HOW EARLY CHILDHOOD HAS CHANGED"Early Childhood Education (ECE) is the term often applied to the education of young children from birth to age 8. Although early childhood education Early childhood education has existed since the creation of preschool in the 1800s, the last decade has seen an enormous amount of attention devoted to the topic of early education for young children.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012) As a result of this focus, many changes have occurred in the standards of professionalism, personal characteristics, responsibilities, expectations and roles of early childhood professionals. Professionalism has been changed in the role of the early care professional as it is no longer considered a babysitter or a nursery. The very fact that we are considered professionals says a lot about your credibility in the sector. Depending on where you work, in a nursery, in a childcare center or in a school, you have to demonstrate that you are knowledgeable. , competent and able to behave in such a way as to accredit your profession. Some necessary personal characteristics are flexibility and creativity. These characteristics have evolved over the years where teachers have not been given any space to stray from the curriculum. The teaching method was the same for everyone and every child. Until recently all children were grouped into one learning style and no consideration was given to how each child learns. Teachers were not allowed any flexibility or creativity in their teaching style. Many teachers did not consider their role in children's lives and teaching was just a job. The responsibilities of a child care professional are no longer just to ensure that children do not get hurt or to simply let them play. “All child care workers have a responsibility to provide a safe, clean and nurturing environment for the children in their care and to support children's healthy growth and development.” (Karageorge, 2008) Many expectations have changed and come from both parents and those in the early care profession. Many parents expect to enroll their children in a "quality" program. With a quality program comes the need from early childhood professions for teachers to have some sort of higher education.