High School

You should take courses in early childhood development when available. Many home economics courses include units in parenting and child care. English courses will help you to develop communication skills important in dealing with children, their parents, and a child care staff. In teaching children, you should be able to draw from a wide base of education and interests, so take courses in art, music, science, and physical education. Math and accounting courses will prepare you for the bookkeeping and management requirements of running your own business.

Postsecondary Training

You don't need a college degree to open a day care center, but it can serve you in a variety of ways. A child development program will give you the background needed for classroom instruction, as well as for understanding the basics of child care and psychology. A college degree will also demonstrate to your clients that you have the background necessary for good child care. A degree program should include course work in a variety of liberal arts subjects, including English, history, and science, as well as nutrition, child development, psychology of the young child, and sociology.

Other Education or Training

Many professional associations provide continuing education opportunities to child care professionals. For example, the National Association for the Education of Young Children offers workshops and webinars that help child care managers, teachers, and caregivers interact more effectively with children and parents. The Association for Early Learning Leaders offers a variety of online classes. Topics include software, time management, communication, business management, and customer service skills. The National Child Care Association provides regional leadership seminars that cover workplace issues such as hiring and firing workers and creating healthy employment environments. It also offers webinars on emergency planning, growing one’s business, and other topics. Contact these organizations for more information. 

Certification or Licensing

The Council for Professional Recognition offers the Child Development Associate (CDA) National Credentialing Program. To become a CDA, you must meet competency standards and have experience in child care. (Note: Some high school students who are enrolled in vocational training programs may also be eligible for the credential.) The National Child Care Association (NCCA) offers the national administrator credential. To receive this credential, you must complete a special 45-hour training course over the course of four to five days. The program provides education in 10 compentencies: 

1. History of Early Childhood Education, and Personal and Professional Development of the Child Care Professional
2. An Effective Organization
3. Internal and External Systems
4. Laws and Regulations
5. Staff Management and Human Resources
6. Educational Programming
7. Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations
8. Financial Management
9. Operational Planning
10. Evaluation Leadership and Advocacy.

The NCCA also offers the certified child-care professional credential, which is geared toward teachers who have not completed a college degree or who have a degree in a field that is unrelated to child care.

Requirements for the licensing or registering of child care workers vary from state to state. You can visit the Web site of the Office of Child Care (https://www.acf.hhs.gov/occ), to find out about your state's regulatory bodies and contact information. Requirements for a child care administrator, director, or owner may include having a certain amount of child care experience or education, completing a certain amount of continuing education per year, being at least 21 years of age, and having a high school diploma. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training is also often required. National certification may not be required of child care service owners and workers in every state, but some organizations do offer it.

Experience working at a day care center or caring for younger siblings is highly recommended for aspiring child care service owners.

Obviously, a love for children and a concern for their care and safety are most important. Child care comes naturally to most of those who run child care services. You should be very patient and capable of teaching children in many different stages of development. Because young children look up to adults and learn through example, it is important that a child care worker be a good role model—you should treat the children with respect and kindness, while also maintaining order and control. You must also be good at communicating with the parents and other stakeholders, such as state regulators and professional associations, capable of addressing their concerns, and keeping them informed as to children's progress in your care and maintaining best practices in the field.

You should also be able to evaluate personnel and financial information to determine if your child care center's educational activities, processes, and teaching comply with local and state laws, regulations, and standards. In addition, as a child care owner you should have managerial experience and skills supervising teachers, administrative staff, and managers, in person, by phone, and by e-mail.