Nannying

Scarlett

Age 6

Conrad

Age 3.5

Since August 2020, I have been working as a full-time nanny for the Swanstrom family. I engage the children in developmentally appropriate play activities and assisted Scarlett with school assignments when she was enrolled in virtual learning (she's been attending school in-person since late February). Conrad is developmentally delayed and endured hospitalization for tracheomalacia as an infant. I accompany him to his occupational therapy appointments, and ensure he is meeting his speech and occupational therapy goals by assisting him with assigned activities and exercises. Conrad has provided me with great insight as to how hospitalization during infancy can impact a child's development later on.

I collect American Girl dolls, and they helped me build rapport with Scarlett very quickly! I use my dolls with her as an incentive for good behavior, and they also helped make virtual school more fun for her when she was learning from home. Here's a picture of Scarlett doing her schoolwork with Jess, who is also doing schoolwork on her computer! :)

I have tons of toy medical equipment, including an ambulance that I bought a few months ago to use with patients throughout my career. It has really come in handy with Scarlett! One morning when I arrived at work, she was very upset. Her neighbor had to go to the hospital in an ambulance during the middle of the night. The lights and sirens woke her up and were causing her to experience lot of fear and anxiety. Since Scarlett is in Piaget's Preoperational Stage of Development, I knew engaging in dramatic play with my ambulance (which has working lights and sirens) would help her feel less scared and anxious. As you can see from the picture, the ambulance was a huge hit!