Photo by CC user Buddpaul on wikimedia commons
If you stop and think about it, moms are some of the best people around when it comes to listening to issues and ultimately solving problems.
That being the case; do moms automatically make the best social workers?
While there is no scientific proof out there to say yea or nay to that thought, there is a good likelihood that some of the best social workers are in fact moms.
If you’re a mom, is this a career you’d be interested in? If you’re already in this line of work, how can you grow in this field and become an even better social worker?
Lifetime Experiences Oftentimes Prove Most Valuable
For those individuals (especially moms) who have had to deal with tough situations both in childhood and as adults, those lifetime experiences can actually make them great social workers.
If you’re a mom considering this line of work, keep the following in mind to better understand what a social worker does:
- Helping others – First and foremost, a social worker is there to assist people in their time of need. Whether it is a child or children who are in a difficult situation at home or a single parent or couple looking to adopt, these are but two of the many areas of social work that oftentimes need attention. In the first case, having children in the line of fire is typically the most challenging and sometimes heart-breaking subject for social workers. In most cases, children are simply innocent victims, not asking for the difficult situation they have been put in by one or both parents. As a result, their voices are oftentimes not heard, something that can make the case all the more difficult. A good social worker will get to the bottom of a challenging case, offering his or her advice on what the best solution may be. When it comes to being a mom, these women are oftentimes placed in similar circumstances (see more below), albeit without the violence that sometimes occurs in family differences. Since moms already typically go out of their way to help others, becoming a social worker is not a far stretch in their career aspirations;
- First-hand experiences – For many mothers, it is their first-hand experiences in tackling challenging situations in their own homes that make them qualified to become social workers. Whether it is tackling debt issues in the home, a child or children who are acting out in school and/or in the home, the challenge of trying to adopt a child, even the ugliness of domestic violence, these are all experiences that many women have unfortunately dealt with. Having solved some of these matters in their own homes, moms can be best-suited for helping others going through similar difficulties;
- Gaining knowledge of the social worker field – Finally, many moms would usually be described as the best listeners in their respective homes. While women sometimes are taken to task for over-analyzing subjects, it is the very time and effort spent getting to the bottom of issues that leads to resolutions. That said moms considering going into the social worker field or for those already there, keeping their ears open and their eyes trained on current events can both prove beneficial. The Internet is full of stories on social work on a regular basis. Seeing what the trends are as far as children being kept in or taken out of homes, the challenges oftentimes presented with adoption, recognizing the signs of child abuse or domestic violence, there are plenty of cases just online and in the media that one can learn from. If you’re already in the field of social work, staying abreast of cases and trends is good for educational means. Another benefit is conversing with colleagues in the social work field. Sharing experiences can be not only educational, but also rewarding from a mental health aspect. While many cases turn out fine, there are those with not so happy endings. Being able to talk with others and release some of that pent up frustration is important.
Moms may feel like being a social worker is a little too overwhelming, especially with all they have to deal with at home.
Then again, they may feel like they are best suited to help others in their time of need.