Back to studies after babies? Share your hacks for managing studies and parenthood! - £200 voucher to be won

[EllieSmumsnet]

Balancing parenting with career or educational goals can be challenging, but that’s where flexible online studies can be a game-changer! With tailored schedules and distance learning at your own pace, online courses make it possible to build new skills alongside parenting. We’d love to hear how you’re making it work! How do you fit study time around naps, playdates, or bedtime routines? Have you found ways to stay organised and motivated, or tricks for keeping little ones entertained while you study? Share your best hacks below to help others balancing online learning with parenthood.

• Post your stories and tips in the thread below to be entered into a prize draw
• One lucky MNer will win a £200 VEX voucher for a store of their choice.
• Don’t forget to vote in our poll below.

About The Open University:
"At The Open University, we recognize that many mothers feel they must choose between supporting their families and advancing their careers. However, with our flexible, remote study options, they don’t have to make that choice. Our accessible learning model allows mothers to balance education with family life while receiving dedicated tutor support.

We also offer a range of financial support options, including childcare grants and the Parents’ Learning Allowance, to help manage study costs.

To discover how The Open University can empower you to advance your career, visit https://www.open.ac.uk/. Start dates are available as soon as February and April 2025. Remember, investing in yourself and your skills is not just a personal pursuit—it’s a valuable step towards a better lifestyle for you and your family. #FindYourMumentum"

Discover our guide to re-training with The Open University here.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Insight T&Cs apply

Schedule your time- so if that’s naptime/preschool/ kids at school, that time is your work time and treat it as such. It is sacred, don’t get distracted with the house being a mess or needing to run x or y errand. Make it the priority. Be at your desk/study area within those times as if it were a job that you couldn’t just bail out on.

Keep on top of things week by week. The OU has a weekly timetable of what you need to cover independently. Stick to it. People on my course came unstuck because they’d think the TMA was not for x weeks time so they could take it easy till nearer the date, then it was overwhelming and too much to cover. They then fell more and more behind, asking for extensions, and then trying to play catch up because they were now behind on the reading for the next TMA. If you know that in a months time you’ve got a lot going on, try and get ahead in advance so you don’t end up on the back foot when you’re busy.

Oh, and don’t absent mindedly eat whilst you do it! I went through more packets of biscuits than a human should be able to eat, and put on a stone whilst completing my EMA!

I finished my undergrad degree with the OU and then went onto complete an MA at a local uni. My time at the OU prepared me really well and I won the uni prize for the highest grade in my cohort on the MA.

Pick a quiet spot in the house, or go to your library if you can, switch off your phone, set a timetable and goals for coursework, and ask for help before you take the course so you know you will have the support that you will need,

My hacks would be making notes and recording them on your phone and play them back when you are doing other things like making dinner etc - have a timetable when you can block out 2 hours at a time for study while your children are sleeping or your OH is looking after them/ putting a video in my case and giving you the time you need.

I have a 2:1 degree and started a post graduate degree for a diploma in social work - my DC's were 1 and 4. I tried the timetable and my DH 'holding the fort' whilst studying - I found that the sleep deprivation for 2 bad sleepers totally overwhelming and could not give the study the time I needed with a clear mind - so my hacks, whilst the course lasted it the timetable and an early night - and don't be over ambitious - pick a course which is doable in the time you have.

My hacks would be to take time to plan before you apply for the course and commit the time and money, see who can have the DC's and see what your timescales for study days/afternoons are so you know who is there for you - and OU course is very 'doable' but comes with a longer timesscale.
Create a whatsapp group for these people, and then apply for your course having done the groundwork beforehand.

My best strategy would be to have a study timetable, look at the hours you can do, look at the course which will help you with your career, it's a long old slog of study - make a diary of why you want to do this and look at it when you are finding things tough to engage with the programme.

