About me

I grew up in a small town in upstate, New York. I was dying to babysit, so the day I turned twelve I made my Mom sign me up for the Red Cross Babysitting Course. I began sitting for local families on date nights with kids of all ages, typically three children from the youngest toddler to the eldest siblings at 10 years old. I eventually moved to summer-long nannying for two boys, ages 6 and 9. I find that exploration and discovery maximizes personal growth, and so off we went on our mountain bikes, exploring every inch of our small town. When I was finally old enough to lifeguard, I began babysitting for the families I met on the beach.

In high school, I was a student mentor for 5th graders and I tutored 4th-grade math. Mentoring included learning skills that the 5th graders wanted to teach me, like chess, and I had the opportunity to teach them skills, card games like ERS, and tips on sports like soccer, baseball, and swimming.

My professional babysitting experience in NYC has been with boys ages 10-12 years old with special needs. I work with the 10-year-old's younger siblings as well (neurotypical children ages 4 and 7).

Each of these jobs required after-school pickup and before-school drop off, including fixing up quick meals at both ends of the day. I started my babysitting career with my two younger brothers, ages 5 and 9, and my cousins, a boy age 18 months and girl age 4. I soon began sitting for local families on the weekends, typically consisting of three children, from the ages of 3 to 12. I had about 4 regular families who I worked occasional date nights for, the responsibilities included getting the kids to bed, dinner prep, and mediating arguments in big households.

My perspective on childcare and its role in my life transformed when I began working with an 11-year-old boy with autism. Our trips to speech therapy consisted of taking routine medication, assisting with public transportation, and homework help. In downtime, we would make videos of ourselves sing-reading books and play guitar as accompaniment.

Working with children is full of fulfilling moments when children discover something new, the unforgettable inside jokes where they surprise me with their sharpest wit, and the tough experiences when we need to learn a hard lesson about friendship. Children with autism in particular, find dealing with change difficult. As a childcare provider, I always communicate our plans for the day and give time warnings to avoid potential hiccups. However, anxiety will still peak. No one enjoys a packed R train ride during rush hour, but children with special needs require extra support coming down from a panic attack. I kneel down and bring focus on us, where we're headed, and our inside jokes. We'll create more laughter in the moment, forgiving and forgetting the crowd.

I give children permission to be themselves. We will likely be all giggles when we have downtime from homework and other responsibilities. I believe in safety first- you can’t take the lifeguard out of the nanny- and I encourage children to take risks, especially if they’re having trouble coming out of their shell. I bring compassion, patience, and a happy-go-lucky attitude.