Andrea

About Me

I was born in Bogota (the capital of Colombia) into a very large family with many aunts, uncles, and cousins, and I myself have 4 siblings. Because of this upbringing, I am a very family-oriented person who appreciates family time a great deal.

I came to London in 2005 to complete the final semester of my International Business degree, and while here, met my husband Alex, and we have been married for 17 years. Alex is English and comes from a small family.

While I was studying, a friend suggested to me that I try out being a nanny, part-time. Because of my family background and my nurturing personality, she thought it would be a god fit for me. I got a job with a family in Southfields in 2007 looking after their baby boy, and since then I haven’t looked back. It became my profession, and I have thoroughly enjoyed doing it ever since.

Three things that are important to me are family, friends and my faith. I greatly enjoy, cooking, traveling, socialising with friends (which often involves hosting them at my home), and exploring nature.

I love cooking and really enjoy showing the kids I care for the basics, letting them get involved in a way that is safe and fun. Always happy to teach Spanish to young ones (should the parents want me to) with love and a patient approach. I always keep my work areas clean, tidy and organised, This is just part of who I am :-)

I have many experiences I could recount from my years in childcare, but the three below stand out in my memory for different reasons..

- I loved teaching one of the girls I used to care for how to dance to Latin music when she was a toddler. To see how much she enjoyed it and threw herself into it was a delight and very cute. From then on, two of her favourite things to do were dancing and singing, which brought me a lot of pleasure over the time I was with her.

- Watching one of the boys I most recently cared for develop his own unique sense of humour made me smile and laugh a great deal. On one occasion, a family guest had come to visit, and he had the inspired idea of introducing him to one of the family cats in a very creative way. He lifted the cat high above his head and boldly pronounced: "The Lion King!", to which all were in hysterics. Very funny indeed!

- One of the boys in another family I used to work for was very shy and very anxious about any social situations when he was little. He almost couldn't bear to be taken out of his pram whenever we attended children's classes, activity groups, or play dates. I, by my nature, am very social and enjoy being around others. Mindful of the need to be gentle in my approach, I gradually managed to encourage him to the point where he felt he could interact and enjoy being with others. It was really heartwarming to see him progressively come out of his shell, become more socially confident, and really start to enjoy all the activities and play dates that were arranged for him.