Child Care Career Highlights

• Approximately 1 out of 3 child care workers are self-employed; most of these are family child care providers.
•  Training requirements vary from a high school diploma to a college degree, although a high school diploma and little or no experience are acceptable for many jobs, the better trained the caregiver the better the job opportunities.
•  Many child care workers leave these jobs every year, creating good job opportunities.
• Vocational training and certificate programs are available via distance learning and the Internet, which will help give job seekers an edge over those candidates with little or no training.

Nature of Work

Child care workers nurture and care for children who have not yet entered formal schooling and also work with older children in before- and after-school programs. These workers play an important responsibility in a child’s development by caring for the child when parents are at work or away for other reasons. Besides attending to children’s basic needs, child care workers organize activities that stimulate children’s physical, emotional, intellectual, and social growth. They assist children to explore individual interests, develop talents and independence, build self-esteem, and learn how to get along with others.

Child care workers usually are classified in three different groups, determined by the setting in which they work: Workers who care for children at the children’s home, called private household workers; those who care for children in their own home, called family child care providers; and those that work at outside child care centers and centers that provide preschool services to 3- and 4-year-old children.

Private household workers who are employed on an hourly basis are generally called babysitters. Babysitters may bathe, dress, and feed children; supervise their play; wash their clothes; and clean their rooms. They also may put children to bed and wake them, read to them, involve them in educational games, take them for doctors’ visits, and discipline them. Babysitters who are in charge of infants, sometimes called infant nurses, also prepare bottles and change diapers. Nannies may work full or part time for one family. They usually take care of children from birth to age 10 or 12, tending to the child’s early education, nutrition, health, and other needs, and they may also perform the duties of a housekeeper, including cleaning and laundry.

Family child care providers frequently work alone with a small group of children, though some work in larger settings with multiple adults. Child care centers ordinarily have more than one adult per each group of children; in groups of older children, a child care worker may assist a more experienced preschool teacher.

The majority of child care workers perform a combination of basic care and teaching duties, but most of their time is spent on caregiving activities. Those workers whose primary responsibility is teaching are classified as preschool teachers—preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary. Many basic care activities also are opportunities for children to learn; for example, a worker who shows a child how to tie a shoelace teaches the child while also providing for that child’s basic care needs. Child care programs help children gain a sense of security and learn about trust .

Child care workers spend most of their day working with children; however, they do maintain contact with parents or guardians through informal meetings or scheduled conferences to discuss children's progress and individual needs. Many child care workers keep progress records for each child and suggest ways in which parents can help to stimulate their child’s learning and development at home. Some child care centers and before- and after-school situations actively recruit parent volunteers to work with the children and to participate in program planning and administrative decisions.

Young children learn mostly through play. Child care workers utilize children’s play to further language development (storytelling and acting games), improve social skills (working together to build a neighborhood in a sandbox), and introduce scientific and mathematical concepts (balancing and counting blocks when building a bridge or mixing colors when painting). Many times a less structured approach is used to teach young children, including small-group lessons; one-on-one instruction; and creative activities such as art, dance, and music. Child care workers play an important role in preparing children to build the skills they will need in school.

Child care workers in child care centers or family child care homes often greet young children as they arrive, help them to remove outer garments, and choose activities for the day. When tending for infants, they feed and change them, too. To ensure a well-balanced child care program, workers prepare daily and long-term schedules of activities; each day’s activities balance individual and group play, as well as quiet and active time. Children also are free to participate in activities in which they are interested at some point in the day.

Concern over school-aged children being left home alone before and after school has caused many parents to seek alternative ways for their children to spend their time. The purpose of before- and afterschool programs is to care for school-aged children during the gap between school hours and their parents’ work hours. These programs often operate during the summer and on weekends. Workers in before- and after-school programs may help students with their homework or engage them in other fun activities. Activities may include field trips, learning about computers, painting, photography, and participating in sports. Before- and afterschool programs are frequently operated by public school systems, local community centers, or other private organizations.

Keeping young children healthy is an important part of the job. Child care workers offer nutritious meals and snacks and teach good eating habits and personal hygiene. They make sure that children have proper rest periods, and identify children who may not feel well and, in some cases, may help parents locate programs that will provide basic health services.

Working Conditions

Helping children learn and gain new skills can be very rewarding. Child care workers are instrumental in improving children’s communication, learning, and other personal skills. Although the work is sometimes routine, new activities and challenges mark each day. Child care can be physically and emotionally demanding, as workers must stand, walk, bend, stoop, and lift to attend to children.

State or local regulations may require a certain ratio of workers to children, to ensure that children in child care centers receive proper supervision. Ratios vary with the age of the children. Experts recommend that a single caregiver be responsible for no more than 3 or 4 infants (less than 1 year old), 5 or 6 toddlers (1 to 2 years old), or 10 preschool-aged children (between 2 and 5 years old). In before- and afterschool programs, child care workers may be responsible for several school-aged children at a time.

