Caitlyn Nelson

What if being an Early Childhood Educator wasn’t just about caring for children, but about helping shape how a child sees themselves and the world around them?

For a long time, I knew I was meant to help people. I just didn’t know what that would look like for me.

As a child, I loved babysitting and helping in the nursery at church. I even considered doing my high school co-op in a kindergarten classroom. But it wasn’t until much later that I truly understood what being an Early Childhood Educator could mean.

Growing up, my home life was often unpredictable, and finding a sense of safety wasn’t always easy. Those experiences stayed with me. They taught me something I now carry into my work every day: every child deserves a place where they feel safe enough to simply be a child.

When I discovered Early Childhood Education, I began to see the profession differently. I realized that our role isn’t simply to teach, guide, or supervise children. We create environments where children feel welcomed, valued, heard, respected, and free to explore who they are. We build relationships. We notice the little things. We celebrate their successes. We comfort them when things feel hard. We create a sense of belonging.

And our impact doesn’t stop with the child.

After high school, I backpacked Australia, worked in a factory in my hometown, and eventually found myself working in a long-term care home during COVID-19 as a Personal Support Worker. I loved caring for people and truly considered nursing for some time, but I still felt like I hadn’t found where I belonged.

Then, unexpectedly, childcare found me.

I began working as a teaching assistant in a childcare centre in Stratford, Ontario, alongside incredible RECEs who taught me most of what I know. I had no formal ECE education at the time, and I constantly questioned whether I was capable of doing the job.

One day, when I was honestly considering quitting, my supervisor at that time knelt beside me and looked me in the eyes and said, “Catie, I’ve been in this field a long time. I know for a fact you were meant to do this. You are a natural.”

I trusted her. I kept going. And eventually, I became a Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE). Since then, I’ve learned just how much an educator can mean to a family. Sometimes it’s a reassuring message to a parent after a difficult drop-off. Sometimes it’s remembering the little thing a child told you yesterday. Sometimes it’s being the person who makes a child feel safe enough to try something new.

There was one day recently when I had reached out to a parent who was very emotional in the hallway after a tough morning drop-off. I messaged that parent later on and passed along an encouraging and meaningful message. Later that day they stopped me in the hallway, looked at me, and said, “You are exactly where you are supposed to be, Catie.”

They were right.

I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

Because being an RECE means more than educating children. It means being part of a child’s village. It means supporting families. It means creating belonging. It means being one of the people a child can count on.

And I have learned that the moments we may think are small can become incredibly meaningful to the people we care for.

Yes, this work can be exhausting. It requires patience, physical energy, emotional strength, reflection, sacrifice, and an incredible amount of heart. And sometimes, our profession is still reduced to the words “glorified babysitter.”

But I know what I see every day.

I see children growing in confidence. I see friendships forming. I see children discovering what they are capable of. I see families trusting us with the most precious part of their lives. And I see the reward when I walk into my room and hear, “Catie!” followed by little feet running toward me and little arms reaching up for a hug.

That is my why.

I want every child I care for to know:

You are safe here.

You are loved here.

You are valued here.

You are seen here.

And you can always count on me.

That is what an RECE can mean in a child’s life, and that is why I am so proud to be one.

Caitlyn Nelson, RECE