by: mrs brightside - 03-06-12 18:03
I recently became interested in childcare as a career. I've had a lot of health issues and been very badly treated by people as a child. I'm now 36 years old. I've been off work as i've been in a bad way and my confidence has been knocked to pieces.
Not that i had much in the first place, but as a terribly shy, unconfident, fragile person is childcare an option for me? I really need some advice.
many thanks
sh
by: me
No. As an EYP you need to be confident and open and able to share and discuss any topic with parents and carers and deal with other professionals on a daily basis in an assertive manner. Also what you do the children will do so no i dont htink you would be suited. you may however be more suited after good training, in college full time with a class of students. Do a level 2 full time then a 3 and that should give you masses more confidence.
by: stormgirl
I have to agree with me on this one. Even the most capable & confident children need their practioner to be someone who is able to advocate for them, be assertive with colleagues & parents and role model confidence and emotional intelligence. There will always be vulnerable children in your room, those children especially need to be protected from further harm, by being exposed to the issues of the people working with them.
If you are genuinely interested in childcare as an option,perhaps start with some confidence building first- whether it is attending some local gym classes (healthy body, healthy mind) or starting your level 2, so that you can begin practising that happy, confident personality that the children need to see, as well as building your knowledge and skill :) Good luck!
by: sparkles24
Getting childcare qualifications would be a good idea, but I don't think the kinds of issues with confidence you're talking about would be resolved just by acquiring skills in the area of work you want to go into. If you've had an abusive childhood, there will often be issues which affect you no matter what area of work you go into, so you may find that you have continuing problems unless you get the right sort of help for unresolved issues from your childhood. Of course you don't need to say on here whether you've had counselling before, but it seems as if counselling or psychotherapy would be beneficial for you, as it would give you the opportunity to talk through what happened to you as a child with someone who understands and who will validate your feelings. I'm not sure I would recommend pursuing the qualifications until you've had some kind of emotional support, as unfortunately you might even come across people on placement who will home in on someone who seems vulnerable, and as a result look for things to criticise.
by: Maureen Askew
Have you thought of going to your local children’s centre? They should be able to provide support on a personal level and recommend some voluntary work to help build your confidence, this might be in one of their childcare centres, which would help you decide if childcare is the right option for you. Create and write down some achievable goals for yourself, like going to the children’s centre and making an appointment to speak with a worker. Take small steps and tick off goals when you have achieved them, this will help you see how well you are doing especially on bad days. Good luck
by: dixie
Probably not. Childcare can be physically hard work, cleaning up, lugging things around, crawling around on the floor etc. You don't say what your health issues are but beware if you already have a bad back- it won't get any better!
You say you are quite fragile and really the children need you to be quite strong. They are the fragile ones that we care for. Occassionally we come across issues that can be hard to handle, worse still if they open up unresolved issues from our own childhoods.
Childcare is fun, rewarding and all the rest, I love it but its hard work, children cry, they get angry, they throw up all over you, wipe snot on your t shirt, you can't please everyone all the time, you come down with every bug going the first year or so, you have to work with a team and the team won't all see things the way you do so compromise and teamwork is key, you can't have 'off' days where you just want to sit in a corner because if you do the children suffer and you let the team down.
But after saying all that you can change. You might want to try vounteering at a church creche or toddler group. A good church will have a supportive community, and that may be what you need to build your confidence even if you don't attend the church or have a faith.
by: Kandy Flip
I think it depends on what qualities being with children bring out of you. Do they bring out your nurturing side? Does being in the presence of children enable you to re-connect with your inner playfulness which can then inspire children? If the answer is yes, then working with children could really work for you.
Whatever you do career-wise, I'd go along with the other posters in recommending that you take steps to deal with the things that are putting a lid on what you can achieve in your life. Also, it is worth seeing if you can volunteer at a nursery to see if working with young children is something you enjoy.
It takes all sorts to work in a nursery.