Daycare Worker job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

16

O*NET task statements

Preparation

Job Zone 1-2 of 5

very little to some preparation

Typical entry education

High school diploma or equivalent

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$34,980

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Childcare Workers (O*NET-SOC 39-9011.00). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

1. Maintain a safe play environment. importance 4.7 of 5
2. Observe and monitor children's play activities. importance 4.5 of 5
3. Communicate with children's parents or guardians about daily activities, behaviors, and related issues. importance 4.4 of 5
4. Support children's emotional and social development, encouraging understanding of others and positive self-concepts. importance 4.3 of 5
5. Care for children in institutional setting, such as group homes, nursery schools, private businesses, or schools for people with disabilities. importance 4.3 of 5
6. Sanitize toys and play equipment. importance 4.3 of 5
7. Dress children and change diapers. importance 4.3 of 5
8. Keep records on individual children, including daily observations and information about activities, meals served, and medications administered. importance 4.3 of 5
9. Identify signs of emotional or developmental problems in children and bring them to parents' or guardians' attention. importance 4.2 of 5
10. Instruct children in health and personal habits, such as eating, resting, and toilet habits. importance 4.2 of 5
11. Organize and store toys and materials to ensure order in activity areas. importance 4.2 of 5
12. Perform general administrative tasks, such as taking attendance, editing internal paperwork, and making phone calls. importance 4.2 of 5
13. Create developmentally appropriate lesson plans. importance 4.1 of 5
14. Perform housekeeping duties, such as laundry, cleaning, dish washing, and changing of linens. importance 4.1 of 5
15. Read to children and teach them simple painting, drawing, handicrafts, and songs. importance 4.0 of 5
16. Assist in preparing food and serving meals and refreshments to children. importance 4.0 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Assisting and Caring for Others, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Thinking Creatively, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates and Getting Information.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Sterilize bottles and prepare formulas.
• Help children with homework and school work.
• Provide care for children with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities.
• Perform general personnel functions, such as supervision, training, and scheduling.
• Accompany children to and from school, on outings, and to medical appointments.

Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Education and Training, Public Safety and Security and Psychology.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Word, Educational software, Nearpod, Schoology, Seesaw. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 1-2 of 5 (very little to some preparation). Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board and see how to become a daycare worker.

The most common answer among daycare workers surveyed by O*NET is a high school diploma or equivalent (39%).

Job title: Daycare Worker
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Daycare Worker to attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and childcare institutions.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Maintain a safe play environment.
- Observe and monitor children's play activities.
- Communicate with children's parents or guardians about daily activities, behaviors, and related issues.
- Support children's emotional and social development, encouraging understanding of others and positive self-concepts.
- Care for children in institutional setting, such as group homes, nursery schools, private businesses, or schools for people with disabilities.
- Sanitize toys and play equipment.
- Dress children and change diapers.
- Keep records on individual children, including daily observations and information about activities, meals served, and medications administered.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists a high school diploma or equivalent as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in monitoring, service orientation and social perceptiveness
- Working knowledge of Customer and Personal Service and English Language
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Office software or Microsoft Word]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

The median annual wage was $34,980 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $16.82. BLS estimates about 518,910 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of daycare workers to decline 2.0% from 2025 to 2035, with about 150,300 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

See the full daycare worker salary breakdown by percentile, state and metro.

• Read a real daycare worker posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Maintain a safe play environment”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only daycare worker work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (monitoring and service orientation); daycare worker interview questions turns them into practice questions.