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Child care aide vs toddler teacher

The differences between child care aides and toddler teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a child care aide and a toddler teacher. Additionally, a toddler teacher has an average salary of $30,703, which is higher than the $29,192 average annual salary of a child care aide.

The top three skills for a child care aide include child care, CPR and behavior management. The most important skills for a toddler teacher are child care, CPR, and customer service.

Child care aide vs toddler teacher overview

Child Care AideToddler Teacher
Yearly salary$29,192$30,703
Hourly rate$14.03$14.76
Growth rate6%15%
Number of jobs168,47567,810
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 43%Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Average age3740
Years of experience22

What does a child care aide do?

A Child Care Aide is primarily in charge of children's care and personal needs. They typically work at schools, offices, and even in residential areas. Their responsibilities include meeting the parents to identify the extent of the children's needs, developing care plans, monitoring the children's behavior, and updating parents regularly. They also perform various tasks depending on the children's age and needs, such as changing diapers, dressing, preparing meals and snacks, feeding, and toilet assistance. Moreover, a Child Care Aide must ensure a safe and healthy environment for children.

What does a toddler teacher do?

A toddler teacher is responsible for teaching young learners by administering physical care and monitoring their social and mental development. Toddler teachers prepare fun and engaging activities for the children and evaluate their behaviors and assess how they interact with the environment. They create lesson plans that adhere to the learners' appropriate curriculum, such as teaching them how to speak and count. A toddler teacher must comply with the safety guidelines to keep and promote a safe and healthy environment for everyone.

Child care aide vs toddler teacher salary

Child care aides and toddler teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Child Care AideToddler Teacher
Average salary$29,192$30,703
Salary rangeBetween $21,000 And $39,000Between $23,000 And $39,000
Highest paying CityMercer Island, WASanta Clara, CA
Highest paying stateMassachusettsMassachusetts
Best paying companyUniv Of Colorado-Colorado SpgsColumbia University in the City of New York
Best paying industryFinanceFinance

Differences between child care aide and toddler teacher education

There are a few differences between a child care aide and a toddler teacher in terms of educational background:

Child Care AideToddler Teacher
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 43%Bachelor's Degree, 43%
Most common majorPsychologyEarly Childhood Education
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - Long BeachFairfield University

Child care aide vs toddler teacher demographics

Here are the differences between child care aides' and toddler teachers' demographics:

Child Care AideToddler Teacher
Average age3740
Gender ratioMale, 14.1% Female, 85.9%Male, 8.6% Female, 91.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 7.3% White, 57.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 6.1% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%
LGBT Percentage4%5%

Differences between child care aide and toddler teacher duties and responsibilities

Child care aide example responsibilities.

  • Work with the children with ABC's and numbers.
  • Help with ABC's and numbers on part-time schedule.
  • Provide activities of daily living for a child with autism.
  • Purchase and order groceries and household supplies to keep kitchen and household stock.
  • Provide individual needs prescribe in IEP and direct by teacher for students with autism.
  • Coordinate recovery at nursing facilities, and rehabilitation treatment in the home setting, through VNA.
  • Show more

Toddler teacher example responsibilities.

  • Attend required training (CPR, OSHA, etc).
  • Perform first aid and CPR if need.
  • Take care of kids change diapers give out snacks take kids outside take trash out get kids ready before getting pick up
  • Prepare formulas, feeding, bathing, playing games, monitoring and maintaining safe and very careful watch over the kids.
  • Maintain a neat, well organize, and attractive prepare environment consistent with Montessori pedagogy.
  • Develop and deliver lessons following the Montessori method to encourage the development in reading and sensory skills.
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Child care aide vs toddler teacher skills

Common child care aide skills
  • Child Care, 37%
  • CPR, 29%
  • Behavior Management, 6%
  • Child Development, 5%
  • Foster Care, 4%
  • First Aid Training, 4%
Common toddler teacher skills
  • Child Care, 29%
  • CPR, 20%
  • Customer Service, 18%
  • Child Development, 13%
  • Open Communication, 5%
  • Classroom Environment, 4%

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