when dd2 was born....quite close to exams and tbh found it ok.....I used the time when I was stuck to the couch bf to read and revise!! Was more productive than watching Jeremy Kyle!!

I think you would manage. I never did OU with a newborn, but I remember when dd was born missing having OU study!
Just another point, apparently they can go a bit OTT on 30 point courses (my experience also confirms this), so you are not necesarily doing half the work of a 60 point course. So maybe the child development one would be good. That is the course that first ever attracted me to OU btw, although I never took it!

I did Child Development - started when dd1 was 4 months old and it was a struggle at times but certainly not impossible.

Did Intro to Psychology (I know, I know, should have started with that one, but wanted to know all the baby stuff for my PFB ) the next year, and dd2 was born five months into the course. Again, was fine.

If you get your study schedule organised well in advance and make allowances for the fact that you will have weeks when you can't even remember your name, it is doable - OU much more so than a traditional degree. Best of luck .

Thanks for your replies everyone. I think I will take the plunge. As you say, time spent reading whilst feeding more productive than the otherwise inevitable lure of 'Murder She Wrote'!

Thought I'd give this a late bump to see if anyone else had any thoughts before I go and pay....

Thanks!

I think it is do-able, you just need to plan when you will study and stick to it. I started a 60 point course last month, my DD's are 4 months old and nearly 3 years old. I am also starting another 30 point one is feb...I am a single parent so can be a bit of a squeeze, but like I said if you fit it in properly and stick to it then it can be done.

Thanks smugsy. Am going to do it. Good luck with your studies!

Which course are you going to do. I have a wave of nastalgia reading the names of the courses! I finished my psych degree a year ago. One of the most enjoyable things I've done.

nostaglia even...

OFGS - nostalgia!

Another vote for do-able from me. I completed both ED209 and DD307 last year whilst looking after ds1 (then 2) and pregnant with ds2. Started DD303 5 weeks before due date and completed in October. Now on E111 when Ds2 is 7 months old!

It can be tough but I found the revision period harder (hate exams!).

Best of luck with baby and studies

I have going back and forth between SD226 and ED209, I have just signed up to do the SD226 in Feb 2010, as I hate exams and there is no exam for SD226.

I hear it's a tough first OU course to do, but as someone said on the OU forum, "I may have passed with a low score, but a pass is a pass and now I can move on!

So fingers crossed x

I was about to create a new thread on the same subject when I found this one. How are you getting on with your course Docket? I have been working full time and studying towards an English degree with the OU up until now, but my first baby is due in January and I am at the point where I have to decide whether I want to sign up for my fourth course (60 point) starting in February.

How realistic is it to look after a new baby and find the time/inclination/motivation to study? £600 is a lot of money going to waste if I make a mess of it! Then again I just might welcome something to keep my brain working! And I will have finished it by the time I go back to work (when I guess it will be even harder for me to try and study as well).

Would appreciate hearing from anyone who has any other thoughts/experiences. Many thanks

Thanks everyone for your replies, hello Rob1n!

I have enrolled for my course, it's the 60 point one that starts in February. DS2 was born 8 days ago and I'm in a complete fog so I have no idea whether it's going to be a realistic ambition. However, I decided to go ahead after a) other people seemed to think it was do-able and b) the OU told me that I would be able to start it and then defer to the following year if I couldn't do it at a cost of (I think) £60 which seemed a lot easier to swallow than £600, as you say.

I'm basically going to give it a go and not beat myself up too much if it doesn't work out. Nothing ventured and all that.. Good luck!