How Nice to Meet You!

I'm Ms. Elaina, and I'm going to be your new nanny! Hopefully, the following posts will give you a good deal of insight into my personality, professionalism, dedication to the children for whom I have cared over the years and why I do consider providing high quality, private, customized child care to be my "Real Job.

I am very selective about the client families for whom I provide long-term childcare. As parents, you don't accept the first nanny candidate to show up for an interview. You spend time speaking with them all to make sure you feel comfortable together, then check references and run a background check.

It is of the utmost importance to me that I have the same consideration for my own well-being and safety that we all have for your child's. I need to know that your family is a family I can feel safe with, respect, be respected by and enjoy developing a long-term partnership with. I have never enjoyed providing care to a family I felt was unable to be respectful of my time or disinterested in reinforcing the objectives their child had worked toward during our time together.

I work best with parents who are also courteous, professional, punctual and reliable. I greatly appreciate parents who understand that privilege should not breed apathy or lead to poor behaviour choices. In short, I work best with families who hold some of the same beliefs I do about what is appropriate behavior for children AND the adults with whom they interact on a daily basis.

One of the things each of my previous families understood is the peace of mind that comes with knowing your child is being well looked after. They all appreciated the fact that I did more than simply keep their child alive for the appointed number of hours, and compensated me in kind. Not only do I care a great deal what I do and the service I provide, I must also care about the families I provide it to and do it for. However, I also like to keep a very clear understanding between all parties that I am not “part of the family,” nor do I ever wish to describe myself as or be described as. I am honored enough to be a part of your community.

I choose families with parents who are stable in their home and professional life; who understand that although their child is very precious to us, that child must come to understand that there are other people in the world who are all equally precious; parents who expect their care provider to be an example of and enforce thoughtful, direct and respectful interactions during the day, as well as modeling it themselves within their home life; parents who are forthright about any difficulties in the home that may be adversely affecting their child and causing stress during the day. This is a great help in understanding any changes in your child's behaviour: when I am aware, I can act with more compassion and sensitivity during the course of our day, and provide a little extra attention to your child as needed.

I develop my caregiver/family relationships with parents who are engaging me to care for their whole child in a manner that exceeds meeting basic needs. Because I am very active and tend to function at my best in a Coordinated Care model of nannying, I also develop relationships with families who understand that Learning a Great Many Things is the Very Serious Business in which their child and I are engaged throughout the day, even if all we are doing is having a grand time in the dirt at the park