Early Childhood Care and Education — NCERT Solutions

A crèche is an institutional setting especially designed for the care of infants and young children in the absence of home care. It serves as a substitute for the mother or primary caregiver.

The services provided include:

• Care and supervision of infants and young children
• Safety and protection
• Feeding
• Help with toilet habits
• Support for language development
• Attention to social and emotional needs
• Opportunities for learning and development

Crèches are usually part of all-day care arrangements.

An ECCE worker must have these skills:

• Interest in children and their development
• Knowledge of the needs and capabilities of young children
• Capacity and motivation for interacting with children
• Skills for creative and interesting activities in all areas of development
• Enthusiasm for story-telling, exploration, nature and social interaction
• Willingness and interest in answering children’s questions
• Capacity to understand individual differences
• Energy and physical stamina for long periods of activity
• Administrative and management skills such as record keeping, accounting and report writing
• Skills in the arts, such as dance, music and voice modulation

To prepare for a career in ECCE, one should:

• Study children’s development and the basic principles of care
• Take an undergraduate degree in a subject that includes child development, human development or child psychology
• If one wants to enter the field soon after schooling, do a one-year diploma or an Open University course in the field
• Join Nursery Teacher Training
• Develop a positive, open and interactive attitude towards children
• Learn about the community and culture so activities suit the child’s environment
• Build administrative and management skills for record keeping, accounting and report writing
• Learn story-telling, dance, music, voice modulation and organising indoor and outdoor activities
• Be adaptive and flexible, because young children have short attention spans
• Have a good repertoire of activities and skills before entering the career

Higher studies are also possible later, such as a post-graduate diploma or degree and even a doctoral degree in early childhood education.