From our wonderful families

Testimonials

  • Tessa has been with our family for a couple of months caring for my 18 month old twins. Its be a delight to welcome her into our weekly routine and made returning to work an easy transition for everyone. My boys adore her, they rush for cuddles when she arrives, play happily all day and cry when she leaves. I work from home and there’s less crying with Tessa than without Tessa! She’s punctual, friendly, and great with the little ones. I would hire her again in a heartbeat.

    — Rostrevor Family

  • ‘Tessa comes to the door with boxes of fun activities and my kids (1.5 and 4) just run to her with excitement. Tessa builds trust and rapport in seconds. I feel 100% comfortable when my babies are with Tessa, nothing is too much for her and she has the confidence and experience to go with the flow and work everything out. We come home to the happiest children who have had the best day.’

    — Magill Family

  • Tessa came into my life when the boys were 16 months and only 6 weeks old and without exaggerating she was my guardian Angel. As a mum who was struggling with PND she came into our home so seamlessly and just instantly took a weight off my shoulders. I felt an instant warmth from her and myself, hubby and the two boys were comfortable with her from the beginning. Tessa became a part of our family, helping with the boys when hubby was working away, when we needed date nights, or when we had functions on that required an extra set of hands for the kids. We have now been blessed to have used Calm Play childminding for a whopping 9.5months and every time we are greeted with a smile and a basket of toys which the toddler thinks is the bees knees! Tessa has been a life saver in emergencies and been able to pick the kids up from day care when we have been unable to and we are forever grateful and thankful for her existence in our life. Tessa, we are so proud of your growth and blessed to have been apart of your journey. We adore you. If anyone is looking for a warm, caring and nurturing person to welcome into their lives for any childminding occasion I can highly recommend Tessa.

    — Mt Barker Family

  • We have known Tessa for about a year as a pre kindy educator for our son and are so thankful for Calm Play! Here is what our kiddos said: “Mummy & Daddy need to have another date soon so we can have more Tessa time!” Highly recommend Calm play a

    - My Barker Family

  • I have known Tessa for a number of years and trust her wholeheartedly with my two children aged 7 and 4. My husband and I have no extended support around us and never have time for just us. Tessa showed up with her bundle of creative goodies and my kids were so excited for us to leave. She did such an amazing job that the kids have been asking when we will be going out again so Tessa can come over! We will be using her again for sure

    — Ironbank Family

  • Tessa has always been a favourite in our house, so much so, that when learning the alphabet, “T” will always be for Tessa! It’s so lovely to have such a caring, creative, engaging and energetic person, whom we wholeheartedly trust, with our 4 and 1 year olds. Clingy/Velcro master 4 even said “ok mummy you can go now” the very first time Tessa came over to look after them. We highly recommend Tessa, we might just have to go out more often

    — Hahndorf Family

  • When planning our engagement party/ surprise wedding, we knew all our usually babysitters would be unavailable and I started the hunt for an overnight nanny to care for our two boys. I found Tessa’s business on an Adelaide Hills mums group on Facebook and instantly could tell her vibe and child minding style was exactly what we wanted for our children. I explained to her that my eldest son was quite emotional and has suffered from anxiety issues when we had left him before, but Tessa came to meet and hang out with the kids a few times before the big night and won our son over. After spending time with her we felt more confident and comfortable that she was the perfect fit to look after our beautiful boys. On the big night there was no tantrums no tears and my eldest was not phased at all that we we were leaving him for the evening, because he felt so safe and comfortable with Tessa, everything was seamless and easy. The big night was a success an my son now tells everyone about Tessa. I can tell she really cares for the children in her care and engages them in meaningful play. I know who I will go to the next time we need an overnight nanny and I’ve been recommending her to all my friends.

  • I was very hesitant to book a nanny to look after my son alone during the later part of our wedding reception - especially someone from another city that I’d never met but Tessa came highly recommended to me from a handful of other Mums who had used to her service and from the moment we first engaged I felt at ease and knew she was the perfect person for the job. Tessa was more than happy to set up a time to chat on the phone about our son and all of his needs, and she was also flexible when it came to doing a meet and greet with her a few days prior to the event. Tessa’s service isn’t just like a regular “babysitting” service, she actually takes the time to get to know your little one and engages with them in such a calm and loving manner. I absolutely recommend Tessa’s service and will definitely use it again in the future!

    — Hahndorf Discovery Park Family

  • I approached Tessa 2 weeks prior to my wedding at The LaneVinyard. I was travelling interstate as well. Her communication and problem solving skills gave me such piece of mind trying to Co ordinate the children for the day and night. Tessa was punctual with following the itinerary which mind you was 13 hours. Tessa met with me a couple of days earlier to go over the details. The 9 children absolutely had a ball in the accommodation while us adults celebrated the night away, it was just so comforting knowing that the children were safe, happy and nurtured in Tessa’s care. I am looking forward to coming back to Adelaide to catch up .

