Toddlers in daycare should be given early career counselling, Principals Australia has told the committee drawing up the nation's first childcare curriculum.

The call comes as the state and territory children's commissioners caution against pushing academic-based teaching on children still in nappies.

And a leading childcare operator insists it is "crazy stuff" to start telling pre-schoolers about their career options.

Kate Castine, who runs the Principals Australia career education project on behalf of the federal Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, is calling for "career development concepts" to be included in the new curriculum to be introduced nationally by July 1.

Her concern is that little children rarely think beyond what their parents and relatives do for a living.

"The argument that children should be exposed to career development concepts at an early age has been endorsed by current worldwide research," she wrote in comments posted on the department's official online forum, seeking feedback on the latest draft of the "early-learning framework".

"Reference to career development competencies needs to be explicit so teachers understand its importance."

Ms Castine said research showed students as young as six could identify what they wanted to do when they grew up.

"They identify very, very limited careers, usually associated with their family," she told The Weekend Australian. "That makes quite good sense but what needs to happen is that children who are very young need to identify there's a whole range of possible careers ... and not just what they see at home."

Ms Castine said childcare workers could casually canvass career options with children while watching a film, playing, or on an excursion.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25286978-2702,00.html