Q. How did you get started in your Nanny Career?
A. I started babysitting at age 13, then went on went on to a Day Care Facility, but there I missed the one on one relationships with the children. The other down side was that I got pinkeye, pneumonia, mono and bronchitis all in one month working at the Center.
Later, a friend of a friend asked me to care for a 10 month old and an eight year old full time, so I nannied for two years for them. I watched the baby learn to walk, talk at 12 months, and potty trained and swimming by age two. The sense of satisfaction knowing that I’d helped her progress, had a deep and lasting impact on me. She loved me, I loved her, and we had that connection. She called me ‘My Ashley’. Being responsible for a child so dependent on me, gave me a sense of responsibility and helped me mature. We danced and sang all day long. The Mom told me “she has a part of your personality”. She took after me and I thought that was so special! I’ve been close to the family ever since. Recently I sat for them for a family emergency. “We don’t want anyone else”, they told me.
Q. What other experience have you had with children?
A. I nannied for a family in England as a Live-In, and taught summer camps in Canada for two summers, creating and implementing curriculum for 80 children ages 5-10. It was very difficult! But it gave me insights into understanding the dynamics of working with kids of different ages.
Q. What led to your moving into the Nanny Recruiter role?
A. A nanny job with a 14 year old was ending just as Caring Nannies was getting super busy. The timing was perfect. I’ve had a plethora of experiences as a nanny that help me relate to other nannies and give me the discernment to know if they have the key qualities for this field.
Q. So how do you pick the nannies?
A. I look for candidates who relate well and are engaging. They need to be able to interact with the child as well as the parents. It’s a family dynamic she’s moving into and she needs to be able to intuitively and proactively assess needs and meet them. There are so many needs in a household, spoken and unspoken. She needs to be able to look at a room and see what needs to be done. Be reliable, trustworthy, kind, patient. If someone can walk into this office and put me at ease, she can put a child and a parent at ease.
