I am the eldest in a large family and there is a wide age gape between my siblings and I, which gave me a lot of childcare experience growing up.

I regularly babysat other children throughout my teenage years and nannied two boys for approximately a year between the ages of one-two and four-five when I was eighteen before I moved cities to study.

I completed a certificate in Early Childhood Education.

I began working in a Steiner kindergarten as part of my course placement and upon completion was offered an ongoing relieving role after receiving glowing feedback from the school.
I continued working for the Steiner kindergarten as well as temping at a variety of other early childhood centres through an organisation called Randstad (a substitute teacher organisation).
I also worked in a few after-school/holiday programs through the same organisation.
I did this until Covid lockdown prevented me from continuing to work.

After the Covid lockdowns ended, I moved back to my home city to be closer to my family. I began a full time nanny job caring for an eight-year-old girl with an extremely rare condition called Angelman Syndrome. This is a neurological defect that prevents the person from cognitive development. It also causes severe seizure disorder, sleep disorder, lack of motor skills and autism.
This little girl was amazing and an absolute joy to work with despite the job's challenges. Together, we made incredible progress in her development including learning to use the toilet.
She was non-verbal however we had no problem with communication and I found I was very good at recognising and catering to her needs. We did a lot of art therapy together which was an incredible way for her to express herself. Unfortunately this job ended when the family moved away last year.

Since then I have gone back to hospitality while doing casual child-care jobs. I am currently working to leave the country and thought that joining a foreign family as an Au Pair would be a great way to begin my adventure around the world and make strong connections in a new country.