Shannon L.

Shannon has been a fantastic caregiver and friend for our child. She makes him laugh, keeps him occupied with age-appropriate activities and games, keeps track of any schedule change or request we send her way, keeps him happy and safe at the same time, stays patient and calm and loving even when he's having a grumpy day, and deftly changes her approaches and games as he develops to match his needs and abilities. If you want to help your kids thrive, have them spend time with Shannon.

When we first started looking for a nanny to care for our baby, I remember someone warning me to keep my expectations low, saying “it’s not like you’re going to find Mary Poppins.” Clearly, that person had never met Shannon. Shannon has been taking care of our now 15-month-old son for the last year. She is practically perfect in every way. Our son adores her. We adore her. She arrives smiling, always on time. She is always fully present and engaged with our son. She has considerable on-the-ground experience with caring for kids as well as expertise in early childhood development and education, so she is full of age-appropriate ideas for both playing and communicating that help our son learn, grow, and thrive. We often watch how she interacts with our son when he reaches new developmental stages, taking careful mental notes so that we can use the same effective techniques ourselves later on. If you’re new to parenting, like we are, she is a wonderful resource for learning how to do anything and everything. And if you have strong ideas about how you want something to go (which we do sometimes, as well), she deftly follows your lead. Shannon does not actually arrive by umbrella, as far as I know, but she does actually sing a “picking up the toys” song that leads our toddler to happily put away his toys. Long story short: If you’re looking for a nanny who is warm and loving, fun and playful, 100% responsible and reliable, and full of creative ideas for how to play with kids in ways that are simultaneously fun and developmentally stimulating, here she is. She’s magic and it has been an absolute gift to have her in our lives.