About me

My name is Claire and I am from New Jersey. I have two siblings, an older brother, and an older sister, and I am the baby of the family by quite a few years. I also come from a big family, so had lots of cousins to hang out with growing up. As a child, I really enjoyed spending time outside whether it was playing sports or climbing trees, or bike riding around the neighborhood. I also really enjoyed art, especially painting and drawing but also loved to make pottery; my mom also used to refurbish old furniture and I loved helping out with that. I moved around a lot as a kid, so I was not a huge fan of school as I was generally behind the other kids in my class, but I really loved English class because I love writing and reading, and also really enjoyed science. I am in college right now, studying cyber security/programming, and was also pursuing a degree in psychology but have taken time off from that lately. Since graduating high school, I have been working full time (babysitting/nannying and waitressing) while also going to school online. My schedule has been pretty hectic the last 3 years, so I am hoping to find more of a work-life balance with the right family. I’ve always really enjoyed my time as a childcare professional, as I love kids and hope to have some of my own someday. I’ve always worked in people-facing roles, and I really enjoy the challenges associated with that kind of work, particularly in the service industry, but working with kids is probably the most fulfilling role I’ve ever worked in, which is why I’m looking to get back into it full time.

I’ve been babysitting since I was 10 years old. My first ever job was as a mother's helper for a family friend, and I remember really enjoying it because I had never realized how much effort and care goes into raising a child and I was in awe. As I got older, I continued to babysit for family friends, and extended family until I got into high school and started branching out. After graduating high school I worked with 5 different families over the course of 5 years, ranging in ages from ~1 to 16 years old. Most of my experience is working with ages 3-10, however, I do have experience working with newborns and teenagers.

In my free time, I spend a lot of time with my friends (my best friend is also my roommate) and my dog Luna. My dog is like my first child and I treat her as such! I also really enjoy writing and reading and playing video games as leisure activities. I like to plan fun activities for the kids depending on the day/weather, such as: making art projects at home, cooking/baking together, reading stories together, coming up with plays/dances, building Lego sets, visiting museums/parks with parents' permission, etc. I had a babysitter growing up who didn’t engage with me much and I remember feeling very bored when she was around, so I try to avoid that when I’m in charge. I also try to avoid screen time as much as possible except for special occasions (sick child etc) as I think it’s detrimental to a child’s development to be glued to an iPad all of the time. This is why I try to engage them in activities that have multiple parts or incorporate their mind & body at the same time. I also try to implement a gentle discipline style, which basically means to me that if a child did something they weren’t supposed to, instead of immediately punishing them, I like to get on their level and explain in terms they understand why what they did was not ok, validate their emotions surrounding the event, and then try to suggest a better way to handle it in the future. This has worked really well for children who have trouble with emotional control and get overwhelmed easily in my experience. And I feel it also establishes more of a trust/bond between me and the little one, so they feel comfortable being honest with me.