Whether or not they make it known, your children are interested in you. They care about your life and what you do during the day. That’s why Bring your Child to Work Day is such a great opportunity for both children and their parents. Children have the chance to learn just what Mom or Dad does all day after seeing them off to school in the morning. Parents are able to spend some time showing their sons and daughters the value of hard work and the satisfaction in a job well done. Of course, the lone caveat in this otherwise promising day is that work still needs to be accomplished, and parents can’t spend all their time interacting with their children. The following are thoughts of activities children might enjoy during Bring your Child to Work Day while Dad or Mom is hard at work. Remember, these are your children. You know them best. Tailor these suggestions to fit your child’s interests and personality.
- Create a Business Card – If there is an available computer or just an available piece of paper, encourage your son or daughter to make their own business card. They could pretend they are the president of the company, principal of the school, or whatever they choose to imagine. They’ll feel like they’re a part of the work environment, and should have a great time making their business card, too.
- Assist with Simple Tasks – If you need copies made, paperwork filed, documents shredded, or have any uninvolved jobs to complete, take your child along with you. Let them participate as you show them what to do, and even let them take over the job themselves. You get to work together with your child, and your child gets to feel a sense of accomplishment as they are actually performing real work just like Mom or Dad. This is something you should both appreciate.
- Plan a Group Project – If coworkers nearby are also bringing their children to work, why not have them work together to complete a minor, somewhat fun job-related project for you. Once they’ve finished, perhaps parents and children could have a meeting in a conference room to discuss what was done.
- Go out for Lunch – Let your son or daughter take a break from the grind, and enjoy some time together away from work. You can talk about the day so far, and discuss anything they might be interested in seeing or learning in the afternoon.
My grandson joined me at work today. He is currently sitting in a meeting with the other kids learning about what everyone does. Great experience for him.
my company has a great day of events planned. my daughter came in yesterday and had a blast and is already talking about coming back next year. it was wonderful for the children and we had a big group this year!
I think it is great to let your children experience what you do all day. Sometimes I think my kids think I play all day!
This was the first year that any of my kids were old enough to attend. My boys had such a wonderful time and out HR department really went above and beyond in planning activities and events for the kids.
I do not have children, but I still had a wonderful time for bring your child to work day. Several coworkers brought their kids in and I was able to sit with a few of them and show them what I do. They were so interested and really wanted to learn. It was such a fun and enriching day for all!
I can’t wait until my daughter is old enough to come to work with me. I think she will enjoy seeing what I do.
Years ago when my daughter was 17–she is now 32–she spent the day at my office, learning how to enter orders into our custom computer program. By the end of the day, she had mastered all the details and was doing a great job. Just goes to show you how the youth can absorb and learn things quickly. I was real proud of her.
My kids ask to come to my office constantly. They wish it wasn’t just a one day thing. They had a great time learning about the different departments and seeing what I do each day.
My office holds a second bring your kid to work day in the winter when the kids have break. The kids love coming in and we so appreciate that our boss does that.
i know this is from awhile back, but i love this event. i organize it for my office and we usually have around 40 kids show up to “work” with us.
My kids used to love to come to Bring Your Child to Work Day – now they are all too old! I’m waiting on grandchildren and look forward to bringing them someday! Kids really don’t have any idea what we do all day when we are at work and it’s great for them to see and experience this.