Preferring to Stay Small: Tati's Family Daycare

Business: Tati’s Family Daycare

Owner: Tatiana Pereira, 47

How long have you been working out of your daycare business in El Cerrito? We moved here in 2001, but I was doing the daycare before in Albany. When we bought this house, we moved here and I started working in El Cerrito. It’s great. I like my house, I like the city, it’s fun. The only thing I would change would be having more (accessible) parks. 

How many kids do you usually sit? My license is for 12, but I only have four, because, I would need a helper to work. It’s nice to have a helper, but at the same time it’s kind of stressful for the kids to have a big group of kids and two adults giving directions. I work better by myself with a small group of kids; I think it’s less stress for them.

How do you like having your home business in El Cerrito? It’s been good. I think I got scared for the first time—this new situation with the economy, the hard time was last summer when I had all the kids leaving to preschool and I didn’t have anybody to start. But within a week I had the families that I wished (for), and I’m very, very happy and glad everything worked out—but it was pretty scary.

Do you have the same kids for many years? I have a family for ten years, they have four kids and I take care of the four kids. I miss them a lot—they are from Kensington. I started with them in Albany. I started fifteen years ago—it’s a long time.

Did you grow up in the Bay Area? No, no. I’m from Brazil, I came with my husband. He is a landscaper and also has a business. It’s been fun, I like it. We moved here at the end of 1989. That’s a long time. I feel more American than Brazilian right now.