Thinking of quitting nursing for childminding...is this mad?

[ohcluttergotme]

I'm mum to a 12 year old dd and 2 year old ds. When dd was 2 I trained as a nursery nurse then carried this into training as a children's nurse, my work then trained me as psychiatric nurse. I had my ds in 2009 and during mat leave decided I didn't want ot go back to work & with complete Mummy brain & applied & got on course to train as a hv. Hated every minute of the years course & now work as a nurse looking after children aged 4-12 with emotional & behavioural difficulty.

The thing is it breaks my heart leaving ds with the childminder all week and it costs just about all my salary so kinda feels a bit "what's the point". I see that my childminder has a nice life & always seems pretty happy. Dh & I are also thinking of trying dc3 & I feel if I worked as a childminder I could be there for my dc.

Would love any advice/help/opinions?

not mad at all if you think you'd enjoy doing it

you can always go back to nursing in a few years when he is at school if you want to anyway can't you?

Thanks tiy, just feel some people (mainly my mum) will think this is not a smart move but really do feel it will make me happy& especially ds! Sure I could do some back to nursing course if I took a career break from it

How much research have you done into becoming a CM?

To move jobs based on 'my childminder has a nice life and always seems pretty happy' might be a bit rash but if you do proper research and still want to do it then go for it! 'Tis very rewarding!

If you already look after children at work then you know whether you like it or not and as a person in a caring profession you are probably in the ideal position to be a childminder. You can always go back to nursing later after a break, or if you don't enjoy childminding.

Life is short. Do what makes you happy. Your mum isn't living your life and it is your job to make you happy, not her.

Remember that after a couple of years you won't be able to just return to nursing. You will have to attend costly (both time and money) 'Return To Nursing' courses and complete the required amount of hours of unpaid work to satisfy NMC regulations.

It can be very hard to get places on 'Return' courses too, depending upon where you live. Maybe you could childmind and do the minimum hours of nursing required to maintain registration and PREP requirements as an agency nurse/bank nurse?

I have researched it a bit, aware that I need to register, need to have checks, disclosure & references & that this process may take a while. I've heard that in Scotland you can apply for a small business loan so hoping I could apply for this to help get up & running & I've worked with children since I was 15 & now 33 so hopefully know what may be involved ??
I do have a slight tendency to rush into things must be my aries nature but really do see my childminder seeming really happy and when I hand over nearly all my salary does make me wonder if I would be better of changing! Sure like all jobs there would be pro's & cons. And yep pp your right my life thanks definitely helps to hear that

Thanks nursenic, definite food for thought, will look into what the minimum hours to keep up registration would be & see if it's worth doing the odd bank shift

Life is definitely about new experiences and if you are lucky enough to be able to do this....Go for it. But try to hold onto that hard won nursing experience as it will make you stand out from the childminder 'crowd', I'd have thought.

Have a look on the childminding thread too to see what types of issues occur that you may not have thought about.

Good luck.

I am a social worker (also an aries who tends to rush into things) and have thought of moving into cm in the past when I was really struggling with leaving my children. I was very torn as I thought of all the years and money I had invested in my career.

I think if you want to do it give it a try. Have you considered fostering?? That really can be very very rewarding.

CM is great and in the past I wouldn't have been able to manage without them. But there are other career paths that allow you to work from home, flexibly and be there for the school run and other important events. I was lucky to find something that made a huge difference to my lifestyle.

and what is it that you find AloeMiriam? I am a CM and love working from home, the children in my care and I get on really well with their families, but living in a small rented flat with no 'intention' of moving or buying anything bigger sometimes I dowonder what else I could do that would still allow me to be there for the school run and other important events...and also pushing double buggies and changing nappies are taking its tool. The children I work with right now are under two and I can see they staying with me until school and I am not sure if I want to get inolved with other children/families once they go IYKWIM. I never planned anything in my life, but I am nearly turning 35 and I need to find a career to settle. I studied Home Economics back in my country at University Level but I am out of the field for a long time.....

No it's not mad.
I'm also giving it up .
Do what will make you happy .

Ps - you don't have to give up your registration - it's really quite easy to keep it up , then you have the best of worlds if you ever want to return .
I personally cant see me in a month of Sundays doing nursing until I retire ... ( I love the patients ,but not the conditions. The general public would be aghast at the lack of resources on a day to day basis ... It's that sort of stress I can do without ).

I'm currently taking a 'career break' from nursing, my husband is working for NATO in Italy so we are based there for 3 years. I have spoken to the NMC and they said as long as I do 750 hours over 5 years and have evidence of continued learning I should be able to return to work ok....if there are any jobs! However, have had twins since we have been here so not sure whether working my arse off for basically nothing is that appealing! It works out that if you did just 1 shift a week for 2 years this would be about 750 hours so maybe a night shift a week will be the way forward! Good luck with whatever you decide :)