Classical Country Mama Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 My dd (4, turning 5 next month) has insisted for the past year she wants to be a doctor. She's fascinated by the human body and loves studying the various systems etc., which has made it a lot of fun for us, especially now we've officially started kindergarten at home. My question is--I continue to be surprised she is so committed to being a doctor at this age, and for so long, given how often she changes favorite princesses and (now) fairies. Has anyone else experienced this drive with a child, and did it last? Just curious. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 Well, my mom kept my 1st grade folder and passed it to me recently, part of which was to write down what we wanted to be when we grew up. My choices were mother, teacher, and actress. One of my majors in college was drama, and I am a certified teacher and a mom, so it held pretty true to adulthood for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christielee7278 Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 I always insisted as a young child that I would be either a nurse or teacher, and a mom with at least three kids. During high school years, I thought about physical therapy or peds doctor but still in the medical field. I changed my major from pt to early childhood ed after working at the hospital as a nursing assistant and volunteering at a pt clinic (found out I cannot stand blood in large amounts, burns, or really any serious medical condition!). Now I homeschool four boys!!!! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 My almost 3yo has said for going on 2 years now that he is going to be a fire fighter when gets big. Neither of my older ones had the same consistent drive that he has with this...I can actually see him following through on it! The others wanted to be this or that and it might last a long time, but not this long and not the same whatever it is that I see in him when he talks about it. LOL Odd, but I really think I have a firefighter on my hands. My dh was a firefighter/EMT when this ds was a newborn, but has been in RN school since a few months after his birth. DS didn't know dad was a FF/EMT until he had talked about it so long we started telling him that's what dad did. I'd go with it. Sometimes God gives our kids natural drives and gifts and it's our job as parents to recognize them and help them reach their God-given potential without pushing them into it...one of those fine lines we have to be careful with! Have fun with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
staceyobu Posted September 14, 2009 Share Posted September 14, 2009 I don't know about from kindergarten on, but I wanted to be a doctor from an early age. I didn't go the medical school route after all, but I am an RN and still love all things medical. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyAberlin Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I know my dad in late elementary knew that he was going to be an engineer and he is and a very good one too. My kinder is the same way. He has wanted to be a dr for many yrs now. He has change specialties although he seems to have settled on eye dr and an is pretty adamant about it. He did a while back have a slight deviation to creating robots, but he was soon back to dr again. He is very interested in science and the human body. My 3 yr old has now found his calling to be Bob the Builder LOL. He loves to build and fix things and I would be suprised if he ends up being an engineer like my dad or an architecht. He has curly hair like my dad and is left handed like my dad. He just really seems to be similar to him. This builder thing for him is a very serious thing too. He asks almost daily if he can be a builder. He wants to be reassured that he can be one when he is older. He gets very excited when talking about fixing and building things. I recently ripped the carpet out of my closet and he offered to get his tools and fix it for me. It is very important to him. I think it will be so much fun to see what he ends up being. With my oldest I took him to a Bio teacher friend's house and they disected a cow eye together. He thought that was great. So I can't tell you if they stick with the dream, but I with you on wondering since non of my friend's kids are as focused as mine. I'm glad they are focused because U sure wasn't and changed my mj in college 5 or 6 times only to finally pick something that would get me out quick because I got married. Now my degrees are usless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blessed2fosteradopt Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 From a very young age, I was enthralled with anything medically related. To this day, I still am. I am a Discovery Health junkie and I am fascinated by the body and its mechanics. I began nursing school when I was pregnant but never completed it. It is one of my biggest regrets to date. I married a firefighter/paramedic and live my dream vicariously through him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WiseOwlKnits Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My mom says I came home from Kindergarten saying I wanted to be a teacher. It stuck - I went to college and became a teacher. My DD has said since she was 3 (now 5) that she wants to be a doctor. And she's fascinated with the human body too. I see it as my job to help her explore that passion...which is why she got a skeleton for her 5th birthday. :) It's still her favorite bday present months later! LOL! So I say don't dismiss her. If nothing else, she'll end up following a different career path, but with a love of science. Nothing at all wrong with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellyndria Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Man, I'm doomed. My 4 year old wants to be the Incredible Hulk. :tongue_smilie: :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My dd7 has said since she was 3 that she will be a paleontologist. She has never faltered. At times, she has thought being an author or archeologist would be good too, but she always says she will be a paleontologist. We have gotten to where we don't only read dinosaur books like we did when she was 3, 4, and 5, but she still sleeps in dinosaur sheets and blankets, and picks dinosaur coloring books, etc.! I don't