For many of us, working with children is a passionate calling that comes with the satisfaction of knowing you are shaping young lives. If you’re one of those people who love to work with children, here are three careers for you to consider.

Teacher
When we think back upon our days as students, many of us have fond memories of a few key teachers who really made an impact on our lives. Whether it’s helping school-age children learn to read or guiding teens through their post-secondary options, teachers have endless opportunities to leave an impression.

You can take a specialized approach focused on your passions. If you’re a singer or musician, you can become a music or band teacher. Aspiring author? Become an English teacher. Sports nut? Then get that whistle around your neck and lead gym class.

It’s also a family-friendly occupation as you get the same vacation days as the kids, including having the summer off to bond with your own children.

Speech therapist
A speech therapist or, as those in the industry refer to themselves – a speech language pathologist (SLP) – is someone who identifies, diagnoses and treats communication issues. The impacts an SLP can have on their patients are truly life changing.

Many therapists specialize in working with kids. Their patients may be slow to develop their language skills, have a stutter, suffer from hearing loss or even have difficulty swallowing.

The role includes using a mix of high-tech medical equipment and hands-on treatment. SLPs work in partnership with educators, doctors, nurses and other therapists to help their patients.

Early childhood educator
An early childhood educator (ECE) specializes in teaching the youngest of children, from infancy to six years old during the most critical phase of brain development.

An ECE’s role is to provide a safe, nurturing and stimulating environment for children to grow and develop foundational skills such as walking, talking and emotional self-regulation. They also help with academic growth, setting children up for success in education later on.

An in-demand career, ECEs typically work at childcare centres such as Childventures Early Learning Academy which is currently hiring ECEs across the greater Toronto and Hamilton area. Find out more at childventures.ca/careers