working with children

jimmy2times

devilivus wrote: »

( Maybe you two have history??!!)

:rotfl:not that i'm aware of!

I thought it was just me. I don't see what's so bad about wanting to work with kids. Not to worry though. All input is welcome I guess

tomtontom

jimmy2times wrote: »

:rotfl:not that i'm aware of!

I thought it was just me. I don't see what's so bad about wanting to work with kids. Not to worry though. All input is welcome I guess

There's nothing wrong with wanting to work with children. There's everything wrong with wanting to work with children because it's a step up from pot washing. If that is your sole motivation then please reconsider your options.

jimmy2times

tomtontom wrote: »

There's everything wrong with wanting to work with children because it's a step up from pot washing. If that is your sole motivation then please reconsider your options.

why? Would there be something wrong with wanting to be, say, a personal trainer because it's a setp up from pot washing? People tend to look for careers/jobs because they want to do something better.


I'm just looking for new career ideas. I mentioned pot washing because the other poster mentioned the low wages, but i'm used to low wages so I don't really care about that.

Caroline_a

OP, how much experience have you had with children outside the workplace - ie nieces, nephews, other relatives, friends' children, babysitting experience... etc ? If you have little or none then I think you definitely need some volunteer experience because working with children can be wonderful..... or horrendous!

As others have said, it is much more of a vocation than a career, most people go into it because they love children, rather than wanting to earn money as for the most part it isn't really well paid.

Also you will need a DBS (criminal record) check before you are allowed to work with children, so if you have any sort of criminal record in your past then it won't be an option for you.

jimmy2times

Caroline_a wrote: »

OP, how much experience have you had with children outside the workplace - ie nieces, nephews, other relatives, friends' children, babysitting experience... etc ? If you have little or none then I think you definitely need some volunteer experience because working with children can be wonderful..... or horrendous!

As others have said, it is much more of a vocation than a career, most people go into it because they love children, rather than wanting to earn money as for the most part it isn't really well paid.

Also you will need a DBS (criminal record) check before you are allowed to work with children, so if you have any sort of criminal record in your past then it won't be an option for you.

thanks Caroline.
Looked after nieces and nephews babysitting, and coached kids football briefly as part of a college course some years ago.

jimmy2times

I feel as though it's the idea that one must LIVE for children and not contemplate such a job if they don't is whats maybe ruffled a few feathers.
I do like kids.

Thing is, my best friend teaches school children for a living and he has no interest in them outside of his job. Maybe even the opposite if anything!
(doesn't have kids, doesn't wat kids, would rather watch football than interract with the kids if at a 'party' etc etc)
so I don't think it's true that you only work with kids if ''you can't think of anything you'd rather do in life''/.
I'm sure my friend has about 50 other careers he'd rather do, but couldn't for various reasons

tomtontom

jimmy2times wrote: »

why? Would there be something wrong with wanting to be, say, a personal trainer because it's a setp up from pot washing? People tend to look for careers/jobs because they want to do something better.


I'm just looking for new career ideas. I mentioned pot washing because the other poster mentioned the low wages, but i'm used to low wages so I don't really care about that.

Children are living things, and those that work with them can have a massive impact on their lives, both now and in the future. You're talking about them like a commodity, a means of getting more money.

Put yourself in the position of a parent. If you asked a teacher/ support worker etc why they wanted to do their job and they answered as you have, would you want them working with your child?

jimmy2times

tomtontom wrote: »

If you asked a teacher/ support worker etc why they wanted to do their job and they answered as you have, would you want them working with your child?

Like I said, the pot washing thing was a reply to the low pay mentioned by the other poster. Not my answer as to 'why' I might like to work with children!

MoneyMission2015

sangie595 wrote: »

Two comments:

First, almost no qualification, and certainly none worth having, would take you on without any experience of working with children at all. They expect you to be able to show interest and aptitude, and the way to do that is volunteering. There are plenty of candidates so they won't be short of people to choose from.

Secondly, if working with children is part of "a never ending quest for career ideas", give it up now. You don't decide to work with children because it is a career. You either want to do this and can't think of anything you would rather do in life, or you don't. Children are hard work in any capacity; and wages, unless you are in a profession such as teaching or psychology or social work, are really very low - generally without any real career structure either. It isn't a career first - it is a vocation first. And if you can fulfil the vocation you MIGHT get a career one day with enough qualifications.

I do kind of understand where Sangie is coming from with the reply. I always wanted to be a teacher because I like children, but when I started a childcare course I realised that as much as I liked them, I wasn't cut out to work with them. It's hard work, I was placed with a nursery for 4 months and was there for 2 days per week. I had to have an activity planned for each age group for both days that I was there. There were 3 age groups, so I had to come up with 6 activities a week. The activities had to be fun, keep the children's attention, be age appropriate and also had to be aimed towards them learning something. I had small groups of 4 children at a time because I was still training which was hard enough, the fully qualified nursery nurses were working with much bigger groups and were constantly carrying out more training to make sure they were always up to date with current rules and procedures. It might not sound difficult and to some people it won't be difficult, but for me it was because I quickly realised it's not where my talents lie.


So I think what Sangie is saying is to just go in to it understanding that it isn't an easy job and shouldn't be taken lightly. Children pick up on everything and will notice if your hearts not really in it.


Also now from my point of view as a parent. When my youngest daughter started her free 16 hours per week in nursery, I had to look for a childminder to pick her up a few afternoons a week after nursery. I visited 2 childminders.


First childminder, we arranged the visit, I turned up there with my daughter who was only 3 at the time. They invited me in to their living room, they had a 1 year old child sat on the floor with no toys. All the toys had been put away, this was at 2.30pm, and the child minder just sat on the settee with the TV left on while I tried to talk to her about my daughter and about the arrangements. She seemed more interested in watching the program that was on, even when the little girl crawled over to her, she just picked her up and sat her next to her on the settee then carried on watching the TV. She didn't speak to my daughter, didn't ask about her likes/dislikes, didn't discuss what sort of activities they do with the kids or anything. I got the impression she was only a childminder so she could earn money while staying home all day watching TV. For me, that was not the sort of person I would leave my daughter with.


I then visited a second childminder who was the absolutely complete opposite. She took my daughter by the hand, took her in to a room full of toys, sat on the floor with her and played with her asking her questions about what she liked, then she started discussing arrangements with me, told me about the day trips she would take with the other children she looked after, she showed me her file with all sorts of certificates, qualifications, council assessments etc, even said I could take it home with me if I wanted a better look at it.


I obviously chose the second one. I don't expect their whole lives to revolve around children, but they have to show some interest in helping to nurture children.

Caroline_a

OP, you seem to be just looking at random careers over the past few years - have you had a consultation with a careers advisor? That might be your first port of call!