know. I kind of believe her!! We shall see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Ds insisted from Pre-K through to 1st grade that he was going to be a school teacher. One bad teacher later and he's considering being an Astronaut/cartoonist/video game designer... :) I really thought after a three year commitment he was going to be a teacher :) I wanted to be vet from K through about 10th grade (then I found out how many years of school I'd have to get through). I have pets and volunteer for our local wildlife rescue, but I'm no where near a vet :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezrabean2005 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Man, I'm doomed. My 4 year old wants to be the Incredible Hulk. :tongue_smilie: :D :lol: I know! Our four year old wants to be Darth Vader. I'm not sure that there is a certificate or degree program for "evil". LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Youngest (3) wants to be Spiderman. We should get the boys together, they could be a crime fighting team :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKNG Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 When my dd was about 2, she said she wanted to be a duck! And now when I ask her, she says she wants to be "mama"!! awwwwww!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Man, I'm doomed. My 4 year old wants to be the Incredible Hulk. :tongue_smilie: :D :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezrabean2005 Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 When my dd was about 2, she said she wanted to be a duck! And now when I ask her, she says she wants to be "mama"!! awwwwww!!! I love it! Too cute: "a duck". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkateLeft Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My question is--I continue to be surprised she is so committed to being a doctor at this age, and for so long, given how often she changes favorite princesses and (now) fairies. Has anyone else experienced this drive with a child, and did it last? My brother told everyone he wanted to be a doctor from the time he was little. He ended up being severely dyslexic, but he still always said he wanted to be a doctor. A counselor once told my parents, "He may build bridges, but he'll never design them." He had to repeat 3rd grade. The only thing he can write in cursive is his name, and his handwriting still looks like that of a 3rd grader. But he worked his tail off to get into college, went to dental school, did a dental surgery residency, medical school and then finished his surgery residency in June, and is now an oral maxillofacial surgeon (a DDS/MD). It's been a very long road for him, but he's a doctor! Thankfully, my parents always took him seriously, even when other people said it would never happen. So you never know... :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockermom Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Man, I'm doomed. My 4 year old wants to be the Incredible Hulk. :tongue_smilie: :D Mine wants to be a transformer. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Has anyone else experienced this drive with a child, and did it last? I wanted to be a vet from the time I was 4 until I was 12. When I was 12 I went into an examining room at the vet and saw a kidney in a dish. That was the end of my desire to be a vet. :D I don't think it's unusual that a small child decides they are interested in something and then say that they want to be whatever profession relates to that interest. When my dd was interested in dinosaurs, she wanted to be a paleontologist. When she was interested in African wildlife, she wanted to be a wildlife biologist. She's currently very interested in collage-making, so she now wants to be an artist. I think that as a child's current interests change, her plans for her future will change. It's impressive and gratifying to have your small child proclaim big career dreams, but I would imagine that those dreams will change many times over the years. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 I insisted from the time I was 3 (accordiing to notes my mom made in my baby book) that when I grew up I was going to be a mommy that stays home with her kids all the time. That never changed, All I ever wanted to be was a stay at home mom. My ds6 has insisted for 2.5 years now he is going to be a fireman. I have him also now interested in being a paramedic so he can get any firehall he wants. Not only has he known 100% that this is his career path, but he also has his wife picked out, and the 2 of them have decided they will have 10 kids, she will stay home and homeschool them(she is also going to be a homeschooled child when she hits kindy age) and he will work as a fireman to take care of his family. Now compared to my ds11 who still changes his mind every other day and those job ideas range from(working for TAPS hunting for ghosts, to videogame designer, to cop, to archeologist, to electrician), having 1 be so hyper focused on his future is different. I encourage him in his dream to be a fireman, we read about firefighters, tour the halls, learn about fire safety at home(he helps conduct our fire drills now that we do them again). I do use it to help prompt him to focus on his studies (firemen need to know how to read really well, firemen need to know their math so they know how much water to use etc). He even does exercises he says firemen need to do to be strong, (though I did put a stop on him picking up and carrying his little friends- he claimed he needed practice carrying them out of fires). I will continue to encourage him, I will also continue to encourage him to consider paramedicine if he is still insistent on fire rescue so that he has more options of halls/job placements. I do introduce other ideas, we talk about other careers out there all the time, and for the rest he has planned(marriage and 10 kids) I tell him to wait 20 years and we will talk further about those. I am less worried about him being hyper focused on a career path than I am about ds11 still changing his mind every other day, and I am not all that worried about him at this point either, though I wish he would settle on something for long enough to really look at it kwim. