About Ava

I had a deeply disappointing experience with this nanny and would not recommend her. She was unable to meet my standards. Although she began the day with good energy and interaction, her engagement with my child declined dramatically as the day progressed. There were periods in which she was largely sitting nearby and passively observing rather than actively playing, talking, reading, initiating activities, or otherwise engaging with my child. By later in the day, my child appeared visibly bored and insufficiently stimulated. At one point toward the end of the day, I watched my daughter bring A book and hand it to her. A opened the book but remained silent—she did not read it to her or use the moment to engage with her. That interaction was particularly striking to me because my daughter herself was actively seeking engagement from her caregiver. I also personally observed this nanny watching videos on her cellphone while she was responsible for my child. I saw her playing video content aloud while on duty. I subsequently addressed the issue directly and explained that occasional necessary phone use was understandable, but watching videos while caring for my child was not acceptable. Her response was ultimately even more concerning than the original behavior. Rather than simply acknowledging the concern and agreeing that it would not happen again, she specifically denied watching videos and asserted that she had barely used her phone. She also disputed my assessment of her declining engagement and maintained that she had remained highly involved with my child throughout the day. I found that response extraordinarily troubling because these were not assumptions I had made or secondhand reports from someone else. I personally observed the behavior I was addressing. Being told that something I had directly witnessed did not happen immediately destroyed my confidence in her honesty and accountability. I also found the way she handled the situation highly unprofessional. Receiving constructive feedback from a parent is part of working professionally in someone else's home, particularly when that feedback concerns the care of their child. I was not expecting perfection, nor was I unwilling to give her an opportunity to improve. In fact, I explicitly offered her additional days of work and simply asked for more consistent engagement and appropriate cellphone use going forward. Instead of acknowledging the feedback and demonstrating accountability, she responded by denying the conduct I had personally observed and defending the very level of care I had explained was not meeting my expectations. This nanny experience left me with serious concerns about her judgment, professionalism, and honesty as a childcare provider.