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What is a day care teacher and how to become one
Daycare teachers work with very young children in a daycare, a place that supervises children while parents are at work. They do so much more than just keep toddlers and young children out of trouble. Daycare teachers lead activities that help children learn valuable early childhood lessons. They use fun methods such as reading storybooks or making art with fingerpaint to help children explore the world. Daycare teachers make sure that their lessons and classrooms follow local and school regulations. They maintain clear communication with parents about what their kids are up to during the day. Daycare teachers also need endless reserves of patients to work with children that may be going through periods with difficult behavioral issues.
There are several different ways to become a daycare teacher, depending on school or state requirements. Some have a bachelor's degree in early childhood education. Others find work with only a high school diploma.
Daycare teachers need plenty of professional experience working with people, whether as teaching assistants or cashiers. They earn an average salary of $17.03 an hour.
What general advice would you give to a day care teacher?
Dr. Diana Jones
Chair, Department of Kinesiology, Anderson University
Avg. Salary $31,231
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 4%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.32%
Asian 8.96%
Black or African American 11.19%
Hispanic or Latino 17.59%
Unknown 4.55%
White 56.40%
Genderfemale 89.73%
male 10.27%
Age - 45American 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 - 45Stress level is manageable
7.1 - high
Complexity level is intermediate
7 - challenging
Work life balance is excellent
6.4 - fair
Day care teacher career paths
Key steps to become a day care teacher
Explore day care teacher education requirements
Start to develop specific day care teacher skills
Skills Percentages Kids 19.93% Child Care 17.13% CPR 11.20% Learning Environment 10.71% Mathematics 8.02% Research day care teacher duties and responsibilities
- Participate in safety, first aid and CPR classes.
- Offer detailed daily reports that outline each child's activities.Upheld all CPR and Florida regulate certifications.
- Operate van safely when driving residents, adhering to reasonable cleanliness standards and notifying appropriate personnel of maintenance concerns.
- Prepare, plan, organize, and instruct interactive classes to engage children in bible and life lessons.
Prepare your day care teacher resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your day care teacher 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 day care teacher resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable day care teacher resume templates
Build a professional day care teacher 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 day care teacher resume.
Apply for day care teacher jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a day care teacher 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 day care teacher job
Are you a day care teacher?
Share your story for a free salary report.
Average day care teacher salary
The average day care teacher salary in the United States is $31,231 per year or $15 per hour. Day care teacher salaries range between $22,000 and $42,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do day care teachers rate their job?
Day care teacher reviews
Seeing the kids learn, grow, over come challenges.
It can be emotionally and physically draining, especially if not appreciated.
Gaining the childs trust and watching them geow and learn.
That in a year the children you fall in love with move on to the next grade.
Kids, teaching lessons, co-teachers, hours, weekends off, salary, holidays off, summers off, paid sick and personal days
Administration, observations, being told what to teach and HOW to teach it, expecting us to participate in things we might not want to or have the time for, staff meetings with no substance
Updated January 8, 2025
