Anonymous wrote:

OP here -- just found out some of the costs of the Online Childcare Education Institute certificate programs. They run $99 for a 10 hour online course. I am wondering how important certificates and continuing education are to parents.

I normally wouldn't blink an eye at a $99 fee but I just moved to a different state a week and a half ago and am in between positions.

Parents, how important do you think continuing education is for nannies? When interviewing a nanny if she had certifications how much would that increase her worth versus other candidates with no certifications?

I think that I might plan on taking some of the $99 courses but wait until I am working first so that I have the extra money to throw around.

MB here. Honestly, the only certifications I'm interested in are in First Aid and CPR. Other certifications would only be important if there was some innovation in the field that would require continuing education. Otherwise, experience, enthusiasm, and good references are as important to me as any certifications.

Hope that helps.

Yes, that does help. Thank you. All MB/DB opinions help me to better understand the importance and value in possibly gaining additional certifications.

OP here -- just found out some of the costs of the Online Childcare Education Institute certificate programs. They run $99 for a 10 hour online course. I am wondering how important certificates and continuing education are to parents.

I normally wouldn't blink an eye at a $99 fee but I just moved to a different state a week and a half ago and am in between positions.

Parents, how important do you think continuing education is for nannies? When interviewing a nanny if she had certifications how much would that increase her worth versus other candidates with no certifications?

I think that I might plan on taking some of the $99 courses but wait until I am working first so that I have the extra money to throw around.

MB here. Honestly, the only certifications I'm interested in are in First Aid and CPR. Other certifications would only be important if there was some innovation in the field that would require continuing education. Otherwise, experience, enthusiasm, and good references are as important to me as any certifications.

Hope that helps.

I am a member of the INA (International Nanny Association) and have my Child and Infant First Aid and CPR certifications.

I attended one year of college where I majored in Psychology and took Adolescent Psychology and Child Development. I am not interested in going back to school for personal reasons.

I have wonderful references. I just want something to give me a little extra push so that's why I would like to take some certificate courses. Of course, if parents don't really care about certifications then I might as well not waste my time.

It would depend on your other qualifications and how you presented yourself whether I cared about extra certifications or not. How competitive are you as an employee? If you have a good education and work history behind you, I don't think I'd feel it was necessary.

OP here -- just found out some of the costs of the Online Childcare Education Institute certificate programs. They run $99 for a 10 hour online course. I am wondering how important certificates and continuing education are to parents.

I normally wouldn't blink an eye at a $99 fee but I just moved to a different state a week and a half ago and am in between positions.

Parents, how important do you think continuing education is for nannies? When interviewing a nanny if she had certifications how much would that increase her worth versus other candidates with no certifications?

I think that I might plan on taking some of the $99 courses but wait until I am working first so that I have the extra money to throw around.

Thank you nannydeb, I was able to find something that I may be interested in at the Online Childcare Education Institute.

Thanks for the tip -- just checked my local community college and they offer one non-credit course that I would be interested in but it doesn't come with any certification so I don't feel like it would mean anything to parents when interviewing.

Many cities across the US are having National Nanny Training Day events this April 20th. These one day educational conferences are designed to be relatively inexpensive and offer terrific learn today, use tomorrow information to nannies that attend.

Click the link to find an event near you: http://nannybizreviews.com/nntd/

Check your local community college for their non credit classes. Those classes usually come with a certificate of completion and are much cheaper than for credit classes

I am looking for ways to continue my "education" without actually going back to school and taking courses that will take an entire semester and cost more than I can afford right now. Would love to do some workshops or take some mini-class (online or in person) that takes hours or days to complete, not weeks or months. I basically would love anything that I could gain some knowledge from and preferably get a certificate as well.

I have left a link ( https://extensiononline.tamu.edu/courses/child_care.php ) of something I would be very interested in but I had a hard time signing up and think that they maybe only offer their classes to people living in Texas (I am in Upstate New York).

Please give me your sources and links to any websites would be very much appreciated. Thank you.