Nanny Traci: Nanny to tourists and locals alike

Looking back, it seems Traci Childs began building a business long before she realized it.

She says taking care of children seemed to come naturally whether she was babysitting for a neighbor or caring for her niece and nephew at a young age.

“My parents ended up getting custody of my niece and nephew when they were babies and I took care of them. I was their primary physical caretaker, so that kind of put me in the situation of always being around kids,” she recalled. “Childcare just became sort of the direction my life took.”

She got a job as a full-time nanny for a local doctor and his family and enjoyed working with kids so much she began doing it on the side on nights and weekends. Word began to spread that “Nanny Traci” was dependable, trustworthy, and had a gift for working with children.

Gillian Reinhardt first heard about Nanny Traci through a mutual friend.

“She’s been watching my kids for five or six years now,” she said. “Sophia, my youngest just turned six and Nanny Traci’s been watching her since she was a baby.”

Sophia’s older sister Alexis, turns 12 this week. Both girls have developed a special relationship with Nanny Traci over the years.

“She doesn’t just sit with the kids, she always interacts or plays with them. She’s a very good teacher. She’s very good at what she does and the girls absolutely adore her.”

As she watched more children of local families, she also began offering services to out-of-town families traveling to Myrtle Beach on vacation.

Tara Barker, who lives in Pittsburgh and vacations here, met Nanny Traci seven years ago. She admits that, initially, she was concerned about hiring someone she didn’t know to watch her children.

“I was really skeptical and ambivalent,” she remembered. “I wasn’t sure it was a good idea. To be honest, even here in Pittsburgh I don’t have a nanny or a babysitter. My mom watches them.”

She liked Nanny Traci as soon as she met her.

“She was amazing from the first second. That first impression was great.”

Nanny Traci was also a big hit with her daughters and has been ever since.

“She brings crafts and bakes brownies. She does more with them than I do,” Barker said with a laugh. “She’s really good. They look forward to vacation because they know they’re going to see her.”

One thing that’s made her so popular with kids is her signature “nanny bag.” She never shows up without it.

“I carry a nanny bag and pull out one activity at a time,” she explained. “It’s fun and surprising and the kids are always asking, ‘What do you have in your nanny bag, Miss Traci?’ And they know they’re not allowed to go into it which makes it even more of a big deal.”

“She’s like a pre-school coming to your house,” noted Kortney Gibbons who is mom to Lexi, Sam, and Charlie. “She’s does crafts and other interactive stuff. She’s got something new and different every time.”

Nanny Traci strives to make sure kids get her undivided attention. Whether they’re making jewelry, ornaments, ceramic items, specialized photos, or even doing some sort of science-related project, she’s right there to help.

“My daughter loves her,” said Julie Marquez, mother to six year old Chloe. “She comes in with a bag of crafts to do with Chloe and when she leaves, Chloe’s done like three or four different things while she was here. She just always has a lot of stuff for her to do.”

As her clientele grew and she began getting busier and busier, Nanny Traci decided to open her own professional nanny business (Nannytraci.com). She began hiring additional nannies to help her. She does background and reference checks, requires them to be (or get certified) in CPR, and makes sure they share her philosophy of spending real time with the children. And like her, they enter every home, hotel room, beach condo or beach house equipped with a nanny bag.

She said she recently heard from a mom who, when emailing information about her kids ahead of time, said they’d probably just play on their iPads while the parents were gone. Afterward the mom emailed to say she was so pleased that the nanny had actually interacted with the kids.

“I think that’s the biggest thing (for us) is making sure the kids are really being engaged and doing things they probably don’t do on a regular basis.”

She’s also taken an interest in special needs kids after an experience with a child with autistic spectrum disorder. She’s worked to educate herself and looks for nanny candidates who have experience with special needs children.

“It’s really hard for parents of special needs kids to find babysitters. It takes some understanding to know the difference between bad behavior or someone just having an episode.”

She says it’s all been a learning process and she’s always open to educating herself.

“I watched a child about a year ago who had Down Syndrome and I had had no experience. But I’m always willing to learn. I tell parents, if you’re willing to teach me, I’m willing to learn.”

With the business doing so well, Nanny Traci recently decided to venture into a new area and offer to nanny services at weddings and events. So far, it seems to be doing well.

As always, she’s guided by the same thing set her off on this path from the beginning. She truly enjoys caring for and spending time with children. She says she’s fortunate to be able to point to so many special moments she’s shared with different kids over the years. They are meaningful “milestones.”

She recalls one last year while watching Sophia and Alexis Reinhardt while their parents were on vacation. Sophia had started kindergarten and after school came home with a book she was supposed to read for homework.

“She said, but I can’t read, Miss Traci.’ So, I sat down with her and we read the book together. I started showing her how to use the pictures and by the end she could read the whole book on her own. We made a video and sent it to her mom.”

Even now, the two share a special bond when it comes to reading.

“It’s a thing for us now,” she says with a warm laugh, “so experiences like that really rock my world.”

While one day she hopes to have children of her own, for now, Nanny Traci is enjoying all she’s able to do for so many others.

To learn more or contact Nanny Traci, you can visit her website at: nannytraci.com or check out her Facebook page.

This story was originally published September 2, 2016 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Nanny Traci: Nanny to tourists and locals alike."