Family child care providers work in their own homes. Although this arrangement provides convenience, the home must be accommodating to young children. Private household workers usually work in the homes of their employers. Most private household workers are day workers who live in their own homes and travel to work, while some live in the home of their employer, generally with their own room and bath. Often they become part of their employer’s family and derive satisfaction from tending the family.

Work hours of child care workers vary widely, depending on the setting. Child care centers generally are open year round, with long hours so that parents can drop off and pick up their children before and after work. Some centers employ full-time and part-time workers with staggered shifts to cover the entire day. Often the workers are unable to take regular breaks during the day due to limited staffing. Public and many private preschool programs operate during the typical 9- or 10-month school year, hiring both full-time and part-time workers to fill staffing needs. Family child care providers usually have flexible hours and daily routines; they may work long or unusual hours to fit parents’ work schedules. Live-in nannies frequently work longer hours than do those who have their own homes. Although nannies may work evenings or weekends, they usually get other time off to compensate.

Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement

Each State has its own licensing requirements that regulate caregiver training; training and qualifications required of child care workers vary widely, ranging from a high school diploma and   vocational training and certificate programs,community college courses to a college degree in child development or early childhood education. State requirements are usually higher for workers at child care centers than for family child care providers; child care workers in private settings who care for only a few children are often not regulated by the State at all. Child care workers usually can obtain some form of employment with a high school diploma and little or no experience, but certain private firms and publicly funded programs have more training and education requirements.

Many employers select child care workers who have earned a nationally recognized Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or the Certified Childcare Professional designation, or who have taken secondary or postsecondary courses in child development and early childhood education, or have work experience in a child care setting. Other employers require their own specialized training, and an increasing number of employers require an associate degree in early childhood education.

Child care workers must be able to anticipate and prevent problems, deal with disruptive children, provide fair but firm discipline, and be enthusiastic and always alert. They must communicate effectively not only with the children and their parents, but with other teachers and child care workers, as well. Workers should be mature, patient, understanding, and articulate and possess energy and physical stamina. Some skills in music, art, drama, and storytelling also are helpful. Self-employed child care workers must have business sense and management abilities, in order to be successful.

Opportunities for advancement for child care workers are limited. However, as child care workers acquire experience, they may advance to supervisory or administrative positions in large child care centers or preschools. Frequently, these positions require additional training, such as a bachelor’s or master’s degree. Some few workers may become involved in policy or advocacy work related to child care and early childhood education. Workers with a bachelor’s degree may become preschool teachers or become certified to teach in public or private schools. Often, after gaining valuable experience, workers set up their own child care businesses.

Employment

In 2004, child care workers held about 1.3 million jobs. Many worked part time, and about 1 out of 3 child care workers were self-employed; most of these were family child care providers.

Seventeen percent of all child care workers are employed in child day care services, and around 21 percent work for private households. The remainder worked in local government educational services; nursing and residential care facilities; religious organizations; amusement and recreation industries; private educational services; civic and social organizations; individual and family services; and local government, excluding education and hospitals. Some child care programs are for-profit businesses; some of these may be affiliated with a local or national chain. Religious institutions, community agencies, school systems, and State and local governments operate many nonprofit programs. A small percentage of private businesses operate onsite child care centers for the children of their employees.

Job Outlook

Increasing replacement needs should create good job opportunities for child care workers. Qualified persons interested in this work should have few problems finding and keeping a job. Many child care workers must be replaced each year. They often leave the occupation temporarily to fulfill family responsibilities, to study, or for other reasons, while others leave permanently because they are interested in pursuing other occupations or because of dissatisfaction with hours, low pay and benefits, and stressful conditions.

Employment of child care workers is expected to increase about as fast as the average for all occupations through the year 2014. Women in the labor force of childbearing age (widely considered to be ages 15 to 44) and the number of children under 5 years of age are both projected to increase over the next 10 years. Also, the number of children being cared for exclusively by parents or other relatives will continue to decline, increasing demand for additional child care workers.

Earnings

Pay is contingent on the educational credentials of the worker and the type of establishment. While the pay generally is low, more education usually means higher earnings. In May 2004, median hourly earnings of wage and salary child care workers were $8.06; the middle 50 percent earned between $6.75 and $10.01; the lowest 10 percent earned less than $5.90; and the highest 10 percent earned more than $12.34. Median hourly wages in the industries employing the largest numbers of child care workers in 2004 were:

Earnings of self-employed child care workers varies depending on the number hours worked, the number and ages of the children cared for, and the location.

Benefits vary, but are usually minimal. Some employers offer free or discounted child care to their employees, and some offer employees a full benefits package, including health insurance and paid vacations, while others offer no benefits at all. Some employers offer seminars and workshops to help workers learn new skills, and a few employers are willing to reimburse the cost of courses taken at community colleges or technical schools.

For additional information, an electronic question-and-answer service on child care, including information on becoming a child care provider, and many other resources, contact:

For eligibility requirements and a complete description of the Child Development Associate credential, contact:

For eligibility requirements and a complete description of the Certified Childcare Professional designation, contact:

For those interested in more information about a career as a nanny, contact:

For a directory of diploma, and certificate training program for Child Care go to:

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.