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What is a child care counselor and how to become one
A child care counselor is responsible for creating a safe and healthy environment for children in schools, group homes, and daycares. Usually, they work with children with behavioral, mental, and physical issues, ensuring that these children receive the support that they need, especially in between child counseling appointments.
One major task of a child care counselor is to monitor children's development by keeping records of their physical, mental, emotional, and social development. They share these records with other specialists as well as the children's guardians to maximize growth and development. Moreover, a child care counselor creates and implements daily schedules for children that include learning plans, play dates, and other activities that aim to support developmental goals.
An aspiring child care counselor must have at least a bachelor's degree in early childhood education, child care, social work, or other related fields. Depending on their employer, a child care counselor may also require additional training, as well as CPR and AED certifications.
To increase the chances of job placement, a child care counselor should also have experience in child care, time management skills, communication skills, and a patient and caring personality.
What general advice would you give to a child care counselor?
Juleen Buser Ph.D.
Professor and Director, School Counseling and Coaching Programs, Rider University
Avg. Salary $36,843
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 9%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.51%
Asian 2.67%
Black or African American 13.37%
Hispanic or Latino 15.12%
Unknown 4.19%
White 63.14%
Genderfemale 65.65%
male 34.35%
Age - 42American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 42Stress level is very high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is fair
6.4 - fair
Child care counselor career paths
Key steps to become a child care counselor
Explore child care counselor education requirements
Start to develop specific child care counselor skills
Skills Percentages CPR 20.81% Child Care 19.93% Behavioral Issues 11.19% Crisis Intervention Techniques 7.64% Direct Supervision 5.77% Complete relevant child care counselor training and internships
Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New child care counselors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a child care counselor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real child care counselor resumes.Research child care counselor duties and responsibilities
- Train in managing risk and restraining only when need, CPR, and first aid.
- Remain non-denominational, open, flexible and ecumenical in service to patients while also providing additional resources from local spiritual communities.
- Organize and lead regular youth and college bible studies, teaching about prayer and promoting spirituality.
Prepare your child care counselor resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your child care counselor resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a child care counselor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable child care counselor resume templates
Build a professional child care counselor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your child care counselor resume.
Apply for child care counselor jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a child care counselor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first child care counselor job
Are you a child care counselor?
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Average child care counselor salary
The average child care counselor salary in the United States is $36,843 per year or $18 per hour. Child care counselor salaries range between $28,000 and $47,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do child care counselors rate their job?
Child care counselor reviews
The over documentation required by DHS that robs the quality time needed in intervention and treatment. This lopsided demand makes the term “best practices” mere bureaucratic lip service without the means to actually deliver quality hands on services.
Change agent when people are stuck and need support in the process of restoration. One on one and group processing is powerful.
Not only that I can care and provide a since of security for the children,I want the parents to also have comfort knowing that their little ones are in great care.
I enjoy working with the families to get to a middle ground. The reward of completing a case is and having broken families look to you for hope / help. In the end supportting single parents meet their family goals.
Updated January 8, 2025
