Education

• While there is no standard education requirement for a daycare provider, a background in elementary or childhood education can help you land the daycare job that you want. Many aspiring daycare providers can jump into their careers as soon as they complete high school and receive on-the-job training. Others choose to earn an associate or bachelor's degree in education, which gives them additional preparedness when working with children.
  
  

License

• Most states require daycare providers to obtain a license to operate. This license requirement applies only to those individuals who own their own daycare center. If you choose this path, you must meet go through the licensing process in your state. If you want to work at an already established day care center, you do not need a license to work with children. However, daycare centers may run a background check or check references to ensure you are an appropriate person to work with children.
  
  

Experience

• Having experience working with children is essential if you want to work as a daycare provider. Parents will not entrust you with their children's safety if you don't have a background working with kids. You do not have to have previous experience as a daycare provider, though. You might have worked as a babysitter during your high school years or as a camp counselor during summers, or perhaps you are a parent yourself. Each of these situations points to experience working with children.
  
  

Personal Attributes

• Working with children all day can be trying, and daycare providers must have a great deal of patience when working with children. In addition, you must be able to multitask well, as you will be working with multiple children at once, children who perhaps have their own interests and concerns at any given moment. Finally, you must be mature, serving as a role model for the children you watch.