Career: Child Care Workers
At the most basic level, child care workers look after children while parents are at work. They take care of kids' needs for things like food, play, and safety.
But child care workers can also have a profound and lifelong impact on children, helping them learn how to handle feelings, express themselves, cooperate, and much more. Many children love their child care workers with an intensity usually reserved for family members. And they remember these key adults with respect and appreciation for the rest of their lives.
Child care workers care for infants and children in their own homes, in the children's homes, or in day care centers. They attend to infants' and children's basic needs and organize activities for them to participate in.
“For people to trust you with their kids, you need to come across as an extremely reliable, kind, and caring person.”
Lynne, Day Care Owner and Operator
Are You Ready To...?
- Keep children safe
- Provide for basic needs such as food and comfort
- Help children learn how to cooperate
- Provide activities that help children grow mentally, physically, and emotionally
- Interact with parents
It Helps to Be...
Someone who can celebrate kids' energy and creativity while setting limits so they remain safe. People who thrive in this career tend to have patience and flexibility. They can tune into a particular child's needs but also oversee group activities.
Make High School Count
- Baby-sit or do paid or volunteer work at a preschool, camp, after-school program, or day care center.
- Observe and interact with children wherever you encounter them -- at the grocery store, in the park, and in the homes of friends and family.
- Talk to child care workers about the pros and cons of their careers.
- Study psychology and family and consumer science to develop your communication skills and learn about issues affecting families and children.
- Enjoy activities such as dance, art, music, or cooking so you can share them with children.
Did You Know?
- Child care workers who work from home are called "family child care providers." Those who work in the homes of the children they care for are called "nannies" or "au pairs."
Outlook
Government economists expect jobs for child care workers to grow faster than the average for all careers through 2016. In fact, child care is on the list of the twenty careers with the largest predicted job growth.
Two reasons for this growth: the number of children under five is growing, and more mothers are working outside the home.
Compensation
Child care workers are not well paid, so it's important that they enjoy the rewards of working with young children. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that child care workers earned an average hourly wage of $9.46 in 2007. And they rarely receive good benefits.
