Kids-eye view of parents @work
Coming soon to an office near you, it’s Take Your Child to Work Day, but wait, there’s more.
How about what it’s like to work and then come home …and work?
April 22nd marks the annual Take Your Child to Work Day.
Each year, companies and employees sponsor a day that parents can bring their child to work as a way to mentor children and educate them about career choices. Children get to enjoy the commute, the lunch hour, (If you bring a brown bag lunch on a daily basis - stick to the routine) -- or not, meetings, tasks, and everything else in between.
But it’s also a chance to expand on what being a responsible adult and parent involves and the challenges in balancing work and home life.
After that full day at work, consider having the children help with the real homework – that’s the stuff you and I do when we get home from work. If you're job-hunting instead, and if you think it’s appropriate, take your child with you.
Either way, there’s still the laundry. Preparing dinner. Making lunches for the next day. Paying bills. Going grocery shopping. Walking the dog.
Sure, these might be chores your child is already doing. But don’t make TYC2WD so special that they lose the reality and importance of the message -don’t devalue your role. You won’t be turning them off of the idea of a balanced work-life. You’ll be opening the door for them and empowering them with the right coping tools.
Will you and your child be participating in TYC2WD? IF so, how?
Follow Cindy Kent on Twitter.com @mindingyourbiz
Photo courtesy of chefranden on Flickr
Gretchen Day-Bryant has a son in high school and a daughter in middle school. She’s lived to tell about the struggles of juggling little kids and work.
Joy Oglesby has a preschooler...
Cindy Kent Fort Lauderdale mother of three. Her kids span in ages from teenager to 20s.
Rafael Olmeda and his wife welcomed their first son in Feb. 2009, and he's helping raise two teenage stepdaughters.
Lois Solomon lives in Boca Raton with her husband and three daughters.
Georgia East is the parent of a five-year-old girl, who came into the world weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces.
Brittany Wallman is the mother of Creed, 15, and Lily, 7, and is married to a journalist, Bob Norman. She covers Broward County government, which is filled with almost as much drama as the Norman household. Almost.
Chris Tiedje is the Social Media Coordinator and the father of a 7-year-old girl, and two boys ages 4 and 3.
Kyara Lomer Camarena has a 2-year-old son, Copelan, and a brand new baby. 
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