Glossary
Childcare Worker Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential childcare worker terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key childcare worker vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in childcare worker training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Allergy plan
- Instructions for children with allergies.
- Daily report
- Notes on meals, naps and diapers.
- Developmental milestones
- Skills most children reach by certain ages.
- Licensing
- State rules for childcare programs.
- Mandated reporter
- Someone required to report suspected abuse.
- Nap log
- A record of sleep times.
- Positive reinforcement
- Praising good behavior.
- Ratio
- Children per caregiver.
- Redirection
- Guiding behavior toward a better choice.
- Safe sleep
- Putting infants to sleep on their backs in a bare crib.
- Sanitize
- Reduce germs on surfaces.
- Sensory play
- Activities using touch, sight and sound.
- Separation anxiety
- Distress when parents leave.
- Transition
- Moving between activities.
- Tummy time
- Supervised time babies spend on their stomachs.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Childcare Worker practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Childcare Worker training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.