Child Care/Recreation Worker
Work Activities
Greet children as they arrive and guide them to an activity.
Organize and participate in recreational activities.
Monitor children's play and interaction to maintain their safety.
Read to children.
Teach children simple painting, drawing, handiwork, and songs.
Prepare and serve snacks, clean up.
Teach and help children with health and personal tasks, such as eating, resting, and using the restroom.
Watch for children who do not feel well.
Clean food equipment, bedding, and children's area. Clean toys and play equipment.
May care for infants. Change their diapers when necessary.
Chaperone children on outings.
Think creatively
Communicate with supervisors, peers, or subordinates
Get information needed to do the job
Organize, plan, and prioritize work
Perform activities that use the whole body
Monitor events, materials, and surroundings
Coordinate the work and activities of others
Document and record information
Inspect equipment, structures, or materials
Enforce safety rules of the center.
Promote interest in recreational activities.
Manage the daily operations of recreational facilities.
Administer first aid or notify emergency medical personnel.
Change activities and equipment to meet participant needs.
Explain rules and safety procedures of the recreation center.
Meet with management. Discuss and resolve participant complaints.
Conduct recreational activities and instruct participants. Encourage people to try new things.
Meet with staff to discuss rules and work-related problems.
Set up decorations and equipment.
Working Conditions
Interpersonal Relationships
Have a high level of contact with children, parents, and staff.
Communicate with parents and coworkers daily by telephone and in person.
Often deal with unpleasant, angry, or discourteous children and parents.
Are greatly responsible for the health and safety of children.
Are placed in conflict situations weekly.
Work as part of a childcare team.
Physical Work Conditions
Mostly work indoors. However, they spend some time outside with children for short periods almost every day.
May be exposed to disease and infections.
Work very near children. They may lift, carry, and hold children.
Work Performance
Must be somewhat accurate when doing their job. This is especially true when doing tasks that involve children's safety.
Can make most decisions and set most tasks without consulting a supervisor. Their decisions strongly impact the wellbeing of children in their care.
Hours/Travel
May work early morning, day, or early evening hours. Most child care centers operate ten to 12 hours per day.
Physical Demands
Child care workers frequently:
Stand for long periods of time.
Bend or twist their body.
Kneel, stoop, crouch, or crawl.
It is important for child care workers to be able to:
See details of objects that are more than a few feet away.
Understand the speech of another person.
Speak clearly so listeners can understand.
It is not as important, but still necessary, for child care workers to be able to:
Bend, stretch, twist, or reach out.
Use fingers to grasp, move, or assemble very small objects.
Hold the arm and hand in one position or hold the hand steady while moving the arm.
See differences between colors, shades, and brightness.
Use muscles to lift, push, pull, or carry heavy objects.
Use stomach and lower back muscles to support the body for long periods without getting tired.
Coordinate movement of several parts of the body, such as arms and legs, while the body is moving.
Focus on one source of sound and ignore others.
Be physically active for long periods without getting tired or out of breath.
Use muscles for extended periods without getting tired.
Use one or two hands to grasp, move, or assemble objects.
Move two or more limbs together (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while remaining in place.
Determine the distance between objects.
Hear sounds and recognize the difference between them.
Keep or regain the body's balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
Skills and Abilities
Communicate
Understand spoken information.
Speak clearly so listeners can understand.
Understand written information.
Listen to others and ask questions.
Read and understand work-related materials.
Write clearly so other people can understand.
Reason and Problem Solve
Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong.
Understand new information or materials by studying and working with them.
Recognize the nature of a problem.
Combine several pieces of information and draw conclusions.
Concentrate and not be distracted while performing a task.
Follow guidelines to arrange objects or actions in a certain order.
Think of new ideas about a topic.
Manage Oneself, People, Time, and Things
Check how well one is learning or doing something.
Go back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information without becoming confused.
Work with People
Look for ways to help people.
Be aware of others’ reactions and understand the possible causes.
Change behavior in relation to others’ actions.
Teach others how to do something.
Use several methods to learn or teach new things.
Knowledge
Child care workers need knowledge in the following areas:
Public Safety and Security: How to protect people and property.
Customer and Personal Service: Providing special services to customers based on their needs.
Psychology: People, their actions, and mental processes and how to treat problems.
Clerical: General office work such as filling and storing information.
Computers and Electronics: Computer hardware and software.
Interests and Values
Interests
Child care workers typically have the following interests:
Have social interests. They like work activities that assist others and promote learning and personal development. They like to communicate with others: to teach, give advice, help, or otherwise be of service to others.
Have artistic interests. They like work activities that deal with artistic forms, designs, and patterns. They prefer work which allows for self expression.
Values
Child care workers typically have the following work values:
Consider relationships important. They like to work in a friendly, non-competitive environment. They like to do things for other people. They prefer jobs where they are not pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
Recreation workers typically have the following interests:
Have social interests. They like work activities that assist others and promote learning and personal development. They like to communicate with others: to teach, give advice, help, or otherwise be of service to others.
Have enterprising interests. They like work activities that involve starting up and carrying out projects, especially in business. They like to lead and persuade others, make decisions, and take risks for profit.
Have artistic interests. They like work activities that deal with artistic forms, designs, and patterns. They prefer work which allows for self expression.
Values
Recreation workers typically have the following work values:
Consider relationships important. They like to work in a friendly, non-competitive environment. They like to do things for other people. They prefer jobs where they are not pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.
Consider independence important. They like to make decisions and try out ideas on their own. They prefer jobs where they can plan their work with little supervision.
Consider support from their employer important. They like to be treated fairly and have supervisors who will back them up. They prefer jobs where they are trained well.
Consider achievement important. They like to see the results of their work and to use their strongest abilities. They like to get a feeling of accomplishment from their work.