Child-care workers are responsible for educating and caring for children
in a variety of settings. They might work in day-care centers, preschools,
community centers, government agencies or large businesses that offer day
care to employees.
Child-care workers can specialize. For instance, there are day-care workers,
preschool helpers, special needs workers, day-care supervisors and specialists
in child and youth care. Many own and direct their own private facilities.
The majority of people in this field work in primary care or the day-to-day
care of children. Everyday activities include:
- Reading stories
- Supervising activities
- Teaching songs
- Teaching basic arts and crafts
- Taking children on field trips
Child-care workers often work 40 to 50 hours a week and their days can
be strenuous. A typical day consists of many different activities and can
be physically demanding. From providing activities and supervising children
to cleaning up messes and chasing after kids, there's not a lot of time for
these workers to sit down.
With increasing work demands being placed on parents, day-care workers
can also expect to work on holidays, weekends and evenings.
Karen Eilersen owns a day care. "It's not the kind of job where you leave
at the end of the day and you're done," she says. "You take work home, you
work on the weekends, [and] you're constantly thinking about what you're going
to be doing. I really think in order to be good at it, you have to be willing
to give it more than the eight hours a day that you're paid for."
Despite the fact that child-care workers have a very important role in
our society, experts say it's an undervalued job, with low pay and little
recognition.
Larry Brown is the owner and director of a day care. He thinks people should
invest as much money in preschool children as they do in college students.
There are relatively few men in this field. Brown argues that most men
are probably discouraged from going into child-care work because of low wages
in the industry.