AFTER fulfilling a childhood dream of becoming a police officer, Tamara Makhouli has switched careers to childcare.
“Growing up all I wanted to be was a police officer; I remember being at nursery and roleplaying as an officer,” the Quinns Rocks resident said.
Mrs Makhouli said she worked in police roles for more than 10 years in Scotland before migrating to WA with her husband and two children three years ago.
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However, her efforts to join WA Police went awry when she damaged her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) during a practice scenario on an auxiliary officer course.
“I required an ACL reconstruction,” Mrs Makhouli said.
“It took a full year of physio to recover, however because I didn’t get the full range of bend back in my knee, two doctors classed me as ‘unfit’ to police again.”
Although it was the news she dreaded, Mrs Makhouli remained positive and decided it was time for a change.
Growing up, her work experience had revolved around children so it seemed obvious her work should involve children.
“After many years policing and working shifts, missing family events, working Christmases, I knew I wanted something to work around my own family,” she said.
“I wanted to be my own boss (and) I wanted a house full of kids but not necessarily my own.
“This is when I thought about opening up my own family day care; I could watch my own kids grow, work from home and help raise other good little people in the world.”
With support from her husband, Mrs Makhouli went back to college, did her placements and then started Little Cadets Family Daycare.
“Even though I am no longer a police officer, I can still give back to the community by offering a really good personal family daycare and help families raise good little people to grow up in our community,” she said.
“My own two children love having the younger kids around.”