Nanny Feature
Our featured nanny is Danika May.
- Age: 29 (but still a bit of a kid!)
- Current whereabouts: Banpo Dong, Seoul, South Korea
- Agency registered with: Milestonz Nannies, Brisbane
- Hobbies: Travel, reading, photography, writing, theatre, film
- Qualifications: 8+ years of work experience with kids, from nannying to Kindergarten teaching to
English teaching (newborn to teenage) in 5 different countries on 4 continents.
- Career aspirations: Teaching. I'm hoping to go back to university
soon to complete a degree in Education.
Q&A
When did you first become interested in nannying as a career?
Why?
My mum wanted me to be a nanny but I was certain I wouldn't be.... Mums are
always right! I finished my Theatre & Writing degree at university (working in
a Kindy while there) and took off to the UK only to immediately find work as
a nanny in West Sussex - that was in 1997, I've been travelling and working
with children almost constantly since then!
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How
many years experience have you had as a nanny?
As
an actual 'nanny' - 5 years
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Describe
your first nanny role and, did it meet your expectations?
In
the UK working for a marvellous family.
They had a 3 year old and newborn twins, I was treated as a member of
their family and became Godmother to one of the babes, it not only met my
expectations, it exceeded them by far!
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What
is the best thing about being a nanny?
The
kids - I fall in love with every single one of them (even when I'm teaching
a classroom full of non-English speaking devils!).
And of course, the opportunity to fulfil my love of travelling the
world.
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What
is the downside of being a nanny?
Having
to leave the kids behind. It takes such a short time to have them firmly attached in
your heart and they never leave it!
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Describe
your typical day as a nanny in your current role.
I'm not
currently a nanny, I'm teaching English in Korea.
My last nanny job was looking after toddler triplets
in the US - just imagine trying to take care of ants, and you'll have a pretty
good picture of my typical day there!!!
Now my typical day is writing lesson plans, being very
theatrical in my explanations of basic vocabulary words (!) writing tests and
student reports as well as desperately trying to learn Korean.
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What advice do you have for families hiring a nanny?
Know what you want before you start looking and be completely open and honest
about what you will be expecting from your nanny.
The biggest difficulty in the relationship between nanny and employer
is when you realise that you are on a completely different wavelength and
the way you want things done isn't the way your nanny likes to do things.
Also if your nanny has experience, trust that they've been in most
situations before and that they can cope with it again - remember there is a
big difference between being a parent and being a nanny, quite often a nanny
can do things you can't simply because they play a different role for your
children thus your kids behave differently towards them.
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What is the best way for nannies and carers to find work in Australia?
Milestonz Nannies!!!
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What advice do you have for anyone wanting to be a nanny?
Be ready to work hard - being a nanny isn't about watching TV soaps while the
kids play! You are in for one of the most fulfilling jobs you could imagine;
watching kids develop under your guidance is really incredible!
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If you could be anything or do anything at all, without limitations, what would
you have chosen to do in your career?
I'm actually pretty happy with where my career has taken me so far.
I've ended up at teaching, which is possibly where I should have started, but I would
have missed all the fun and adventures along the way!
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Any other comments?
"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and
adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we
seek them with our eyes open." - Jawaharlal Nehru. |
Would you like to be featured on this page? If you are one of our registered
nannies and you would like to have your say on this page, you can contact us here.
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