Becoming a Child Care Nurse

Child care nurses, also known as nursery nurses, care for babies and children usually under school-aged. If they are employed as nannies, they may also be responsible for other children. They work with families to promote the care and education of children. They physically care for small babies, and for other children, plan activities and supervise their day.

The job:

Child care nurses, or nursery nurses, who are employed to care for infants do all the tasks of a parent-feeding, bathing, changing, preparing feeds, watching for signs of illness, and calling a doctor if necessary. In a residential post, they may get up during the night to attend to a baby's needs. Some nursery nurses are employed in maternity wards where they share the care of newborn babies with nurses and also assist in teaching parents how to care for them.

Child care nurses, or nursery nurses, who work with young children, help them to develop social and communication skills. They organize play activities, set up play equipment, read stories, serve and supervise meals, comfort ill or unhappy children, teach basic skills such as dressing and good table manners, and, as the children approach school age, begin to teach such preschool skills as literacy and simple numeracy. If they work in day nurseries or day care centers, they normally keep written records of each child's physical, linguistic, social, and intellectual progress that can be discussed with parents, teachers, and if necessary, professionals, such as social workers, speech therapists, and medical personnel.

Some nursery nurses work as nannies. They act as parent's assistance and help to bring up the children in the way the parents wish, observing their rules on such aspects of child rearing and discipline, behavior, and rewards. They usually carry out some domestic tasks related to the children, such as preparing meals and clearing away after them. They do not do any housework but may be expected to keep their own and the children's rooms clean and tidy and to launder their own and the children's clothes. They are often responsible for children of different age groups-in other words, those in a typical family. They may, therefore, have to escort a child to and from school each day, care for a baby, and entertain a toddler while the other older child is at school.

Sometimes Child care nurses are employed in schools as classroom assistants. There they work under the direction of the teacher, getting lesson material ready, keeping the children's classroom tidy, and helping groups of children with activities such as reading. Hours of work are variable. Day nursery staff may have to work in two shifts to cover the beginning and end of the day, when parents leave and collect their children. Nannies' hours of work are agreed with their employers, as are their exact duties. Nursery nurses working in schools and hospitals have more regular hours.

Training involved:

In order to work in a nursery, school, or hospital, an approved child- care qualification is normally required. It is possible to find work as a nanny with few qualifications and no training, but the majority of parents expect a nanny to be qualified.

Child care courses are available in most countries at both public and fee-paying colleges. These vary in length and content up to 16 weeks in accredited American nanny schools; two years on average in the UK. Courses cover communication, child health and development, child psychology, play, nutrition, first aid, and home nursing. There is also a strong practical element. Students gain experience in caring for children in a variety of settings.

Future prospects:

Employment prospects for nursery nurses or Child care nurses are increasing all the time as more and more parents work outside the home. Much of the demand is for nannies that need not always be residential.

Many families prefer to employ a daily nanny and to care for the children themselves at weekends. Nannies are no longer a British phenomenon. Although British trained nannies have long dominated the employment scene worldwide, there are now several nanny schools in the USA.

Not all nursery nurses work as nannies. In addition to the employment opportunities already mentioned in nurseries, schools, and maternity hospitals, but they can also work as play leaders on the children's wards, residential nurseries or children's homes, and in private nursery schools and kindergartens. There are also limited opportunities to work in hotels, on cruise ships, and as children's representatives also known as activities organizers, in holiday resorts.

There are opportunities to travel and to work in most countries.

For further information, please contact organize nations such as the American Council of the nanny schools in the United States, the national Association of nursery nurses, and the Council for awards in Children's Care and Education in the UK.