About me

I grew up in the state of Karnataka in South India in a village surrounded by the MM hills Wildlife Sanctuary. As a child of Tibetan refugees, my childhood was filled with stories about home in Tibet. My grandparents would tell us all about the yaks in their care back home and how they would wake up everyday and herd their sheeps and yaks and sing their folk songs to the animals. These stories are the reason why I have a love for people's stories today. I also grew up in a household and community that placed a lot of importance in compassion and the education of the mind and heart. I credit this aspect of my growing up years as the reason why I decided to pursue my education in Psychology.
My love for children is the reason why I have been a nanny for almost 8 years now.
I would describe myself as calm, enthusiastic, kind, silly, professional, and curious. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of working with many different families. I enjoy spending time with children- getting down to their level and playing with them. I am always up for a run around the park, reading books at the library, exploring and learning at museums, petting animals at the petting zoo, picking mini pumpkins at the farm, building Legos and playing board games at home, dancing and singing our hearts out to Taylor Swift songs, stretching out to yoga poses, giving head massages with warm coconut oil, helping with homework and work books, making delicious Tibetan momo and personal Pizzas from scratch, and most importantly, checking on them about their day.
I make it a point to talk to them every day when we are in the car or out for a nature walk, about things that were difficult to face that day as well as things that made them happy, etc. I strongly believe that nannies should care deeply for the children in her care the same way a parent does. This profession is unique and requires the person to have an abundance of patience, love, and compassion to begin with. The rest of the skills can be learned on the job with experience, but one must never be stingy when it comes to caring deeply about the development of the child whether it is physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially. I believe in holistic care and strive to provide just that.
I also believe in team play and therefore, strive to be a good leader as well as a follower. I am happy to follow the parents' lead and directions and stick to their rules. I am also very respectful of the boundaries of the family and remove myself when the family wants alone time.
As a nanny, I perform all my responsibilities in the best interest of the child. I believe in teaching the child how to give respect as well as demand it back. I also put a lot of importance on maintaining an open communication with the family. For every relationship to have a fruitful result, communication is the foundation to getting through to each other and understanding each other. The same applies here as well.
For the last six and half years, I have worked as a live-in nanny for a family in New Jersey. I have also worked as a weekend nanny for many families in NYC and also as a live-in summer weekend nanny in South Hampton and Amagensett. My daily responsibilities include everything child care related. I would make breakfast before the kids wake up and get them ready for the day/school. We love a good pancake with scrambled eggs and seasonal fruits for breakfast with freshly squeezed orange juice. I love the concept of colors in balanced meals. So, most of the time, there will be a lot of green and orange on the plate! After breakfast, we go for a nature walk if there is no school. I usually have the day planned out in advance so that there is organization and little room for surprises. I am also good with rolling without a planned day in place as well. I am flexible and adaptable that way. It is important to facilitate a lot of imagination and movement in the day for the children and I never say no to a good game of let's pretend to be a butterfly or a frog at the park. I also don't shy away from reaching out to other parents, caretakers, and nannies to arrange playdates. It is important to be a role model to the children because they are watching you and learning from you.
When the children are napping or with parents or at school, I take care of their laundry, do inventories of their books, toys and clothes. I love to make donation boxes of things that they have outgrown and no longer need and give them forward so that someone else can enjoy them (with the parents' permission). I also tidy up their rooms, organize their closets, book shelves and play room.
I also do grocery shopping for the family, stock up the pantry on snacks and staple food. I prepare meals for the family and love to experiment with different salad dressing recipes. My famous coconut chicken curry is usually a favorite of everybody, especially on cold winter days. My Tibetan dumpling or MOMO that I make with the kids are always a hit throughout the year. I find a lot of joy in getting the children involved in cooking and baking. They enjoy the messiness and the feeling of being helpful and contributing to what we are going to eat for dinner.
I also love playing board games and card games. I love candy land and crazy 8. When we are not doing homework or workbooks, we will be sitting down and playing a good game. I also love painting on the Easel. Getting messy and playing with colors is a great way to bond with the kids and let their imagination run free.
I also love gardening with the kids. Planting a seed and then watching something grow from it is just beautiful. I have helped grow tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes. I also love doing science experiments. Once, the kids and I watched metamorphosis happen in real life as caterpillars turned into butterflies. We have also watched tadpoles turn into frogs as well. I also love visits to the museum as much as I love tumbling and trampoline with the kids!
It is a wonderful feeling to witness the change from you reading a book to a child when they are infants and toddlers to them reading you a book as they go into kindergarten and first grade. Helping them on the way to boost their confidence in themselves and then seeing that confidence shine through as they achieve different levels of reading, writing, math, and comprehension is truly one of the reasons why I love my job as a nanny. It truly is one of the most rewarding jobs.
As the children grow older and the family's needs change, I am more than happy to change with the position. That is how I also have worked in the role of a house manager as well. If the car needs some work, I take it to the garage. When the family goes away on ski trips, I pick up the ski tools from the stores for the parents and the girls. If the washing machine is broken, I will supervise the work. I am proactive and always look for ways to make myself useful around the house.