About Chharmaya

Reviewed on 8/9/2023

We are happy to provide a reference for Sheena, our incredible nanny of the past six years. Sheena has been taking care of our children as if they were her own since our older son was 1.5 years old (he’s now 7.5) and since our younger son was born (he's now 4.5). She also helps our household run smoothly by helping with a number of additional tasks beyond childcare. The only reason we are parting ways now is because my employment situation is changing. We are so sad to see her go but want to make sure she ends up with the best possible family. Here are some of Sheena’s wonderful qualities: - Patient/loving manner: We have had a lot of opportunities to observe Sheena with our kids, especially when working from home post-COVID. Through the endless pandemic days at home, countless toddler tantrums, and inevitable brotherly fighting, I have never once heard Sheena raise her voice. She is very gentle and has a loving and respectful but firm way of redirecting our kids when necessary. We trust her with our precious children without question. - Energetic/takes initiative: Sheena makes sure to keep our two active boys busy and engaged all day. She drives them to classes, storytime, parks, libraries, play places, and playdates every day. Even when home, they almost never come upstairs to bother us when we are working from home because she keeps them occupied. During the pandemic, the kids were out every day getting fresh air and exercise at parks. Both of our kids have formed some of their very best friendships through connections Sheena made and maintained with other nannies when they were babies. She has also scheduled play dates with their school friends. They are both well socialized, through basically no effort of my own, and I never worried that they weren’t getting enough time with their peers even though we didn’t put them in full-time preschool. She is very familiar with the local libraries, zoo, playgrounds, and classes in the Peninsula area, and has at times suggested signing up for certain activities to us. - Engaged/attentive: Sheena is the caretaker at the park who is up and interacting with the kids the whole time, not just sitting on a bench, and never on her phone except to plan playdates or take pics of the kids to text to us. During baby classes, she sits with the little ones and participates in the songs/stories etc. When grandparents have visited us, they always comment on how attentive Sheena is to our kids. (In fact I think my parents are as sad as I am that we are parting ways with her now!) The parents of my children's friends who have observed her at the playground have also told us how great she is with the kids. - Efficient: Sheena is somehow able to get the kids up, ready, fed, sunscreen on, lunches packed, and out the door much faster than my husband or me. She is also very good at keeping to a schedule – both when we ask her to do certain things (like sticking to a particular nap schedule when the kids were young), and otherwise taking the initiative to make her own schedule for them. She has structured her weeks so that we always know when she will be doing laundry, bathing the children, etc. - Versatile: While our former nanny was very good with our older son when he was a newborn but less able to keep up with him as he got older, Sheena has proven herself to be equally equipped to deal with our children at every stage – from newborn to toddler years to the present. She took the lead in potty training our kids, taught them both how to ride bikes before most kids their age, and has helped them hit their other developmental milestones. She is sweet and loving with infants/babies and has endless energy to keep up with older kids. At our request, Sheena speaks Hindi/Urdu with our kids. - Goes above and beyond: Sheena has gone far beyond doing the bare minimum of childcare over the years. She does all the kids’ laundry and most of the adult laundry, loads/unloads the dishwasher, bathes the kids several times a week, tidies up every day so that our house is always spotless, organizes our kids’ rooms and toys, and makes meals for my very picky eaters with very little guidance and tries to incorporate vegetables etc. wherever she can. She has taken our kids to dentist appointments and haircuts when we’ve been busy. She has mailed items for us, picked up groceries, and run errands. She has even driven our kids several hours to their grandparents’ house on occasion. She has lovingly cared for our kids when they are sick, feverish, and even vomiting, not once complaining. - Reliable: Last but not least, Sheena is punctual and rarely misses work for illness or anything else. My husband and I have very much depended on her with our busy jobs, and she has not disappointed us. Sheena’s next family will be very lucky. We don't know how we would have survived the past few years if she weren't here. She has earned not only our trust but my kids’ love, and we will all miss her terribly.