I get asked this question all the time.
I love the families I work for! I am so blessed to work with mothers who are so in love with their children!
I started nannying in college. I did it just so I could make a little extra money, but it slowly turned into something much more than that.
In college, I took a human development class which quickly turned into my minor because I loved it so much. I was fascinated by how we, as humans, learn and develop. But what really reeled me in and made me love human development so much, to make it my minor, was children. Children grow and learn so fast. I mean the majority of a person's language is learned before the age of 5. If you were to expose a child to multiple languages really early they would learn all of them. I repeat, All Of Them. I've seen it. It's crazy!! They just pick it up. Do you know how long it take an average adult to learn a second language? Average... about 2 years and that's if they are submersed it in and taking vigorous coursework in that language. Granted there are some who learn quicker than 2 years and others who try and try and try to learn another language and just can't.
So, because of my fascination, I started focusing on Child Development and felt like I dove into this whole new world. It dramatically changed the way I look at children. For sure it changed how I looked at my job. The more classes I took and the more I learned, the more I started changing the games I would play with the kids I worked with. I learned how to better teach them in whatever stage of development they were in. I could easily see if one of any of them were behind developmentally and I was/am able to counteract that. Add that knowledge with my social work knowledge I was/am also able to work with behavioral challenges/delays as well. I keep charts on all the kids in the families I work for. Different things we are working on and have accomplished. I love showing parents my notes, because they can see tangibly all that their child is learning and accomplishing! They see it everyday of course, but it all becomes so much more real when it's on paper. I love seeing the pride in their eyes and in their children. It's one of the best parts of my job.
I go to work everyday with plan. Almost like a teacher. I plan different games/activities we're gonna do to work towards whatever goal/milestone/thing they are working on learning. The most legit part of all of it, is that I get cater it to each child.
Every child that I work with is incredibly unique and beautiful in their own way!
Amelia* is the future business woman. Very stubborn, organized, and dramatic. She know what she wants and goes after it. She'll probably own/run her own restaurant one day because the girl loves to cook!
Baby Lily* isn't really doing much just yet since she's only a few weeks old but I can't wait to see who she becomes. She is already so different from her sister Amelia* it is crazy.
Reece* is the artist or inventor. He loves to create, experiment, and push the limits on everything. I get overwhelmed by how creative he is and all the ideas in his head.
Avery* is the engineer. She loves just sitting down and figuring out how things work. It's so awesome to just watch her take apart a toy and then put it back together.
So yes... I am Nanny. I do use my degree and all that I learned in college every day. I work hard. There are good and bad days. But I love my job and I am proud of what I do.
"What do you do?"
I reply "I am a Nanny."
Typical Responses are as followed
1. "Oh."
2. "Wish I had your job"
3. "That's so great!"
The first responses normally come from people who expect because I am 24 I should be (in their eyes) doing something more with my life. Putting my degree to work.
The second responses come from people who have absolutely no idea what I do and think I just get to hang out and watch tv all day. Which couldn't be further from the truth.
The third responses are from moms. Moms who know exactly what I mean and know exactly what it is that I do.
I am a Nanny.
I step into Mom's shoes everyday when she leaves for work.
She hands the baton to me.
I am not saying that I, in anyway shape or form replace mom. I make sure that the families I work for want me to teach their children, not parent them.
If a family does want me to parent then I won't work for them because it's not my job to parent, it's theirs.
I believe that Mom's should be in constant contact with their nannies all day long. That way, even though mom isn't there physically, she knows whats going on and can take back that baton right when she gets home!
I love the families I work for! I am so blessed to work with mothers who are so in love with their children!
I started nannying in college. I did it just so I could make a little extra money, but it slowly turned into something much more than that.
In college, I took a human development class which quickly turned into my minor because I loved it so much. I was fascinated by how we, as humans, learn and develop. But what really reeled me in and made me love human development so much, to make it my minor, was children. Children grow and learn so fast. I mean the majority of a person's language is learned before the age of 5. If you were to expose a child to multiple languages really early they would learn all of them. I repeat, All Of Them. I've seen it. It's crazy!! They just pick it up. Do you know how long it take an average adult to learn a second language? Average... about 2 years and that's if they are submersed it in and taking vigorous coursework in that language. Granted there are some who learn quicker than 2 years and others who try and try and try to learn another language and just can't.
So, because of my fascination, I started focusing on Child Development and felt like I dove into this whole new world. It dramatically changed the way I look at children. For sure it changed how I looked at my job. The more classes I took and the more I learned, the more I started changing the games I would play with the kids I worked with. I learned how to better teach them in whatever stage of development they were in. I could easily see if one of any of them were behind developmentally and I was/am able to counteract that. Add that knowledge with my social work knowledge I was/am also able to work with behavioral challenges/delays as well. I keep charts on all the kids in the families I work for. Different things we are working on and have accomplished. I love showing parents my notes, because they can see tangibly all that their child is learning and accomplishing! They see it everyday of course, but it all becomes so much more real when it's on paper. I love seeing the pride in their eyes and in their children. It's one of the best parts of my job.
I go to work everyday with plan. Almost like a teacher. I plan different games/activities we're gonna do to work towards whatever goal/milestone/thing they are working on learning. The most legit part of all of it, is that I get cater it to each child.
Every child that I work with is incredibly unique and beautiful in their own way!
Amelia* is the future business woman. Very stubborn, organized, and dramatic. She know what she wants and goes after it. She'll probably own/run her own restaurant one day because the girl loves to cook!
Baby Lily* isn't really doing much just yet since she's only a few weeks old but I can't wait to see who she becomes. She is already so different from her sister Amelia* it is crazy.
Reece* is the artist or inventor. He loves to create, experiment, and push the limits on everything. I get overwhelmed by how creative he is and all the ideas in his head.
Avery* is the engineer. She loves just sitting down and figuring out how things work. It's so awesome to just watch her take apart a toy and then put it back together.
So yes... I am Nanny. I do use my degree and all that I learned in college every day. I work hard. There are good and bad days. But I love my job and I am proud of what I do.
