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.
Toddler teacher responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real toddler teacher resumes:
- 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.
- Complete LAUSD referrals for students needing additional support, particularly in language development and participate in IEP meetings when applicable.
- Administer ASQ'S and ASQ-SE for each student.
- Develop and deliver lessons following the Montessori method to encourage the development in reading and sensory skills.
Toddler teacher skills and personality traits
We calculated that 29% of Toddler Teachers are proficient in Child Care, CPR, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Creativity, Organizational skills, and Physical stamina.
We break down the percentage of Toddler Teachers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Child Care, 29%
General Description: Loving, caring teacher for children ages one to three in a small Sandy Springs child care center.
- CPR, 20%
Participate in staff meetings and other teacher development such as CPR and First Aid training and early childhood education seminars.
- Customer Service, 18%
Provide superior customer service according to company policy.
- Child Development, 13%
Demonstrate understanding of child developmental milestones at the mental, physical, social and psychological levels and identify developmental blocks.
- Open Communication, 5%
Maintain open communication with parents and staff, encouraging involvement and support
- Classroom Environment, 4%
Assist in planning, implementing and evaluating developmentally appropriate program curriculum into classroom environment.
"child care," "cpr," and "customer service" are among the most common skills that toddler teachers use at work. You can find even more toddler teacher responsibilities below, including:
Creativity. One of the key soft skills for a toddler teacher to have is creativity. You can see how this relates to what toddler teachers do because "preschool teachers must plan lessons that engage young children." Additionally, a toddler teacher resume shows how toddler teachers use creativity: "received high remarks for the creativity of class room lesson plans and instructional techniques from massasoit comm. "
Organizational skills. Another essential skill to perform toddler teacher duties is organizational skills. Toddler teachers responsibilities require that "teachers need to be organized to plan lessons and keep records of the children." Toddler teachers also use organizational skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "prepared preschool program created a fun and safe environment knowledgeable with microsoft office great organizational skills"
Physical stamina. This is an important skill for toddler teachers to perform their duties. For an example of how toddler teacher responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "preschool teachers should have a lot of energy, because working with children can be physically demanding." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a toddler teacher: "create a nurturing classroom environment that meets the emotional, social, physical, and cognitive needs of each child. ".
Interpersonal skills. A big part of what toddler teachers do relies on "interpersonal skills." You can see how essential it is to toddler teacher responsibilities because "preschool teachers must understand children’s emotional needs and be able to develop relationships with parents, children, and coworkers." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical toddler teacher tasks: "performed high level interpersonal skills, effective classroom management, and age appropriate problem solving techniques. "
Communication skills. Another crucial skill for a toddler teacher to carry out their responsibilities is "communication skills." A big part of what toddler teachers relies on this skill, since "preschool teachers need good writing and speaking skills to talk to parents and colleagues about children’s progress." How this skill relates to toddler teacher duties can be seen in an example from a toddler teacher resume snippet: "maintained classroom environment and parent communication"
Patience. Another skill commonly found on toddler teacher job descriptions is "patience." It can come up quite often in 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 toddler teacher responsibilities: "demonstrated patience and understanding while managing difficult behaviors to maintain conducive learning environment in the classroom. "
The three companies that hire the most toddler teachers are:
- Childcare Network117 toddler teachers jobs
- KinderCare Education99 toddler teachers jobs
- CARE68 toddler teachers jobs
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Compare different toddler teachers
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.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, toddler teacher responsibilities require skills like "customer service," "open communication," "toddler room," and "diaper changes." Meanwhile a typical teacher associate has skills in areas such as "cleanliness," "iep," "math," and "mathematics." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Teacher associates really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $32,745. Comparatively, toddler teachers tend to make the most money in the finance industry with an average salary of $42,458.The education levels that teacher associates earn slightly differ from toddler teachers. In particular, teacher associates are 4.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a toddler teacher. Additionally, they're 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Toddler teacher vs. Assistant language teacher
An assistant language teacher is in charge of performing support tasks for language teachers. Their responsibilities include preparing teaching and coursework materials, assessing student performance, taking attendance records, and holding lectures as a substitute for the teacher. They may also help students who are having trouble following and adjusting to the lessons, assisting them as needed. Above all, an assistant language teacher must monitor the students' progress, all while maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for everyone.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, toddler teacher responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "child care," "customer service," "child development," and "open communication." Meanwhile, an assistant language teacher has duties that require skills in areas such as "english-language," "language curriculum," "elementary schools," and "direct care." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, assistant language teachers earn a lower salary than toddler teachers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, assistant language teachers earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry with an average salary of $31,308. Whereas toddler teachers have higher pay in the finance industry, with an average salary of $42,458.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Assistant language teachers tend to reach similar levels of education than toddler teachers. In fact, they're 2.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for toddler teachers in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Diana Jones
Chair, Department of Kinesiology, Anderson University
Toddler teacher vs. Assistant daycare teacher
An assistant daycare teacher is responsible for performing support tasks in a daycare center. Most of the duties primarily revolve around maintaining a safe and healthy environment for children, preparing meals and learning materials, assisting children during bathroom or hygiene-related activities, and keeping the classroom clean and sanitized. Furthermore, there are instances when an assistant daycare teacher must come up with recreational activities, maintain student records, and help children improve their motor skills and basic knowledge in concepts such as recognizing the alphabet or coloring.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a toddler teacher is likely to be skilled in "customer service," "classroom management," "naeyc," and "creative curriculum," while a typical assistant daycare teacher is skilled in "kids," "pre-k," "behavioral issues," and "curriculum objectives."
When it comes to education, assistant daycare teachers tend to earn similar degree levels compared to toddler teachers. In fact, they're 2.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Toddler teacher vs. Vocational childcare teacher
A vocational childcare teacher teaches vocational subjects at a secondary school level, in either public or private schools. Their duties include preparing materials for classroom activities, assigning and grading classwork, and designing assignments. They are also expected to instruct students, making use of different teaching methods like discussions, lectures, or demonstrations. They generally have to instruct students in the specific knowledge and skills needed for a specific occupation.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between toddler teachers and vocational childcare teachers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a toddler teacher might have more use for skills like "classroom management," "naeyc," "toddler room," and "diaper changes." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of vocational childcare teachers require skills like "continuous supervision," "parent-teacher conferences," "childcare facility," and "children age. "
In general, vocational childcare teachers hold similar degree levels compared to toddler teachers. Vocational childcare teachers are 1.9% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of toddler teacher
Updated January 8, 2025
