Meet Marina

Abbreviated resume: “Creative and nurturing professional with over a decade of experience as a caregiver, primarily in infant care. I am known to be most concerned with the comfort, happiness and health of the children for whom I am caring and I gladly work with parents to employ their ideals daily. In addition to infant care, I am known for my healthy cooking and skill in organizing and planning events and activities. I am very amicable with truly contagious enthusiasm; flexible with hours and availability, and willing to travel as needed. I intend to apply my knowledge and experience wholeheartedly to a long term nanny position with your family.”

Method: “My method of caring for a child involves meeting them with warmth and enthusiasm to create a relationship based in learning and development. I believe that when you approach a child in this manner, they want to learn and grow because they trust their caregiver– this type of relationship is based in a mutual respect between teacher and student. The goal: For it to be clear to the child that I have a genuine interest in their emotions, opinions, individual strengths and weaknesses. As a result of this intentional interest in the child for whom I am caring, they can best learn life skills including: how to empathize, handle frustration, express creativity, etc. in a safe and secure dynamic.”

Philosophy: “Another personal philosophy is that it is crucial for a child to have a consistent and steady caretaker who they know and trust. Setting appropriate boundaries and disciplining (based on parent’s methods, when appropriate) is also necessary in enhancing feelings of safety and security for a child. I believe in the positive effects of healthy eating, and that it can play a sincere role in physical and mental development. Additionally, I believe that play is rudimentary in the growth of an infant, and as a very active, very enthusiastic, daily-yoga-doing individual, I am happy to get down on the floor to the playing level of a baby. I am aware that at the age of four months a baby is just acquiring some head control while sitting. Because of this stage, it is important to play with them while supporting them sitting up so they can eventually learn to sit on their own. I also believe that talking, singing and storytelling to a baby who is not yet talking is very important to their formative first year.”

In closing: “It is challenging to summarize my experiences with unique children into a single philosophy of child rearing because, of course, everything depends on the individual child and their personality and needs. In my nannying approach I prioritize the parent’s ideals and values above all else and am glad to read any literature they feel is important and abide by all of the criteria they set.”