BEST DAY CARE
Pam Scattergood Day Care
For new moms, finding day care can be challenging. Moms want someone who is going to look after their child as they would. Springfield-area parents have trusted their little ones’ care to Pam Scattergood Day Care in Chatham for more than two decades.
The business started when Pam, who wasn’t happy with her own daughter’s day care, left her job to stay home with her when her daughter was a year old. A friend was looking for someone to watch her son at the time, and her business took off from there. Pam has now operated a licensed home day care for the past 26 years.
She currently cares for five children, although she is licensed to care for up to eight. “I prefer a smaller group,” she says, because she can provide more one-on-one with them.
“It’s a rewarding job,” she says, and children call her their second mom. Her husband, Ron, often helps her and the kids call him “Dear.” She once had a parent ask her why their child called her husband “Dear,” and she explained it was because she calls him that around the house. “Kids listen and pick up on things,” she says, laughing.
Pam makes it clear from the initial interview that it’s a family home day care and she expects children to respect their home. She treats each child the same as she treated her children when they were growing up. It’s this atmosphere that parents appreciate.
She cares for children through preschool age and enjoys watching each child grow and develop new skills. Pam says she especially loves seeing a child go from learning how to talk to putting words together and telling a story. “It’s fun watching their expressions and the words they use,” she said.
Her day care is an institution in the Chatham area, and families often stop by to say hi. “Their family becomes our family,” she explained, and she now cares for the children of children she once cared for. “People remember me,” she says, and families who have moved away often drive back to Chatham to have her watch their children.
“I never saw myself doing day care this long,” said Pam, but now can’t imagine retiring. “I can’t see myself doing anything else.”
