SmartSitter Spotlight | Melanie T.

We’re back with another installment of our SmartSitter Spotlight and are pleased to introduce you to Melanie T. Our team frequently receives glowing feedback from the families Melanie works with, and she embodies our core values every day. In this interview, Melanie shares how her experience as a SmartSitter has changed since the pandemic, her go-to activities for engaging kiddos, and more! 

SmartSitting: How long have you worked with SmartSitting? 

Melanie T: I have been working with SmartSitting for about 4 months.

SS: What’s your favorite thing about being a SmartSitter?

MT: I love getting to spend time with all different kinds of kids!

SS: How have you been coping with the pandemic as a SmartSitter?

MT: It’s always an honor to be welcomed into someone’s home, but it has never meant more than now. This is a really overwhelming and scary time for everyone, so it feels good to be able to provide some help to parents and families. Feeling that I am serving others has really helped alleviate some of the weight of this crisis.

SS: What’s your go-to activity for engaging the children you care for?

MT: Every child is different and every day is different, so it’s not a one-size-fits-all. That being said, I honestly love to put on some fun music and dance it out. Dancing brings levity and fun that makes bad days better and good days great! Most kids can’t help but smile when they get up and move—and neither can most grownups :) 

SS: What’s your top tip on being a successful sitter or nanny that you’d share with other SmartSitters?

MT: The best gift we can give to any child we work with is our active and intentional presence—us just being there as they learn and play can be felt from the earliest of ages. There’s always room for a little more fun and a little more play, and all we need to do is show up. I often think of this quote from Fred Rogers: “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”

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