Know

Developing your sense of professionalism does not happen overnight. On the contrary, it is a process that involves a wide range of experiences. Just like when you are learning a new skill, you have to invest time and effort in getting information, practicing new things, and interacting with other individuals. Nurturing your professionalism requires ongoing work, energy, and commitment. In your daily interactions with children, youth, and families, you always bring who you are: your interests, your personality, your temperament, your background experiences, and your special abilities and talents.

Characteristics of Effective Professional Family Child Care Providers

直接与儿童及其家人协调的专业人士有特别义务以使他们所服务的方式的方式行事。根据作者Professionalism in Early Childhood Education那Stephanie Feeney, values that are foundational to professions based on human relationships are caring, compassion, empathy, respect for others, and trustworthiness. Effective early child care professionals above all are dedicated to serving the needs of children, youth, and families. As a family child care provider, you should have a clear mission and philosophy that you can express and that you demonstrate each day through your professional behavior.

Essential elements of professional behavior include knowledge and skills about a field, communication and relationship skills, work ethic, and professional ethics. Each of these elements is further discussed below.

Knowledge and Skills

A family child care provider who wants to behave in a professional manner must acquire the skills and knowledge needed to work with children, youth, and families. Understanding children’s development across a variety of ages is absolutely essential in family child care. Individual courses within the Virtual Lab School provide extensive information on the specific topics you need to know in order to expand your knowledge and skills as a family child care provider.

You should refer to these courses for comprehensive information about child and youth development. Along with child and youth development, knowledge about topics such as safe environments, learning environments, healthy environments, positive guidance, child abuse, and family engagement will strengthen your competence and enable you to positively affect the lives of children and families you engage with. Optimum development is achieved when children and youth are healthy, emotionally secure, and socially connected. It is your job to:

• Make sure that children are healthy and safe by keeping a clean environment and promoting healthy habits.
• Make sure children are emotionally secure by responding to their cues and addressing their needs in a nurturing and timely manner.
• Make sure children are socially connected by fostering relationships between them and others during daily and program routines.
• 确保儿童的家庭和家庭文化处于您工作的最前沿。

沟通和关系

An important aspect of your work as a family child care provider is the relationships you create and nurture with children, youth, families, and other supporting professionals. Establishing these relationships can make or break your experience. Relationships form over time and require ongoing effort and commitment. Whether you are engaging with children, youth, families, or community members, nurturing those relationships early on is critical to your success. While working with others can present difficulties or challenges, it is your responsibility to maintain professional conduct. When faced with a challenging situation, it may help to process your experience by seeking advice or feedback from a trusted colleague or mentor.

Work Ethic

Being a family child care provider can be rewarding and at the same time challenging. It requires dedication, commitment, problem-solving skills, and a willingness to learn, change, and be flexible to address the multiple and often complex needs of the children in your care.

A Developmental Perspective

When talking about professionalism, Dr. Lilian Katz identifies four developmental stages of those who care and educate children. As you read the information below on each of these stages, think about where you are in your own journey toward professionalism as a family child care provider.

Being an Effective Professional

有效的家庭幼儿提供者亚慱彩票APP享受他们的工作并展示它。他们为他们与之合作的儿童，青年和家庭创造了积极的欢迎的环境。他们争取他们与他人的互动和他们计划的经验中的卓越。有效的专业家庭幼儿提供者价值合作并承认与家庭，亚慱彩票APP其他家庭幼儿提供者，支持专业人士（例如，学校和机构的工作人员）和社区成员合作非常重要。他们还知道获得乐趣和笑，庆祝成功，并承认努力和别人的努力是很重要的。

You may plan joyful events that build community among the children you care for and their families. Some examples are celebrating children’s birthdays and family life events with potluck suppers, attending a professional conference with some parents in your program, organizing family events at a local park, or inviting families to share a skill or hobby with the children in your home setting.

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发展你的专业感

Do

Take time to review the practices listed below that highlight professionalism when working with children and families in your care:

• Respect each child and family in your care and acknowledge diversity and individual differences in growth, background, values, and beliefs.
• 证明genuine interest about all children and families and make an effort to get to know them.
• Acknowledge that families know their children best and learn to view them as partners and collaborators in your practice. Reach out to them and invite their input.
• Keep information about children and their families confidential.
• 为您提供各种发育适当的选择和体验。
• Have developmentally appropriate expectations about children’s behaviors and be proactive when dealing with challenging behaviors.
• 荣誉儿童和家庭的个人差异，努力解决您所服务的人的独特需求。

Acknowledge all the great things children do on a daily basis and share those with their families often. Even though at times you may have to address topics of concern about children and youth with families, remind yourself to also highlight a child’s successes and positive attributes.