CFA and parenting

Question

At 35, I am probably at least a few standard deviations older than the mean age of this forum, but I thought I'd put this out there and see if anyone can relate or offer advice.

Is anybody else finding that studying for the CFA is lowering their parenting skills just a smidge below "Father/Mother of the Year" caliber? I guess this subject can be applied to relationships generally, but there seems to be something different about the parent-kid relationship.

There's obviously the time commitment and being away from them, which is a source of some guilt. I actually find it easier to be out of the house when I'm studying because a) it is difficult to concentrate when little people are trying to climb on you and b) it's not really fair to them to be "present" but completely disengaged. Even still, every time my 3-year old son sees me about to walk out the door with a stack of books and says "Don't go to work, Daddy", a little part of me dies.

I also worry that generally being consumed by wrestling with difficult material (in addition to life's other trivialities) having a less than desirable effect on me. The other night, my son was being difficult and I had to let him know that what he was doing was wrong, which is a euphamism that parents use for "Oh, you think it's easy to let the world know that you lost your temper and made a toddler cry?". He was being objectively difficult by doing something that he had been repeatedly asked very nicely not to do, but I can't help but wonder if I would have handled this and other situations better without the persistent stress that comes with being a CFA candidate.

Having said all that, yes, it was much easier to study for the exams I wrote pre-kids, but opening up my books and seeing that a bunch of incoherent highlighter scribbles does provide a useful reminder of why I am doing this in the first place.

Zee Tan · Answer

I had a friend who also sat for Level 3 with a toddler and all I can say is, hats off. I can't imagine the amount of determination young parents studying for the CFA have!

@marc @kate you are being great role models, and not just to your children!

AjFinance · Answer

I had a friend who also sat for Level 3 with a toddler and all I can say is, hats off. I can't imagine the amount of determination young parents studying for the CFA have!

@marc @kate you are being great role models, and not just to your children!

@Zee +1