For me, it was making sure not to try and be superwoman. Make sure you have a plan that means you still get some downtime too. Use childcare or family to make sure you get some decent study time

And be really effective in what you learn and how. Listen to what is really needed to get through the course.

Blocking out time where you can (so much easier to say than do!) Timetables.

Another vote for a timetable (make copies for your fridge and for those offering to babysit)
Pick a course which you feel will give you longer term job security and meet the goals you want to achieve - study the curriculum in depth to ensure that it is the right course for you.

It's a juggling act for sure - I wrote a 'determination diary' - read it every time I felt like giving up - that's one tip - think how it will change your families life forever once you qualify and get your dream job or promotion.

My hacks would be to after picking the right course for you - really read what is entailed in terms of deadlines, placement dates, lectures, and work a timetable around it - and budget you income and outgoings for the duration of the course to ensure that you can be financially stable throughout - I did not work full time when studying, so we were living on a tight but doable budget - and we had an emergency fund - which is also a tip - as our mortgage went up £120 a month midway through my studies.

My tips are to get your school/nursery term dates and closing days on a planner, write bank holidays, and your DP's shifts if they have them - look at the 'free days' and how many hours you can commit to study and revision and course work and see if it is 'doable' before you pay for your course.

My tips are planning - a calendar in your hallway with dates when you can and cannot study - have a place to concentrate and study - a cluttered spare room is not use (from experience) Have good lighting, wear glasses if you need them, have breaks when it's just not sinking in.
Have a goal to focus on - so when you think 'I cannot do this' look at your goal and know YOU CAN.
Be kind to yourself and do give time to your family don't get too blinkered and isolated with you studying.

Hello everyone

I started a psychology degree with the open university in 2023. My youngest child was 2, then my other two were 7 and 9 years old. I work part time 3 days a week and so I’m entitled to 30 hours free childcare now for the youngest. The older two are in school.
I do most of the work in the evenings and on weekends. I do have two days a week but that often gets full up with school and life admin etc

My top tips are:

• I try to make sure I stay a week ahead with the studying so that if anything happens I can still keep on top of things.
• I attend all of the tutorials that are available as they really help to keep my focus.
• I speak to my tutor if needed.
• I ask for help from my partner when I have an assignment due. He’ll take the children out for a bit and take on more of a share of housework.
• I regularly take time out for a walk or a swim if I’m not progressing and need a reset.

This has worked well so far. I got a distinction last year and I’m doing 2 modules this year. It’s really increased my confidence and I work with children so it’s really helped with my understanding of people and childhood development.

I have 3 children, I work compressed hours (Full time over 3 days), and then the other 4 days are for studying. I study during the school hours (Open University - Psychology and Counselling with Social Sciences, final 3rd year). I don't over-do it. I don't stress myself, I ask for extensions, sometimes I only read and study the material relevant to my next assignment, or exam. I involve myself with study groups and parent groups who also study (Discord is a great place for this) - We get one another through by talking it out when we are stuck and with a lot of humour!

Don't forget you're doing this off of your own back, your own initiative, and it really takes some brain cells and multitasking when you have children! So, you're already doing amazing by starting it.

Study in bitesize pieces, just like you eat yo8r food - You don't shove the entire plate in at once, and sometimes you finish it the next day, or if you have a big pan of studying - Spread it over the week, take your reading material with you if you're going out and stop for 5 to have a coffee and a read. 1 or 2 pages read is better than 0 pages read.

I am studying PT and working 30 hours with a toddler. I started my studies when he was 3 weeks old. It was very nerve wracking but I seem to have gotten into the swing of it. My tips are: use all the support you can get and don’t be shy in asking for it, partner, grandparents and wider family have been more than happy to help with childcare on weekends whilst I read and write. Use the study skills sessions your university offers- as I am doing a post grad I found them so handy for helping me getting back to critical writing - and I booked in to have my assignments read and feedback given before submission.
Finally- use your annual leave to take ‘time off work’ still put your baby in nursery, and I use those full days to read and write my assignments!
Just to note: it’s hard but totally doable, and can be enjoyable putting your mind to something else other than the mundane of life ha!

