The 7 Best Free Online Childcare Training Courses with Certificates (2022 Updated)
Kids are mankind’s future. They will grow up to be the leaders of tomorrow, so it’s important that we give them the best possible start in life. That’s why childcare is such an important profession.
Working with children can be an immensely rewarding career choice, but it’s one that comes with a lot of responsibility. Children need dedicated and attentive caretakers, so it’s important to ensure that you have the proper training before embarking on this type of career.
Fortunately, there are a number of free online childcare training courses available that can give you the skills you need to work with children effectively. These courses typically come with certificates of completion, which can be helpful in demonstrating your qualifications to potential employers.
In this article, you’re going to learn which free online courses are available to help you get started in the childcare profession.
Is Childcare a Good Career Choice?
Before we get into the courses, let’s first answer the question: is childcare a good career choice?
There are a number of reasons why childcare can be a great profession. First and foremost, it’s an incredibly rewarding job. Seeing the children in your care grow and develop over time can be an immensely satisfying experience. It’s also a stable profession with good job security. The demand for childcare workers is always high, and it’s not a job that can be outsourced or automated.
Furthermore, working with children can be a lot of fun. If you enjoy being around kids and have a natural affinity for working with them, then childcare might just be the perfect career for you.
Of course, there are some challenges that come with the job as well. Working with children can be demanding, and it’s important to have the proper training before embarking on this type of career.
Editor’s note: A thing that’s important to note is that childcare employers will perform background checks on all potential employees. So, if you have a criminal record, it’s important to disclose this upfront so that the employer can determine if you’re still eligible for the position.
Fortunately, there are a number of free online childcare training courses available that can give you the skills you need to work effectively with children. In the next section, we’ll take a look at some of the best courses that are currently available.
The Benefits of Free Online Childcare Training Courses
There are a number of benefits to taking free online childcare training courses.
First and foremost, they’re an excellent way to learn about the basics of working with children. These courses can give you a strong foundation of knowledge that you can build on as you gain more experience in the field. Or they can help you become a better parent.
Additionally, free online courses are typically very flexible and can be taken at your own pace. This is ideal for busy adults who may not have the time to commit to a traditional classroom setting.
Finally, most of these courses come with certificates of completion that can be helpful in demonstrating your qualifications to potential employers.
Now that we’ve looked at the benefits of free online childcare training courses, let’s take a look at some of the best ones that are currently available.
Choosing the Right Course for You
With so many different courses available, it can be difficult to know which one is right for you.
When choosing a free online childcare training course, it’s important to consider your goals and objectives. Are you looking to gain a basic understanding of working with children? Or are you hoping to develop more advanced skills?
Additionally, you’ll want to make sure that the course is offered by a reputable institution. Reading reviews from other students can be helpful in this regard.
Finally, you’ll want to make sure that the course is accredited. This is especially important if you’re looking to use the course to get a job or advance your career.
Once you’ve considered all of these factors, you should have a good idea of which free online childcare training course is right for you.
In the next section, we’ll take a look at some of the best courses that are currently available.
Top 7 Free Online Childcare Training Courses
Childcare is a field that is constantly evolving. As a result, it’s important to keep your skills up to date. And while education is expensive — even for something as critical as childhood education — it doesn’t have to be.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best free online childcare training courses that are currently available.
This course is offered by Harvard University through edX. It’s an introductory-level course that covers a broad range of topics related to working with children.
The course teaches you how to intervene in a child’s most critical time — their earliest years — so that they can reach their full potential.
You’ll learn about the different stages of child development, as well as the importance of play in a child’s life. Additionally, you’ll explore different approaches to early childhood education and get an overview of the field.
By the end of the course, you should have a good understanding of the basics of working with children.
The course is self-paced and can be completed in four weeks. It includes videos, readings, and quizzes. Upon completion, students will receive a certificate of completion from Harvard University.
Editor’s note: While the course itself is free, the certificate costs $97 to get.
This is a course offered by Alison that takes about 4-5 hours to complete. It’s designed to help you understand the different types of bullying and how to prevent it.
The course covers a range of topics, including emotional and physical bullying. You’ll also learn about the different effects that bullying can have on children. Another important thing you’ll learn from this course is how to help both the bully and them victim.
Additionally, the course provides practical tips on how to intervene if you witness bullying taking place.
After finishing the course, you’ll receive a certificate of completion that you can share with potential employers.
This course is offered by the University of California, Berkeley through edX. It’s designed for parents who want to learn more about how to effectively raise their children.
