12 Skills To Advance Your Childcare Career

Working with children can be a gratifying job at any level. However, advancing your career can lead to different opportunities to explore that might fit your career goals better. Having the right childcare skills is vital to building your career, but which ones do you need? The following are some essential childcare resume skills to ensure you can develop a successful career working with children.

1.Child Development Knowledge

One of the most important skills needed to work with children is knowledge of child development. Understanding how children develop and how their behavior can change during different stages of childhood can help you learn what to expect and how to handle behavioral issues. With child development knowledge, you’ll also find it easier to develop activities or lesson plans for children in particular age groups. You can learn about child development in college classes if you earn a degree in childcare.

2.First Aid and CPR Certifications

Knowing first aid skills and how to perform CPR safely on children helps ensure you’ll be able to step in and save a child’s life or treat an injury if needed. Organizations like the American Red Cross offer first aid and CPR certifications, which help you learn these types of skills. Keep in mind that some states require childcare workers to have these certifications in order to work with children.

3.Strong Communication Skills

Childcare job skills include having excellent verbal and nonverbal communication skills. You’ll need to have these skills to communicate effectively with children of different ages. For example, how you communicate with toddlers or preschool-aged kids is considerably different from how you talk to adolescents and older kids. You’ll also need good communication skills to interact with parents. For example, you might need to discuss issues or concerns about children with their parents.

4.Organizational Skills

Being able to stay organized is critical, no matter what kind of childcare environment you work in. Having good organizational skills helps you keep track of different types of information and handle administrative tasks that might be part of your job. For example, you might need to update student records and files or order supplies regularly as a childcare worker. The ability to juggle different tasks while staying on top of all your responsibilities requires strong organizational skills.

5.Flexibility and Patience

Working in childcare means being in an environment that can change rapidly from one day to the next or even within the same day. Flexibility can help you smoothly adjust to sudden changes or adapt to planned activities. Patience is also valuable since the children you work with also need to adapt to any changes. Being patient can make it easier to help children adjust to a new schedule, different activities, or other changes that occur.

6.Ability to Be Creative

A big part of childcare work is keeping children interested in learning or staying active. Creative skills can help you come up with fun activities to keep children occupied or help them learn new concepts or information. For example, you might plan exciting activities using drawing or other forms of art that allow children to create artwork or illustrate something they’ve learned, such as sharing with others or counting. Using your creative skills can also help prevent kids from becoming bored, restless, or distracted.

7.Physical Stamina

Working in childcare isn’t just about learning or doing classroom activities. You’ll also need to keep up with the children in your care, which might involve being on your feet indoors as toddlers or other young children explore their surroundings or do more physical activities. Your job might include outdoor activity time for children, where you’re likely to be much more physically active. You might also have to regularly move or carry items to different areas or rooms, depending on your responsibilities.

8.Emotional Stability

Being emotionally stable is a crucial skill to have as a childcare worker. Childcare comes with plenty of challenges, such as dealing with a child throwing a tantrum or comforting a child who is scared or hurt. Emotional stability allows you to stay calm and focused so you can think clearly and avoid becoming impatient or frustrated when faced with these situations. Modeling emotional stability can also help children learn emotional intelligence from you, leading to fewer behavioral issues.

9.Optimistic Attitude

No matter what age group you work with in your childcare career, maintaining a positive attitude on the job is essential. Having a positive outlook can inspire children to develop their own optimistic attitudes and feel more confident about facing challenges in their lives. Demonstrating a positive attitude around the children in your care can help you manage your classroom. Children can also learn from the excellent example you set for approaching difficult situations, unexpected changes, and other potential problems.

10.Problem-Solving Skills

Having good problem-solving skills is essential for those who work in childcare. You will encounter all kinds of unexpected changes or other challenging situations in this type of role. You might need to devise solutions to problems on the spot or think of ways to overcome or handle specific difficulties, such as a conflict between children in your care, a shortage of supplies, or a rainy day that disrupts planned outdoor activities. As a childcare worker, you’ll need to be able to come up with practical and helpful solutions to a wide range of problems that can occur.

11.Classroom Management

Having classroom management skills is a must, whether you work with larger or smaller groups of children in a childcare setting. Classroom management skills are valuable, whether you work as a daycare teacher, teacher’s aide, or assistant. These childcare job skills involve showing leadership, implementing and enforcing classroom rules, staying organized, and maintaining records of each child’s work or progress. You’ll also need to regularly ensure you have the supplies or other resources necessary for your classroom.

12.Compassion and Empathy

From comforting a child who scrapes their knee to discussing a behavioral or learning concern with a child’s parents, having compassion and empathy as a childcare worker is crucial. These skills allow you to interact with children or their parents in a helpful or productive way rather than engaging in conflict. Remember that showing compassion and empathy on the job can also help the children in your care learn how to develop these skills in their own lives.

Start Your Journey Today

Earning a diploma or degree can help you build or grow a childcare career. Bryant & Stratton College offers an early childhood care diploma program and an associate degree program in early childhood education. A diploma can help you prepare for a childcare worker, daycare assistant teacher, or preschool teacher aide career. An associate degree can help you develop the skills needed to work as a daycare center administrator, preschool teacher, or toddler teacher. When you have a diploma or an associate degree, you can advance your career further with a bachelor’s or graduate degree.

If you want more information on our early childhood care diploma program or our associate degree program in early childhood education, don’t hesitate to request more information from Bryant & Stratton College. We can provide additional details on the program you’re interested in and information on applying to our school. These programs are available online or at one of our campuses in Virginia or Wisconsin.