I did a really intense 6 month course which required practice based learning and study in my own time, so whilst working full time. Honestly, DH was a superstar and there is no way I would have done and passed it if he hadn’t taken on most of everything else at home and with the baby

I am currently undertaking my second apprenticeship in accountancy, this time I will become Chartered Accountant and I am working full time as well. I have four children and get zero help from anyone with childcare, but this time round my eldest are much more self sufficient. However we live in a tiny house and it can be very noisy and crazy so I find it is best to get up before everyone else does in the morning to get the peace and quiet to study. The 5am starts work really well for me as I get the time and space to study and it is out of the way first thing before work starts. I do have the benefit of flexibility with working from
home and also online courses for each topic and I sit my exams on a Saturday morning. I always feel the mum guilt when I spend any time at weekends revising but I try to only do this a few weekends out of say ten, in the run up to an exam. I always remind myself that it is only another (currently) two years and it will be worth it with pay and opportunities afterwards. My last apprenticeship enabled me to get two rungs up the ladder with promotions and I expect that once I have completed this one there will be no limitations in terms of my career path. I also think it is really good for your children to see you learning new things, struggling and sitting exams too as it normalises learning and demonstrates to them what hard work and determination can achieve.

I'm currently doing an open uni undergraduate degree. I started when my eldest was 16 months old and I was also very pregnant with my second child. I submitted my first assignment when my youngest was about a week old I think - I remember typing it up one handed whilst breastfeeding!!

Open Uni is very different to standard unis IME. They're very, very flexible - my tip is to not be afraid to ask for support or adjustments when you need them!

I did a degree at 46, as a lone parent with 2 children.
My tips would be: be organised, know in advance when assignments are due in. There was no way on earth I could have done them in a couple of days.
Go to the library and order books you will need for essays second hand in advance.
Plan time that you will be able to write, either after bedtime, when they are at school, or if you are lucky enough, ask family to entertain the kids for a few hours to give you time to write.
Make sure you back your work up (nightmare if you lose it)
Ask tutors/peers for ideas or advice

I did my masters when DC was 1.

The only way I got through it was by 1) being super organised - so planning and doing all work in advance, little and often rather than leaving things to the last minute and 2) DP more than pulling his weight with house hold tasks, life admin and childcare. We don't have any family support nearby.

When I did with DS1, I found the first month fun and easy, as it was such a thrill to be back studying.

However, I spent way too much time making friends and buying stationary and way too little time studying!

By the last few months I had it cracked; I'd use every nap time to do my reading.

DH was a huge support and him and his mum helped with childcare a lot.
I'd recommend roping in family help as much as you can.

I was made redundant when my youngest was two weeks old. When she was five months and my other daughter five years old I started a full time in person Criminology degree at my local university. and over the second and final years also volunteered with a young offender charity. My assignments were largely written in the middle of the night. My youngest daughter napped really well so I crammed in chunks. One child was at school, the other in nursery one day a week and one to two days a week with my parents. My course was three days a week on campus. It was really really hard, not least because my eldest was undiagnosed SEN at that point. I set myself deadlines at least a weeks before all the deadlines. I graduated with a first class honours.

siz years later after being diagnosed with cancer I started a masters part time - criminal justice and criminology. I’ve just completed that and graduated with a distinction.

what I wish I’d thought more about was all of this leading more concretely into a job. If I was to have my time again I would maybe have done a degree that was more a qualification into a role.

I'd say don't do it - prioritise your children and enjoy the precious time with them; is that so radical? Defer your studies, appreciate what you have now that you can never get back.

Do a course that is doable in the time you have - don't burnout doing a course which will have a massive detrimental effect on your homelife/marriage/mental health/time with your babies - the time may be sparce but use it well.