The course covers a wide range of topics, including child development, discipline, and sleep training. You’ll also learn about the different stages of parenting, from infancy to adolescence.
By the end of the course, you should have a good understanding of how to effectively raise your children.
The course is self-paced and can be completed in four weeks. It includes videos, readings, and quizzes. Upon completion, students will receive a certificate of completion from the University of California, Berkeley.
This course is offered by the University of Pennsylvania through Coursera. It’s designed for parents who want to learn more about how to effectively raise their children.
The course covers a wide range of topics, including child development, discipline, and sleep training. You’ll also learn about the different stages of parenting, from infancy to adolescence.
By the end of the course, you should have a good understanding of how to effectively raise your children.
The course is self-paced and can be completed in four weeks. It includes videos, readings, and quizzes. Upon completion, students will receive a certificate of completion from the University
Editor’s note: Much like other EdX courses, the course itself is free, but you’ll have to pay $49 to get a certificate.
This is a course offered by Yale through Coursera. It’s designed for parents who want to learn more about how to effectively raise their children.
The course covers a wide range of topics, including child development, discipline, and sleep training. You’ll also learn about the different stages of parenting, from infancy to adolescence.
By the end of the course, you should have a good understanding of how to effectively raise your children until they reach adulthood.
The course is self-paced and approximately takes 21 hours to complete. It includes videos, readings, and quizzes.
The course has 846 reviews, of which 91.86% are 5-stars. That’s a testament to how popular and effective this course has been for parents who have taken it.
The course gives you a strong foundation in understanding children and young people’s mental health. You’ll then learn about the different types of mental health disorders that can affect children and young people.
And last, you’ll learn how to support children and young people with mental health concerns. Mental health is a topic that’s often seen as taboo, but it’s important to be open and honest about it. Especially with kids, since they’re much more prone to developing mental health disorders than adults.
The course focuses on the UK context, but it is still relevant for parents in other countries. Children are children, no matter where they are from.
The course is provided by the skills network, takes about 4 weeks to complete, and it’s 100% free.
Children with special needs deserve an education. This course is designed to give you the skills and knowledge to work with students who have special needs.
You’ll learn about different types of disabilities, as well as how to create an inclusive learning environment for all students. Special need students are harder to teach to, but watching them progress is extremely rewarding.
This course is perfect for anyone who wants to work in the education field, or who already works with children and wants to learn more about how to support them.
The course is provided by Alison and takes approximately 3 hours to complete. It’s self-paced, so you can complete it at your own pace. And best of all, it’s free!
This is a course hosted on open.edu that deals with the topic of child psychology. It is provided by real psychologists.
You’ll learn how children’s point of view changes as they grow — both physically and mentally. And how child development works and can be nurtured to help children reach their potential.
You’ll also learn about the value of child psychologists, which is something most parents don’t know about. It’s still a bit of taboo to see a psychologist for help, especially for kids. We’re used to thinking of kids as careless and shameless creatures, but that’s just not true.
In fact, childhood is where they’re most vulnerable. It’s awful to feel powerless as a parent when your child is going through tough times. But with the help of psychologists, you can better understand what’s going on and how to deal with it.
This course is free and takes about 8 hours to complete.
Other Important Skills for Working with Children
There are other important skills for working with children. These include:
- Patience — This is probably the most important skill. Working with children can be frustrating, and you need to be able to keep your cool.
- Creativity — Children are very creative, and you need to be able to think outside the box to keep them engaged. Also, you want to develop their creativity, because that’s how they’ll learn best.
- Flexibility — Things change quickly when you’re working with children. You need to be able to adapt on the fly and go with the flow. They grow fast, and what works with a 3-years old doesn’t necessarily work with a 5-years old.
- Communication — You need to be able to communicate with children on their level. They don’t always understand what you’re saying, and you need to be able to explain things in a way that they can understand.
These are just a few of the important skills for working with children. If you’re thinking of a career in childcare, make sure you have these skills. And if you already work with children, brush up on them!
Conclusions
Working with children is a rewarding but challenging career. You need to have the right skills and knowledge to be successful.
Children aren’t adults yet. They see the world in a different way, and they aren’t conditioned by society yet. They’re still learning and growing. And that’s what makes working with them so special. They have the potential to change the world.
Thankfully, there are plenty of free online courses that can help you get started or improve your skills. These courses are provided by reputable organizations and experts in the field, so you can be sure you’re getting quality information.
So what are you waiting for? Get started today and make a difference in the lives of children!