Counseling Education

College-Bound With a Newborn? 5 Tips To Stay The Course

Going to college and successfully completing classes can be enough of a challenge even under the best of circumstances. However, when an incoming college freshman adds being a mother to her list of objectives, completing college can be even more of a stressful undertaking. Rather than shirking away from the challenge of taking college courses and working toward an undergraduate degree, a mother can instead find suitable ways to balance everything that she has going on in her life, including raising her newborn.

When she learns how to balance her motherhood with her college career, she can reach a level of satisfaction and pride that other freshmen could only imagine. Enjoying this mark of success can be easier if a new mother takes these suggestions into consideration.

Make Use of On-Campus Daycare

Most big universities and even small colleges offer on-campus daycare services for professors and students with children. When she has her newborn in an on-campus daycare, this student can take the classes she needs to graduate and know that her baby is nearby being taken care of by skilled daycare workers. Even more, if she needs to stop in to breastfeed her infant, she can do so because the daycare is close to the buildings where she is taking her courses.

Consider Virtual Courses

Most college and universities today offer virtual classes that allow students to learn online. Virtual classes can be ideal for a breastfeeding mother who likes to feed her baby on demand rather than by a schedule. She can nurse her infant, change the baby's diaper, and listen to online lectures all at the same time. She can also complete courses at her leisure throughout the day instead of hustling to make it to class on time.

Stagger Class Schedules

Many universities allow students to stagger their course schedules. A new mom who wants to spend as much time as possible with her baby can still go to class when she schedules her courses on Tuesdays and Thursdays, for example, instead of each day of the week. Staggering a schedule can give her several days off during the week instead of requiring her to be on campus every single day.

Rely on Family Members

Many families would be proud to have an eager young mother ready to start college in their households. A young mother who wants to go to college can rely on her family to help her with childcare while she takes classes. Many grandparents, aunts, and uncles would welcome the opportunity to babysit while the mom goes to college.

Take Night Courses

New moms may also find success when they take night courses at college. If she has someone who can watch the baby at night, like her spouse or partner, a mother could take night classes instead of being gone during the daytime. This option gives her spouse or partner time to work or go to school during the day while she completes her courses during night classes.

Going to college and finishing a degree remains a challenge for every college student. However, the challenge is compounded when new moms face going to school while caring for newborns. They can enjoy success by taking these tips into consideration.

Theda K. Rogers is a former education student who had a young child while taking online college courses. She was also a breastfeeding mother, and recommends researching sites like http://www.target.com/c/feeding-pillows-breastfeeding/mombo-by-comfort-harmony/-/N-5xtknZ55kvx to find comfortable ways to nurse while studying, working, or just about anything else.

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