Working with kids is not easy — ask any daycare employee and they will tell you. Although its not easy, it is definitely a fulfilling job. You get to spend most of a kids day helping them learn, making sure they have fun, feeding them and having them take naps. Kids really start to look up to you after just a few days with them.
1. Patience
This is the biggest thing you learn from working with kids. They never seem to be able to do something right the first time, but you learn to watch from behind, there to help them if they need it, but don't help unless you're asked. Being patient is vital to being a caregiver to young kids because without patience, you will not be able to make it through the day.
2. Forgiveness
Sometimes a kid is going to freak out and hit you in the face, they're going to poop their pants when you know they can go on the toilet, or a baby is going to spit up on you, but you have to learn to get over it. You end up forgiving them in two minutes once the sting of the slap goes away, you change their clothes or the spit up is wiped off. They also teach you that forgiveness shouldn't be that hard. When their friend hits them out of anger you know that as soon as they get out of time out they are going to be playing again.
3. How to love unconditionally
The kids really teach you more than you end up teaching them, but I think this is the most important thing they teach you. As you grow up, you get hurt many times and you start to build a wall around your heart. Kids show you that no matter how many times you get yelled at or told "I'll play with you later," you should always keep giving them another chance. They show that a second chance isn't all someone should get, to always consider a fourth fifth and sixth chance as well. Because once you build a relationship with a kid, they don't want to lose that and if we all thought that way, a lot less hearts would be broken.
4. How difficult, yet fulfilling, working with kids is
Working with kids is one of the hardest things I do, because you never know what to expect from them, but that's also one of the greatest parts. You never know what's going to come out of their mouth, whether its bad and they'll get a time out, or funny enough to put a smile on your face all day. Working with kids is so rewarding, because you see the huge impact you have on a kids life in the days that you spend with them.
If given a chance to babysit or work at a daycare, I suggest taking advantage of that opportunity, because you might learn a lot from it, and the kids might learn a lot from you.
