Samantha F.

Meet Samantha

• Comfortable with pets
• Has a car

I am so much fun with kids. As a long-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu martial arts instructor both with adults and children I learned how to accurately assess risk in a way I see missing from most adults that interact with kids. Kids need to wrestle and have fun, and they also need adults who provide quality care and feedback about what is not acceptable. Depending on the ages of the children, it may also be more useful to use more nonverbal communication than to throw a lot of words at them. Each kid needs to be judged independently based on what their track record as well as their growth patterns are. I owned my own business for mobility health and wellness for a while. When I worked with an outdoor preschool I often saw opportunities for learning and movement, and was able to pass along recommendations to parents about how they Read more might proceed with helping their childrens' physical development with other practitioners, when needed. In addition to martial arts, I have a decade of experience with formal energy work through Thai traditional medicine and reiki-style practices. These help me determine when to press and when to give space. I believe in helping children by not interfering too much, while being available and physically close enough to step in if necessary. I love personal growth and development, which has taken me through a lot of paths around human nature. I provide kids with a lot of trust with firm boundaries where that trust ends - whether it be from the child's inexperience or prior history. It is important to me that I don't lie to children, or very rarely if some emergency calls for it. Whenever possible we lean together into curiosity and experimentation. I have experience in calming children down when they are upset ranging from boo-boos to parent drop-off. I also believe kids should be and actually enjoy being involved in daily chores and responsibilities, and my preference is to alternate play with doing chores alongside each other, at a level that is safe and within their grasp, even if it's painfully slow at times. I find that kids that are directly attended to are happy to do activities that I enjoyed as a kid, such as being outside, making up games, cooking, and wrestling. If screens are a concern I am happy to lean into this mindset and make gradual progress together.

Trust & safety

Experience