Drawing from the personal visits of an early childhood specialist to centers for infants and toddlers in Britain and the United States, this paper focuses on issues of teacher education, deregistration, and professionalism. Introductory material describes the child care situation in Aotearoa, New Zealand, highlighting the increasing demand for places for infants and toddlers in early childhood centers; the availability and funding of infant/toddler day care; and the poor quality of care provided by visited centers in Wellington, New Zealand. The next two sections offer overviews of infant and toddler programs in Great Britain and the United States. Each provides information about centers in the two countries and discusses lessons to be learned. The final section describes the characteristics of a high quality infant and toddler environment, focusing on elements that affect staff members as well as those that affect children. In comparison with the early childhood professionals in the United States and Great Britain, those in New Zealand are reported to lack a recognized professional status. The impact of this lack of status and the condition of teacher training and qualifications is discussed. Finally, four indicators of professionalism are discussed: (1) a clearly defined role as a teacher supported by a clearly defined philosophy of early childhood education; (2) a recognized body of knowledge and training with 3- or 4-year program options and specialist training for working with infants and toddlers; (3) service funding to ensure parent access to high quality child care; and (4) advocacy by and for early childhood professionals. (AC)