What does an infant and toddler teacher do?
An infant and toddler teacher is an individual who aids in the cognitive and social development of preschool children by teaching them the most basic skills that focus on play-centered learning and creativity. Infant and toddler teachers must help children develop positive self-images and encourage them to explore their interests and develop social skills. They must plan and carry out a curriculum that teaches children basic skills such as color, shape, and letter recognition. Infant and toddler teachers must also meet the children's parents to discuss concerns.
Infant and toddler teacher responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real infant and toddler teacher resumes:
- Lead team meetings with therapists and clinicians pertaining to quarterlies, annual reports, IEP goals, and parent teacher conferences.
- Plan and develop curriculum, manage mathematics department.
- Receive current CPR training as well.
- Develop and implement individual student's IEP in conjunction with a mental health worker, classroom aide, and clinical team.
- Complete ongoing documentation for NAEYC accreditation.
- Develop and publish developmentally appropriate curriculum for infants/toddlers, in accordance with NAEYC guidelines.
- Teach mathematics, chemistry, statistics, additional mathematics and further mathematics at ordinary and advance levels.
- Develop and implement age-appropriate curriculum for toddler program, ensuring that appropriate opportunities are provided in order to maximize learning potential.
- Meet and greet parents of infants and toddlers, work with abc's, colors, numbers and shapes.
- Develop and deliver lessons following the Montessori method to encourage the development in reading and sensory skills.
Infant and toddler teacher skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Infant And Toddler Teachers are proficient in CPR, Child Care, and Child Development. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Organizational skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Infant And Toddler Teachers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CPR, 23%
Circle Time, Visual Supervision, Lunchtime Supervision, Attendance Record ADDITIONAL - CPR and first aid trained
- Child Care, 20%
Followed licensing requirements and child care policies for early childhood development.
- Child Development, 14%
Collect and document all children's information in appropriate files after collecting child development observations.
- Professional Development, 7%
Work in cooperation with supervisor to develop and document progress on professional development plans.
- Classroom Environment, 6%
Maintain classroom environment according to accreditation standards.
- Classroom Management, 4%
Worked flexibly in a constant changing environment and practiced positive classroom management strategies.
"cpr," "child care," and "child development" are among the most common skills that infant and toddler teachers use at work. You can find even more infant and toddler teacher responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. The most essential soft skill for an infant and toddler teacher to carry out their responsibilities is creativity. This skill is important for the role because "preschool teachers must plan lessons that engage young children." Additionally, an infant and toddler teacher resume shows how their duties depend on creativity: "supervised general activities for a full day of learning (creative curriculum) and socio-emotional development using asq-se assessment. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling infant and toddler teacher duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "teachers need to be organized to plan lessons and keep records of the children." According to an infant and toddler teacher resume, here's how infant and toddler teachers can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "used organizational skills and classroom management with up to 10 children. "
Interpersonal skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of infant and toddler teachers is interpersonal skills. This skill is critical to many everyday infant and toddler teacher duties, as "preschool teachers must understand children’s emotional needs and be able to develop relationships with parents, children, and coworkers." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "strengthened customer service and interpersonal skills while building relationships with children, parents and staff. "
Physical stamina. infant and toddler teacher responsibilities often require "physical stamina." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "preschool teachers should have a lot of energy, because working with children can be physically demanding." This resume example shows what infant and toddler teachers do with physical stamina on a typical day: "maintained feeding, diapering and sleeping schedules and planned age appropriate activities to enhance physical, social-emotional and cognitive development. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in infant and toddler teacher job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what infant and toddler teachers do. Infant and toddler teacher responsibilities rely on this skill because "preschool teachers need good writing and speaking skills to talk to parents and colleagues about children’s progress." You can also see how infant and toddler teacher duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "maintained classroom environment, program, and communication with parents. "
Patience. Another skill commonly found on infant and toddler teacher job descriptions is "patience." It can come up quite often in infant and toddler teacher duties, since "working with children may be stressful." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day infant and toddler teacher responsibilities: "position required various skills to educate young toddlers to pre-kindergarteners with patience and keep them in a safe and clean environment. "
The three companies that hire the most infant and toddler teachers are:
- CARE90 infant and toddler teachers jobs
- Sheltering Arms62 infant and toddler teachers jobs
- North Country School52 infant and toddler teachers jobs
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Compare different infant and toddler teachers
Infant and toddler teacher vs. Teacher associate
A teacher associate is responsible for assisting the teacher in classroom operations and providing teaching support for the students. Teacher associates develop learning materials according to the instructions of the headteachers, helping them to track students' progress and observing class behaviors. They also take class responsibility if the teacher is away, ensuring to keep activity records and attendance for reference. A teacher associate must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in handling students' difficulties and working with the teacher to develop techniques to address those challenges.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between infant and toddler teachers and teacher associate. For instance, infant and toddler teacher responsibilities require skills such as "professional development," "emotional development," "open communication," and "fine arts." Whereas a teacher associate is skilled in "cleanliness," "iep," "math," and "mathematics." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Teacher associates really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $32,745. Comparatively, infant and toddler teachers tend to make the most money in the finance industry with an average salary of $37,267.The education levels that teacher associates earn slightly differ from infant and toddler teachers. In particular, teacher associates are 3.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an infant and toddler teacher. Additionally, they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Infant and toddler teacher vs. Teacher aide
Teacher aides help lead teachers in managing the classroom. They assist teachers in conducting classroom sessions by setting up the classroom in advance, sourcing materials needed for class activities, helping in presentations, and guiding students during class activities. Teacher aides are also responsible for maintaining classroom cleanliness and helping clean up after the children. They also help manage the students during breaks and during classes. They help the lead teacher keep the students'students' attention. They also assist the students in any other tasks that they may need.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, infant and toddler teacher responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "child development," "professional development," "emotional development," and "physical development." Meanwhile, a teacher aide has duties that require skills in areas such as "mathematics," "iep," "pre-k," and "administration policies." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Teacher aides earn a lower average salary than infant and toddler teachers. But teacher aides earn the highest pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $35,388. Additionally, infant and toddler teachers earn the highest salaries in the finance with average pay of $37,267 annually.In general, teacher aides achieve similar levels of education than infant and toddler teachers. They're 1.2% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Infant and toddler teacher vs. Preschool lead teacher
A preschool lead teacher is responsible for managing the overall learning progress of preschool students. Preschool lead teachers to develop engaging and fun activities for the young learners to monitor their personal and social development. They also utilize learning techniques suitable for young learners' minds to improve their competencies and build self-confidence. They create progress reports and communicate the children's development to their parents. A preschool lead teacher should always adhere to the school regulations to ensure a safe and secure environment for the children.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, infant and toddler teachers are more likely to have skills like "healthy environment," "fine arts," "diaper changes," and "quality care." But a preschool lead teacher is more likely to have skills like "pre-k," "worksheets," "preschool classroom," and "preschool program."
Preschool lead teachers earn the best pay in the government industry, where they command an average salary of $34,390. Infant and toddler teachers earn the highest pay from the finance industry, with an average salary of $37,267.Most preschool lead teachers achieve a similar degree level compared to infant and toddler teachers. For example, they're 2.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Infant and toddler teacher vs. Teacher
Being a teacher is one of the most passionate professions, among others. Teachers educate, motivate, and guide every generation of learners to prepare them for the real world. Every teacher is unique and has their own teaching styles and methods depending on the subject they teach and the age of their students. Oftentimes they also function as a parent, counselor, coach, friend, and even a lawmaker. There is essentially no limit to the roles a teacher portrays.
Types of infant and toddler teacher
Updated January 8, 2025
