Meet Kit: A nanny and babysitter in Nedlands, WA

Hi there,

I suppose a list is probably most efficient way to get the most information in the shortest period of time

* I have 5 years experience working in a childcare role

* I have mainly been an assistant educator but have also spent about two years as the special needs aid

* I have experience working with children with a number of different needs including; diabetes, autism, Down syndrome, achondroplasia, various delays, ADHD, amputations and immunocompromised children

* I have worked with children from two months to five years in majority, but have also spent some time au pairing for relatives with a seven and 14 year old

* I have most of my experience in a Montessori setting both being raised myself in that but also as an educator. But have also had experience with Steiner, mainstream and Reggio.

* Having worked in childcare I have a very high standard of supervision

* First aid certified with anaphylaxis and asthma

Right well with that out of the way I’d like to write a little more of a description so you get a feel of what I’m like.

I have a focus on following the child and allowing them to pursue their own interests, for example if they show a keen interest in insects we can go to the library and get books about insects and go and identify what sorts of insects are in the home or the local park. This can then be used to incorporate age appropriate learning, perhaps we tally the number of each species we find and can make a graph later, perhaps we try and guess what is under the rock based on what we’ve found in other dark and damp environments. There are so many ways to allow children to choose their own method of learning while also educating them on things they’ll find valuable in the future.

I also have a big desire to work on children’s independence. Things like self care tasks can be so much desirable for children when they can view it as something they have control in. Allowing them to help with cooking where appropriate, and having them assist in things like teeth brushing, dressing and undressing. In my current classroom which is a 12month-2.5year room all the children do their own nappy changes to whatever degree they can (when wet, soiled nappies and dealt with by educators, although do they help dress themselves afterwards). The small ones help by holding onto my knees so I can do standing changes, and once they’re stable in that they can help me remove their pants, from there once they can remove their pants independently they can help remove the nappy and so on and so on.

I am mainly leaving my role in childcare because I found interactions with some of the parents to be tiring and as such I have a few things I would like you consider before reaching out to me.

I will allow your child/children to get dirty to some degree. I don’t see the value in dressing them in designer clothes and taking them to the park and then telling them not to get sandy or get grass stains. Children should be free to experience the world. I’m not going to allow them to do anything harmful like getting wet when it’s freezing, but if on the walk home your child wants to run through sprinklers in the local park, it’s a ten minute walk home and it’s a warm enough day, that’s totally valid and I’ll likely agree.

I will not change who your child is to make you more comfortable. If they are left handed, I refuse to ‘correct’ that in any way. If your little boy enjoys watching movies about princesses, wants to wear pink, wants to play dress ups with skirts or enjoys picking flowers. I’m going to allow all of that.

I have strong feelings about a healthy attitude towards food. Which means if your child asks for chocolate for snack time I’m not going to feed them only chocolate, but I’m also not going to say no. What I’ll propose is that chocolate sounds really yummy, but they also need some extra things to give them more energy so let’s do a bit of chocolate, a sandwich and maybe some veggie sticks with dip.

Most of all I want to work with parents who genuinely want the best for their child/children, who want to discuss these things and enable me to support them and give consistency in the home. If you’re struggling with something like toilet training or behavioural issues or transitioning to solids or sleeping. I’ve worked with a lot of parents before and I’d love to come up with solutions together. I would like to be a support member of a team who’s all on the same page.

Goodness that was a lot, but I also think when choosing someone to bring into your child’s life, more information better equips you. I hope you’re all having a delightful day and maybe I’ll hear from you soon.

An enthusiastic, and rather wordy,

Kit.