Whether you’re the parent of several children or a friend or relative extending help to the parents of a new arrival, watching a baby while you study is a big challenge. You have to keep a watchful eye on the baby while you attempt to write research papers and complete homework assignments. Thankfully, watching a baby while studying is a manageable task, and if you know what you’re getting into you can be prepared and stay on the ball. For those enrolled in an online nursing program at Arizona State University, watching a baby can actually be a helpful and eye opening experience. You will learn up close how to properly care for a baby while maintaining a schedule and finishing other necessary tasks.
Prepare Your Baby’s Meals in Advance
Babies need to eat on a set schedule so preparing all of their meals and snacks ahead of time will give you additional time for your studies. You can portion out the baby’s food, milk or formula in storage containers, then heat them up a few minutes before mealtime. The time that you use preparing baby’s meals can still be used for studying if you bring your study materials with you into the kitchen.
Study While Baby Plays
When babies aren’t eating or sleeping, they like to spend a lot of their spare time playing. Of course, lots of direct interaction is needed to help babies continue with development, but some time spent playing alone is actually a good thing. If your baby is content with playing with a stuffed animal or discovering a new toy, you can make a quick dash for your textbooks. It is best if you spend your time studying for your online RN to BSN degree while in the same room as your baby, but feel free to play soft music to drown out background noise.
Arrange Play Dates
You may not think that having more than one baby present would actually make it easier for you to study, but it probably will. Babies love to interact with one another and as long as they play nicely together, you may end up with plenty of time to study on your hands. Plan a few play dates for your baby every week so that you can help other parents can get much needed breaks.
Use Childhood Educational Toys to Keep Baby Occupied
Structured time schedules work best for babies and their parents or babysitters. After your baby is fed and changed, you can use childhood educational playtime for an hour or so of ‘study’ for your baby. Once you sense that your child has grown weary of playing with a particular toy, you can find something different for him or her to explore.
A lot of parents studying online at home try to get all of their studying done at night, but eventually, being a night owl starts to wear on their soul. You can make good use of the time that you spend with your baby while studying if you keep your plans well structured. Learn what your baby likes to do during the day so that you can keep your child well occupied as you continue learning.
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I started my Master’s Degree when my daughter was six months old. She went to bed every night at 9 and I would study between 9-11 before going to bed. I only took one class at a time so although it took longer – it worked better for the family.
I went back as an older student. I would study late nigth. It wasn’t the best, but it was the only time left since I also worked. I would most times be going on coffee and fumes but I graduated early.