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It's entirely possible to do. First of all, not all paramedics do 24 hour shifts. I myself do 12 hour shifts. 24 hour shifts means you'll be away from your family for two to three days. Compare that with the five days a week people are usually away and you see its not that bad. My wife doesn't have a problem with it, then again, my wife has a super-human ability to put up with the amount of shit that I inadvertently track into her life. So long as you don't become an asshole and believe its okay to bang person X because of the "stresses" of your job, you can make a family life work just fine. But once you start believing that because what you do gives you license to act like an asshole, i.e. drink, fool around, basically act like a total douchebag, then you will lose the people you love or at least once love. I know many firefighters like that. But I know even more of their ex-s.

Thanks for the clarification- I asked about kids because I would like to have kids, so it will be relavent if I go into this field. I was looking for insights from parents, so I got exactly what I asked for. I was trying to avoid the whole "read my boring autobiography then tell me what to do with my life" situation in my original post- thats why I just asked about working and raising children instead of going into my current personal situation. I assumed that anyone who replied would do so because they felt like sharing. I appreciate the responses and I don't feel like I forced anyone to put forth a ton of effort for no reason, though I'm sorry of that was really the case. Can I try this again? I am married and in my 20's, no kids but I want to have one or two in the future. My husband does shift work as well, but I do have family in the area who could help out with child care from time to time. I did the EMT-B course in high school and loved it, but I ran off and joined the Army instead of working in the field. Now that I'm back at home and settling down, I'm seriously considering going back to school, getting into EMS and becoming a Paramedic if it turns out I enjoy the work and have the aptitiude. I know there are a million other considerations before picking a career and I have been doing a ton of research, but every Firefighter and EMT I know is super young or a lifelong bachelor. What I would like to hear is the experiences of full time EMTs and Paramedics who have kids, especially if your spouse works as well. Is it doable? Do you have to depend on family members for child care all the time? What type of agency do you work for? Do you feel that your career is simply too demanding of your time to care for a child as well? I figured a long and not very exciting wall of text would not get me off on the right foot here, but I guess my original question was insufficient. I dind't mean to come back and complain that people couldn't read my mind and know my exact situation, it just seemed like some of the replies were geared toward someone who was trying to start in the field while already a single parent. It is really amazing and encouraging that people out there have managed to do so, though.

Yikes that's rough. I don't quite understand how me not having children right now invalidates me wanting to hear from medics who do have children. I didn't state that I was a single mother in my original post but I'm sorry if I gave people that impression and that is somehow stressful for you. If it matters to anyone, your replies were very informative and encouraging. I just wanted to know what raising a family while working in EMS was like (that's what I intended to ask, sorry if it was poorly worded) I didn't think anyone would have any interest in my autobiograpy, thats why I didn't go into my current family status. Sorry if everyone feels I've waisted your time. As for "not needing you help", how am I supposed to find this stuff out without, you know, asking someone? All the EMTs I know are either part-time volunteers or super young and single. I don't mean to sound argumentative, I just don't quite understand why asking about a situation I'm not in right now was such a sin.

I have 3 boys and they were 12, 9 and 6 when I started. I had a husband that was semi supportive (not so much when the pager went off 5 mins before the end of a shif on christmas and a housefull) You really need to make sure you are prepared to miss alot of things with your kids, like soccor games etc. You have to have a good support system in place and most of all your kids have to understand what you are doing. Went on a call and came home to a dissaster, I explained to my kids that I was very stressful having to think that I would have to come home to this when I am out trying to save someones life. Once they understood they were great (for calls anyways). Everyone in the family has to be on board..... good luck