Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post - I want to work with children. How do I begin?

Holistic Star · 01-03-2009, 04:53 PM

Hi Kura

Can I ask how old you are and what your level of qualifications are? It will be easier to guide you to the right resources.

I trained as a primary teacher in the UK and taught for a year. However there are many other routes to working with children. Working in nurseries, working with youth groups, working with young offenders, working in care homes, working with special needs children, working as a paediatric nurse, doctor, health visitor etc, working as a sports coach, music teacher etc.

Also what age groups of children are you most interested in working with?
I've mentioned some of the areas above that you could work towards. Do any of them grab your attention, or spark your interest?

Before I went into teaching I volunteered at several schools to see if it was what I wanted to do. Schools are always really happy to have help with reading etc and it gives you an idea of what it's like to be around children. You'll probably need to be police checked now first but that is relatively simple process.

Also - children need male role models. It's really important to their development. The only thing I would say (and this was said to female teachers as well when I was teaching) is never allow yourselve to be alone with a child for any length of time. Always ensure that there are other children or adults in the room with you.

01-03-2009, 04:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
Holistic Star Family Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,611	Hi Kura Can I ask how old you are and what your level of qualifications are? It will be easier to guide you to the right resources. I trained as a primary teacher in the UK and taught for a year. However there are many other routes to working with children. Working in nurseries, working with youth groups, working with young offenders, working in care homes, working with special needs children, working as a paediatric nurse, doctor, health visitor etc, working as a sports coach, music teacher etc. Also what age groups of children are you most interested in working with? I've mentioned some of the areas above that you could work towards. Do any of them grab your attention, or spark your interest? Before I went into teaching I volunteered at several schools to see if it was what I wanted to do. Schools are always really happy to have help with reading etc and it gives you an idea of what it's like to be around children. You'll probably need to be police checked now first but that is relatively simple process. Also - children need male role models. It's really important to their development. The only thing I would say (and this was said to female teachers as well when I was teaching) is never allow yourselve to be alone with a child for any length of time. Always ensure that there are other children or adults in the room with you.