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova mama Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 Man, I'm doomed. My 4 year old wants to be the Incredible Hulk. :tongue_smilie: :D LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova mama Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 My brother told everyone he wanted to be a doctor from the time he was little. He ended up being severely dyslexic, but he still always said he wanted to be a doctor. A counselor once told my parents, "He may build bridges, but he'll never design them." He had to repeat 3rd grade. The only thing he can write in cursive is his name, and his handwriting still looks like that of a 3rd grader. But he worked his tail off to get into college, went to dental school, did a dental surgery residency, medical school and then finished his surgery residency in June, and is now an oral maxillofacial surgeon (a DDS/MD). It's been a very long road for him, but he's a doctor! Thankfully, my parents always took him seriously, even when other people said it would never happen. So you never know... :D What an encouraging story. Thank you for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 (edited) Interesting thread. My 6-year-old has wanted to be a firefighter/police officer for quite some time now. He likes positions in authority and he always talks about rescuing people and fighting bad guys. Who knows? Just a few days ago he started liking archaeology too (SOTW history), and when he found out that is Daddy's interest, he said they can both still keep their jobs (ds' as a firefighter/police officer) and go on digs on the weekends :D I wanted to be a doctor for a while when I was smaller, but not as interested in the human body as the OP's dd. I think it was more the "idea" of being a doctor (I still struggle with this LOL). When it was clear to me that I was freaked out by blood I switched to radiology for a few years. Then one night during CCD class when I was 13 we met a psychologist and that was it for me. I still want to be a psychologist ;) Edited September 15, 2009 by sagira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Classical Country Mama Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share Posted September 15, 2009 My brother told everyone he wanted to be a doctor from the time he was little. He ended up being severely dyslexic, but he still always said he wanted to be a doctor. A counselor once told my parents, "He may build bridges, but he'll never design them." He had to repeat 3rd grade. The only thing he can write in cursive is his name, and his handwriting still looks like that of a 3rd grader. But he worked his tail off to get into college, went to dental school, did a dental surgery residency, medical school and then finished his surgery residency in June, and is now an oral maxillofacial surgeon (a DDS/MD). It's been a very long road for him, but he's a doctor! Thankfully, my parents always took him seriously, even when other people said it would never happen. So you never know... :D What an inspirational story. Thank you for sharing! Thanks to everyone for your comments (including the hilarious ones!! we could use some superheroes!) and insight and suggestions. DD is just 4, so I am doing everything to slow myself down (I'm a weeee bit of an overachiever--my mother always said she didn't care what grade I got in school, so long as it was an A), and have fun while encouraging her passions at the same time. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hmschooling Posted September 15, 2009 Share Posted September 15, 2009 From a very young age, I was enthralled with anything medically related. To this day, I still am. I am a Discovery Health junkie and I am fascinated by the body and its mechanics. I began nursing school when I was pregnant but never completed it. It is one of my biggest regrets to date. I married a firefighter/paramedic and live my dream vicariously through him. Sounds like me! I just love Disc Health and anything related to real life in the ER. When my oldest was little, I tried to do nursing or surgery tech school, but it never worked out. Then two kids later started the process again, only to become pregnant with baby 3! My dh was a firefighter/EMT so I did like you and just lived vicariously through him...now HE is the one in RN school. Funny, he was a cowboy (seriously, trained horses/natural barefoot trim/cross country horse hauling, etc.) when we met and married...now he's en route to be an RN, then go on to his master's to be a nurse anesthetist or APN. So, dreams of what you want to be when you grow up can change all the way into the years when you think you already are grown up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 My brother told everyone he wanted to be a doctor from the time he was little. He ended up being severely dyslexic, but he still always said he wanted to be a doctor. A counselor once told my parents, "He may build bridges, but he'll never design them." He had to repeat 3rd grade. The only thing he can write in cursive is his name, and his handwriting still looks like that of a 3rd grader. But he worked his tail off to get into college, went to dental school, did a dental surgery residency, medical school and then finished his surgery residency in June, and is now an oral maxillofacial surgeon (a DDS/MD). It's been a very long road for him, but he's a doctor! Thankfully, my parents always took him seriously, even when other people said it would never happen. So you never know... :D What an inspiring story. You and your parents must be so incredibly proud of him! I always said that I wanted to read for a living, or be a librarian. I've been an editor for the last 13 years! In my teen years, the plan did change some (marine biologist, involved in politics, involved in women's health), but I ended up doing what I always said I wanted to do: read for a living! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted September 16, 2009 Share Posted September 16, 2009 Man, I'm doomed. My 4 year old wants to be the Incredible Hulk. :tongue_smilie: :D :lol: I love 4yo boys! I think some kids do know...and some will want to try on different "hats" to see how they feel. I would encourage it all. It's a good thing for a child to think about being a grown-up. ...just supervise the green paint in the meantime:tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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