Remember when you were a kid, did you even know what your dad did for a living? For a job? Did you know what he was doing while you were at school? I don’t remember ever going to work with my dad or even having a conversation about what he did for a living. Kids are really interested in what their parents do for a living. They really do want to know what you do “at work”. They know you are going to “work” but they don’t know what that really means.
By taking your daughter to work, you can show her what your day consists of. This is a great way to build your relationship with her. Some careers just don’t allow for this to happen like working on an oil rig or something, but most jobs on some days can allow for this to happen.
Once I took my daughter to work with me and I had an important meeting with some other business associates. My daughter brought her note pad in and took notes, she even had a few things to say in the meeting. Later that day, she remembered what was said and she asked me several questions about what certain things meant and why they were said. That was over a year ago and she still talks about that day that I took her into one of my meetings.
Plan a day of things that you normally do and throw in a few things that will be just plain fun for them to do, either with you or while you are taking a call. I set up a list of things that I had to add up for a project of mine, I could have done it on the computer, but instead I asked my seven year old to add all the things on this page for me. She loved it and she didn’t take too long to do it either. Then I got out this rendering of a building and told her that we had to find a good color combination for it and asked her if she could color it for me. She did a great job and took great care see that she stayed in the lines. The next thing we did was teach her to answer the phone. She loved working with our receptionist and finding out what she did on the phone. She even put the headset on to answer a few calls.
One of the great benefits you will get from bringing your kids to work is that they will start to understand you more. They will understand when, sometimes, you have to say that you will not be home tonight or for a few days. They feel that they know where you are and what you are doing and that gives them comfort while you are gone. They will ask you about work too. They will truly be interested in what you did at work.
When my kids go to school, I always tell them to “be nice to the other kids at school”. Just this morning my youngest daughter said to me, “have a good day at work daddy and be nice to your workers daddy”. It is great when they start to understand that you have responsibilities and things that you have to do every day. It makes going to school seem much easier for them and much more of a daily ritual that even daddy has to put up with at work.
Knowing what “work” is and that it is waiting for them after “school” will definitely help them to enjoy school more and possibly encourage them to do a better job with their own school work and school work habits.
Author Resource:-
Lance Waite, a father of two daughters, is also the author of two children's books, A Day With My Dad, and A Day With My Dad At The Beach. Inspired by the time spent with his daughters, the stories explore the value of spending time with children. For more information, visit: http://www.adaywithmydad.com/.
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