A Childcare teacher

Sticky fingers mismatched socks broken toys... are just some of the joys of being a child. Do you love reading with them entertaining them and making them smile?

Chanel tells us why she made a career change to become a childcare teacher after realising how much she loved dealing with children and growing up with so many little cousins. 

CHANEL ESTEPHEN: CHILDCARE TEACHER

Can you describe a typical day on the job?

A typical day for me is supervising and managing children at all times. The main responsibilities include making sure they are being looked after and cared for as well as playing with them and preparing materials and equipment for them to use. Some days are more challenging than others.

Why did you choose to become a childcare worker?

I've always loved children and enjoyed playing with my younger cousins. At family gatherings I would be the first person to want to look after them. I enjoy watching them grow and being able to help them set their goals and achieve them is personally very rewarding.

Another driving change was that I needed a career change from hairdressing as I was a bit over it and had been doing this since I left school for about 9 - 10 years. 

What are the key personality aspects or skills that make for a good childcare teacher?

• A lot of patience
• Be positive and happy
• Staying energetic with the kids you're playing with
• Be organised

What have you learned about yourself through the work that you do?

That I have a lot patience! It also has helped me realise that children bring a lot of love happiness and light in this world and I really enjoy playing and watching them grow at work.

What’s been your best moment while doing your work?

Looking after kids with a disability and getting to know them learning what they are interested in what they like and what makes them happy.

And a difficult moment?

Many children don't listen to you very well especially when they might get away with less rules from home meaning they think they can do the same with us educators. 

How do you keep going when things get really tough?

I just keep pushing through and I remind myself: I am in this job because I love what I do and I love dealing and working with children. 

Can you share a funny or weird story about something you experienced while working on a project?

Yes this one time when I was doing an experiment with the children that was called "Volcano". Unfortunately the experiment didn't go to plan and instead it exploded all over the ceiling and all the children. Because it was not what we were expecting my manager and I just started laughing and had a whole lot of mess to clean up.

What advice would you give to young people thinking of pursuing a career in this industry?

There is a lot of different work (besides just taking care of the children) to deal. This was very surprising because I wasn't expecting a lot of paperwork for example and I thought childcare is all about sitting down with children supervising and playing with them.

Keep going and don't give up! There will be some really hard moments where you just want to give up but if you just keep pushing through and remind yourself why you wanted to be in this job and why you chose it in the first place you will realise there are more good times than bad!