After a disheartening settling-in period at a nursery where chaos ruled under so-called child led approaches, it dawned on us that a childminder was a much better fit for our little one. It also twigged that the 15/30 hours were also covered. However, the search for the right person seemed pretty daunting and we were delighted to find Danielle in what felt like a needle in the haystack situation. Immediately on visiting her we noticed that her space was an oasis of calm, and that it was clean, welcoming, and homely. She quickly engaged with our little one whilst simultaneously paying mind to our needs as fretful parents. She struck us as a person who was going to be able to offer us exactly what we were looking for: a nurturing and familial presence, a home away from home for our child. Inevitably, settling-in is a nerve-wracking experience, but Danielle made this a fuss-free transition. Once settled, I can only say that our son has bloomed in Danielle’s care: he clearly enjoys himself with her and the other little children that she looks after, and he is able to benefit from Danielle’s teaching too. She strikes the perfect balance between the educative and the playful, and he often comes back having acquired a few new words, or a new skill that I wouldn’t even have thought to teach him. Really importantly, she is always open to accommodate the constantly changing needs of our son as he evolves and grows, and is equally mindful of our own changing desires in how we want him to be cared for as he changes. She sends us regular fun updates without it feeling like our child is some kind of data set where we need to know about every tiny move he makes, and she quells any anxieties I’ve ever had about how he’s doing emotionally and physically. Our son is also a terrible sleeper, but she has uncomplainingly taken the time to contact nap with him until he was able to grow out of that, and this has had the knock on effect of altering some of those ingrained habits. Ultimately, leaving one’s child with anyone is a leap of faith, and with Danielle we know we can make that leap without worrying whether we’ve done the right thing. I heartily recommend her to any nervous parents out there. She’s great.

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