Career summary

Details for Child Care Workers


Description

Attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and child care institutions. Perform a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play.

Tasks

  • Support children's emotional and social development, encouraging understanding of others and positive self-concepts.
  • Care for children in institutional setting, such as group homes, nursery schools, private businesses, or schools for the handicapped.
  • Sanitize toys and play equipment.
  • Discipline children and recommend or initiate other measures to control behavior, such as caring for own clothing and picking up toys and books.
  • Identify signs of emotional or developmental problems in children and bring them to parents' or guardians' attention.
  • Observe and monitor children's play activities.
  • Keep records on individual children, including daily observations and information about activities, meals served, and medications administered.
  • Instruct children in health and personal habits, such as eating, resting, and toilet habits.
  • Read to children and teach them simple painting, drawing, handicrafts, and songs.
  • Organize and store toys and materials to ensure order in activity areas.
  • Operate in-house day-care centers within businesses.
  • Sterilize bottles and prepare formulas.
  • Dress children and change diapers.
  • Help children with homework and school work.
  • Perform housekeeping duties, such as laundry, cleaning, dish washing, and changing of linens.
  • Accompany children to and from school, on outings, and to medical appointments.
  • Maintain a safe play environment.
  • Communicate with children's parents or guardians about daily activities, behaviors, and related issues.
  • Assist in preparing food and serving meals and refreshments to children.
  • Create developmentally appropriate lesson plans.
  • Regulate children's rest periods.
  • Perform general administrative tasks, such as taking attendance, editing internal paperwork, and making phone calls.
  • Organize and participate in recreational activities and outings, such as games and field trips.
  • Provide care for mentally disturbed, delinquent, or handicapped children.
  • Perform general personnel functions, such as supervision, training, and scheduling.

Interests

  • Artistic - Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
  • Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Education, training, experience

  • Education - These occupations usually require a high school diploma.
  • Training - Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
  • Experience - Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Knowledge

  • Customer and Personal Service -Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

Skills

None found.

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