    — The Lane Vineyard Family

  • We hired Tessa for our Wedding at McLaren Vale to look after a number of children after the ceremony and through the evening reception. She did a fantastic job at playing and entertaining the children - keeping them busy so the parents could have a night off. Tessa was very professional and was very accommodating in dealing with a number of children, who didn’t know each other. We were very grateful for Tessa and her team and would definitely recommend them to others.

    — The Currant Shed Family

  • Hiring Tessa for childminding at our wedding was one of the best decisions we made. Having 2 young children under 4 (plus 2 young nieces at the wedding), it put our minds at ease that our children were well looked after and allowed us to enjoy the night. The kids loved the activities that Tessa had set up and her calm and gentle nature made the kids feel so comfortable with her. We highly recommend Tessa!!

    — Ten22 Family

  • 6 months out from the wedding we booked Tessa from CalmPlay to come to the wedding venue and look after our 1 and 4 year. Tessa brought quiet play toys for our 4 year old who still talks about the play-doh and wedding drawings they did together, and had our 1 year old asleep within 20 minutes of arriving. Having Tessa meant neither my husband nor I (or our families) would need to leave the reception to try and rock the kids to sleep, or deal with an extremely overtired toddler because there was no where for him to rest. Communication was sensational (we had a meet and greet prior to the wedding), and my husband and I instantly felt comfortable and relaxed with our decision. The kids absolutely loved her and we would book her again in a heartbeat!

    Maximillian Restaurant

  • Just want to say the biggest thank you to you and Larissa. You both went above and beyond for our little ones. You allowed us all to have the best day and night ever and the kids loved you!!! We will definitely be recommending you highly to anyone in need of your services. Thank you so much for the gorgeous book from all the kids and the delicious cookies.

    Alru Farm

  • We can not thank Tessa enough for making our wedding day night stress free and peaceful not having to worry about our little one. From our first meet and greet we instantly felt comfortable and knew we could trust Tessa with Maxi. We had her at our wedding so Maxi our 2 year old could be apart of our day but neither us or our family members / guest ms had to worry about his where abouts. He had so much fun with Tessa and connected to her calm nature. Tessa took Maxi home for an overnight so we could get away on our wedding night. Everything ran so smoothly and I highly recommend calm play to all my family and friends now

    ‘Alru Farm’

  • The best and most amazing company to entrust the care of our kids at our wedding! Tessa is fabulous and has such a kind, caring, fun and creative attitude towards the whole process. My kids loved spending time with her while still enjoying the wedding. She provided customised activities for the kids and brought a wide variety of supplies. Overall, she is simply amazing and I would happily recommend her to everyone requiring care for kids at their event.

    ‘Longview Vineyard’

  • Tessa is fabulous with our kids she is kind and calm and creative. We felt safe knowing our kids were in good hands with Calm Play on our wedding day.

    ‘Lisa and Trav’

  • Tessa made our day stress free , we were able to have our little one at our wedding but never had to worry about him his safety or entertain him. I had never heard of this service until I stumbled across calmplay on Instagram . Not only dud Tessa keep our 2 year old entertained she was so friendly all of our guest commented on her calm friendly nature. Felt like we had known her forever and that made us trust her 100 % with our son. Tessa also took Our son home for an overnight stay at our place so we could still enjoy a limo get away to a hotel for our wedding night. This service is amazing and I'd recommend To any parents getting married.

    ‘Alru Farm’

  • SunnyBrae Estate

    We just wanted to say Thankyou so much for taking care of Arlo last night you honestly are amazing, you allowed us to be able to enjoy our nights and not have to stress about our son.

    You were amazing with him he felt so safe and happy being with you.

    It definitely put our minds at ease knowing he was with you, trusting a person with your child is a lot as a mum and honestly as soon as we met you we instantly knew that Arlo would be in safe hands.

    ‘Alicia and Jase’

  • St Francis Winery

    When I initially contacted Tessa we were expecting 10 children at our wedding party, however once we started crunching final numbers it was looking closer to 20 😳. Tessa took it all in her stride, with ages from 3 months to 11 she managed to curate a space for all of the kids to have a safe play area for the duration or our celebration. From a ball pit, to a pinball machine, to crafts - there was literally something for everyone and I think some of the adults had just as much fun!

    So grateful for Tessa and her amazing team, that we were able to create a beautiful core memory for our littlest guests & would recommend anyone nervous about having kids at a party to consider contacting Calm Play, it gave our guests a chance to catch up without the kids hanging off them, but never far away if they needed mum or dad.

    ‘Matt and Lomond’

  • The Lane Vineyard

    When I first met Tessa my daughter and I immediately felt at ease with her calm & friendly personality. It was so helpful to have her at our wedding to look after our toddler. She looked after Lucy during photos and mingled with her before the ceremony- She was so a total pro. The second Tessa took it daughter Lucy back to the air bnb to put her to bed I felt relaxed knowing she was in good hands. So many family and friends on the day commented on how great Tessa was with our daughter.