A small home-based childcare center in Pleasanton is providing families with an intimate alternative to larger daycare facilities, caring for children from newborn to four years old with a maximum capacity of just six children at any time.
Mullins Day Care & Child Care operates as a licensed home daycare that emphasizes individual attention and personalized care for each child. The facility’s small size allows for more one-on-one interaction between caregivers and children, a feature that has become increasingly important to parents seeking quality early childhood care.
The Pleasanton childcare center distinguishes itself through its commitment to screen-free environments, focusing instead on play-based learning and development. This approach has resonated with parents who are concerned about excessive screen time for young children.

“Nancy is someone you can trust to care genuinely for your child. She has taken care of my child since he was four months old, and she saved me from sleepless nights because he started sleeping through the night the first week he was there,” said Ning Su, a parent whose child attends the daycare. “It is also a plus that she never has a TV or iPad anywhere near the kids, it’s all play.”
The daycare’s owner, Nancy, has built a reputation for reliability and flexibility with scheduling, accommodating working parents’ varying needs while maintaining consistent care standards. Parents report that she provides ample notice for any closures and works to accommodate families’ scheduling requirements.
Making quality childcare accessible to all families is a core mission of the center. Through participation in the Hively subsidy program, the home-based daycare in Pleasanton enables lower-income families to access childcare services at reduced costs or sometimes free of charge. This program helps bridge the gap for families who might otherwise struggle to afford quality early childhood care.
The subsidy program represents an important resource for the Pleasanton community, where childcare costs can be prohibitive for many working families. By accepting subsidized placements, the daycare helps ensure that all children have access to nurturing, educational care regardless of their family’s financial situation.
Parents who have utilized the daycare’s services speak highly of the trust they’ve developed with the provider. “Phenomenal daycare. Nancy is amazing with children, we trust her completely which can be extremely hard to find,” shared J HL, whose family has used the daycare for multiple children. “She’s taken care of our first for almost 3 years, she’ll be taking care of our 2nd as well.”
The emphasis on building long-term relationships with families has become a hallmark of the daycare’s approach. Many families continue to enroll subsequent children after positive experiences with their first, creating a community atmosphere where children from the same families grow up together in a nurturing environment.
For parents seeking quality daycare in Pleasanton, the combination of personalized attention, screen-free play environments, and accessible pricing through subsidy programs offers a compelling option. The home-based model provides an alternative to institutional daycare settings, creating a more familial atmosphere that many parents find comforting when leaving their young children in someone else’s care.
As demand for quality childcare continues to grow in the Bay Area, small home-based operations like Mullins Day Care & Child Care fill an important niche, providing personalized care that larger facilities often cannot match while maintaining affordability through innovative subsidy partnerships.


