A Career That Captured Her Heart: Cindy Sele’s 26 Years in Child Care

When Cindy Sele began providing child care, she expected it to be temporary.

Her plan was to care for children while her own children were young, continue for about five years, and then move on once they entered school. Instead, what began as a practical decision became a lifelong career.

“I didn’t expect to be here for 26 years,” Cindy says. “But I fell in love with it.”

Turning Everyday Moments into Learning

For Cindy, quality early childhood education does not depend on an elaborate classroom or expensive materials. It begins with creativity, imagination, and a willingness to build learning experiences around children’s interests.

“What’s important is the stuff that you provide them,” she says. “You give them a story, you read to them, and you build from that story.”

A book can become the starting point for conversation, art, dramatic play, problem-solving, and discovery. By encouraging children to use their imaginations, early childhood professionals help them strengthen language, thinking, and social skills.

“You bring their imagination into the picture and teach them from there,” Cindy says.

Asking Questions and Finding Support

Cindy encourages people entering the child care field to seek guidance rather than trying to figure everything out on their own.

“If I was to talk to somebody about child care today, I would tell them to reach out for things and ask questions,” she says.

Throughout her career, Cindy received support from Child Care Aware. That assistance helped her continue her education, strengthen her program, and pursue professional goals.

With that support, she earned both an associate degree and a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education. She also worked with a coach to improve her program and achieve a Four-Star Parent Aware rating.

Her experience shows that professional development can happen gradually. A provider can begin with a commitment to children and continue building knowledge, credentials, and program quality over time.

Growing a Family Child Care Business

Family child care can offer a path for people who want to work with children while operating their own small business.

Cindy’s program has changed significantly since she first opened it 26 years ago, but she emphasizes that a provider does not need to have everything perfected on the first day.

“You can start a daycare as long as you have a few books and an idea of being creative,” she says. “They can learn.”

Starting a child care business requires planning, licensing, training, and a commitment to safety and quality. It also requires confidence that a program can grow and improve over time.

Resources, coaching, and education can help new providers strengthen their business practices, develop learning environments, and work toward higher quality standards.

Passion That Moves a Career Forward

Cindy believes successful child care providers need both passion and motivation.

The work asks providers to keep learning, adapt to children’s needs, communicate with families, and continue improving their programs. Passion helps sustain that effort over the long term.

“I think every child care provider needs to have that passion and motivation to move themselves forward,” she says.

For Cindy, that passion grew through the relationships she formed with children and families. What she initially viewed as a short-term plan became work she would gladly choose again.

“I would do daycare all over again,” she says.

Every Family Becomes Part of Your Heart

Family child care providers often care for children over several years and become closely connected with their families. They celebrate milestones, support children through challenges, and watch them grow from infancy into the school years.

Those relationships are among the greatest rewards of the profession.

“It gets to your heart,” Cindy says. “Every family is inside your heart.”

After 26 years, Cindy’s story demonstrates how a child care career can grow alongside the person who chooses it. What begins with a few books, a creative idea, and a desire to help children can become a meaningful profession, a successful small business, and a lasting contribution to the community.

Learn more about early childhood careers, professional development opportunities, and resources for starting or growing a child care business at CareersThatGrow.org.