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Occupation Profile

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Occupation:	Child Care Workers	Change Occupation
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Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities \| Tasks & Activities \| Tools & Technology Related Occupations \| Web Resources

CHILD CARE WORKERS

Occupation Description

Attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and child care institutions. Perform a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play. Exclude "Preschool Teachers" and "Teacher Assistants".

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Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Child Care Workers are grouped into the following occupations for which the most important knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) are listed.

Child Care Workers
Nannies

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Child Care Workers

Knowledge:

Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Skills:

Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities:

Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Source: Occupational Information Network: Child Care Workers.

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Nannies

Knowledge:

English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Skills:

Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Abilities:

Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Source: Occupational Information Network: Nannies.

Tasks and Activities

Child Care Workers are grouped into the following occupations for which occupation specific tasks, the most important generalized work activities, and detailed work activities are listed.

Child Care Workers
Nannies

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Child Care Workers

Occupation Specific Tasks:

Accompany children to and from school, on outings, and to medical appointments.
Assist in preparing food for children and serve meals and refreshments to children and regulate rest periods.
Care for children in institutional setting, such as group homes, nursery schools, private businesses, or schools for the handicapped.
Discipline children and recommend or initiate other measures to control behavior, such as caring for own clothing and picking up toys and books.
Dress children and change diapers.
Help children with homework and school work.
Identify signs of emotional or developmental problems in children and bring them to parents' or guardians' attention.
Instruct children in health and personal habits, such as eating, resting, and toilet habits.
Keep records on individual children, including daily observations and information about activities, meals served, and medications administered.
Observe and monitor children's play activities.
Operate in-house day-care centers within businesses.
Organize and participate in recreational activities, such as games.
Organize and store toys and materials to ensure order in activity areas.
Perform housekeeping duties, such as laundry, cleaning, dish washing, and changing of linens.
Place or hoist children into baths or pools.
Provide counseling or therapy to mentally disturbed, delinquent, or handicapped children.
Read to children and teach them simple painting, drawing, handicrafts, and songs.
Sanitize toys and play equipment.
Sterilize bottles and prepare formulas.
Support children's emotional and social development, encouraging understanding of others and positive self-concepts.

Generalized Work Activities:

Assisting and Caring for Others - Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Thinking Creatively - Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work - Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.

Detailed Work Activities:

assist patient with dressing, undressing, grooming, or bathing
attend to or care for children
cook meals
feed patients
instruct participants in recreational activities
lead recreational activities
lift or transport ill or injured patients
maintain safe environment for children
observe patient condition
participate in recreational activities
recognize childhood diseases
recognize physical or emotional abuse
serve food or beverages
teach personal hygiene

Source: Occupational Information Network: Child Care Workers.

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Nannies

Occupation Specific Tasks:

Assign appropriate chores and praise targeted behaviors to encourage development of self-control, self-confidence, and responsibility.
Help develop and/or monitor family schedule.
Help prepare and serve nutritionally balanced meals and snacks for children.
Instruct and assist children in the development of health and personal habits, such as eating, resting, and toilet behavior.
Instruct children in safe behavior, such as seeking adult assistance when crossing the street and avoiding contact or play with unsafe objects.
Keep records of play, meal schedules, and bill payment.
Meet regularly with parents to discuss children's activities and development.
Model appropriate social behaviors and encourage concern for others to cultivate development of interpersonal relationships and communication skills.
Observe children's behavior for irregularities, take temperature, transport children to doctor, or administer medications, as directed, to maintain children's health.
Organize and conduct age-appropriate recreational activities, such as games, arts and crafts, sports, walks, and play dates.
Perform first aid or CPR when required.
Perform housekeeping and cleaning duties related to children's care.
Regulate children's rest periods and nap schedules.
Remove hazards and develop appropriate boundaries and rules to create a safe environment for children.
Supervise and assist with homework.
Teach and perform age-appropriate activities, such as lap play, reading, and arts and crafts to encourage intellectual development of children.
Transport children to schools, social outings, and medical appointments.
Work with parents to develop and implement discipline programs to promote desirable child behavior.

Generalized Work Activities:

Assisting and Caring for Others - Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships - Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Performing General Physical Activities - Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.

Detailed Work Activities: