High staff turnover is a common challenge in the early care and education field. To better understand the experiences of this workforce, we analyzed data from the 2019 National Survey of Early Care and Education. In this brief, we describe the reported work experiences of early educators working with infants and toddlers in child care centers, focusing on the positive and rewarding aspects of their jobs as well as job stressors. We also examine respondents’ overall health statuses and recent symptoms of depression.

We find that most but not all infant-toddler teachers in 2019 experienced aspects of a positive work climate, including teamwork, respect, and appreciation from parents. However, assistant teachers reported stressful experiences with greater frequency than lead teachers, with a rate of depressive symptoms twice as high (16 percent versus 8 percent). Although most infant-toddler teachers reported good-to-excellent overall health, about 1 in 5 (21 percent) fare worse. Turnover intentions were fairly high, with 27 percent of infant-toddler teachers reporting that they had looked for a new or second job within the last three months. The top cited reason was “to find a job that pays more,” followed by “to find a second job.” Only 14 percent of infant-toddler teachers working exclusively with this age group earned at least $15 an hour.