Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (Full Version)

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gengwall -> Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 10:03:47 AM)

I thought it would be nice to get off the usual fare for a spell and discuss something a little less divisive. As I write this I can hear the voice of what I guess is about a 6 year old a few cubes down from me. Clearly, some parent found themsleves in the all too common daycare dilema where they had to find something to do with their kid for a day. Many times, rather than miss a day of work, they tote the child in with them. Now, I'm not talking about infants, but usually children from 4-8 or 9 yo who can't stay home alone but who are also hard to find emergency sitters for. So, what do you all think? Is this an acceptable practice? Persoanlly, I like to hear young voices around the work place. It adds a certain energy to the place and keeps us all on our best behavior. But I'm curious if others have encountered this and what they think about it.



Szaftoo -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 10:12:07 AM)

Depends on the workplace. To some children would be a real distraction or they could get hurt.



moon_mouse -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 10:19:37 AM)

I'm sure there are some workplaces where it might be ok, but generally no. It's a distraction to other employees, the parent isn't going to be able to concentrate on their work, and in some workplaces it might be viewed by clients as unprofessional. If the child is out of daycare because he's sick, absolutely not!



WalkingwithHim2 -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 10:24:52 AM)

No! I worked for a person who always brought his kids in to the office when they didn't have school or were sick. Many of the clients walked in and saw the kids - cancelled their appointments and chose to use a different office because of the perceived lack of professionalism.



Consecrated2God -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 10:29:27 AM)

I think it depends. If it's not a dangerous place, and they aren't going to hinder the parents from doing their job, I don't see a problem. I'm sure different places have different rules about bringing your children to work. If they don't let you bring in your children, though, they do need to make sure that if you need to take a day off to take care of your kids they let you.



kernsfamily -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 10:31:56 AM)

I, as a parent of 3, still call it a "NO"...for the same reasons that the others mentioned: unprofessional, not productive, etc..etc..

Here, at my workplace, though....if something happened, and i REALLY REALLY needed to be at home with the kids, something can ALWAYS be worked out. Whether it's working from home for the day, making up the work some other time, or whatever....

Typically, Iam VERY good at getting here as early as I can possibly get here (helps out with the commute, and having that "quiet time" before everyone else gets here helps me alot).....so, when "emergencies" come up like that, generally, my "immediate supervisor" will take that into consideration, if I no longer have any 'vacation' or other days to use up (which i usually do have days to use, since I have almost more than I could ever use up now, anyway!)....it's what we call "comp time".....

not really in that situation much, though, as my wife is a stay-at-home mom....



Consecrated2God -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 10:38:07 AM)

I'm thinking back through some of the jobs my husband and I have had.

At one time he mowed a cemetary. We would do that together, and take the kids with us and they'd play in the grass while we mowed.

Another time, he worked for a roofing company. He didn't ever bring the kids, but when he started his own construction business and the kids were older, sometimes our oldest boy would go along and he'd pay him to pick up trash for him.

He worked nights as a supervisor for a cleaning company for awhile. Since it was nights, there was never an occasion where he needed to bring the kids, but if he'd needed to he probably could have.

When he worked at Walmart, there was no way he could have had the kids back there. Only authorized Tire and Lube workers were supposed to be in the shop.

At Taco Bell, where I worked, again the rule was nobody but employees behind the counter.

At his job now, he's a pastor, and sometimes he'll watch one or more kids in his office while I'm taking some of the other kids somewhere else. He's even taken one with him on a visitation visit before. They always love it when he brings the kids.

So, it just depends on the job.



Jhud -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 10:48:07 AM)

Yeah, I think it depends on the work environment; some are much more casual than others.

Now I did work for a company once that had 'bring your dog to work' once a month. That made for an interesting work environment.



LaurainAL -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 11:21:35 AM)

I have done it a few times when I an employee of mine was out and one of my children needed to go to the Dr. I brought them with me long enough to get the major report done and then left. My boss appreciated that I didn't leave him in a bad spot.

My kids are super cute, so my co-workers enjoyed seeing them. [:D]. I am not biased or anything.



GroupW -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 12:02:32 PM)

As a senior manager in a large-ish firm, I would say generally it's something to be avoided. Special circumstances occur that are unavoidable, so I'd be reluctant to give a firm "no" but I would not expect it to be a regular occurrence. I've had to bring my son the office on a couple of occasions, but that would be 2 or 3 times over an 8 year period. It's never been for more than an hour or two at the most.

It's also highly dependent on the firm, the professional culture, the nature of the work, etc. I work for a company that's reasonably family-friendly so people tend to be a bit more understanding (and are expected to be!)

(Thanks, this is a nice break from the normal controversy!)



Jhud -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 12:31:12 PM)

My wife's work allows her to bring all our kids to work with her everyday.

Indeed, they insist she does.



Covaan_Meshuga -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 12:31:35 PM)

I think it obviously depends upon the work-setting. If bringing children endangers them or causes a loss of cranky clientelle, then don't do it. That's a given.

However, I have brought children to work on occasion, always with the complete compliance of my bosses. The first time, I worked for a swanky architect firm, and was just a temp there. When they called to ask me to come in, I declined because my first grandchild had just been born, and I had already said I would have him on the days they wanted me. They begged me to come in anyway and bring him along. I was shocked but did it.

At my present job, one of my grandsons has come to work with me numerous times. The only repercussions are that my boss steals his frenchfries and my grandson loves it!



stellaluna -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 12:37:12 PM)

I think I would enjoy a bunch of dogs running about; not so much on the kids.

I don't think it should be a huge deal to bring a kid to work if no other option is available and the parent can get things settled enough at work that they can leave and take the kid with them. We had a woman who brought her daughter to work fairly frequently and then would complain that the kid overheard curse words or "inappropriate" conversations. That didn't go over at all and management eventually told her to stop and they made a policy that bringing a child into the station must be a brief and temporary situation. (There is nothing appropriate for a child in a television newsroom, I promise.)

So I agree it depends on the workplace.



LaurainAL -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 1:20:53 PM)

A few months ago one of my employee's son got sick at school and they called her to come and pick him up. He apparently was sick all over the lunch room floor. She was going to pick him up and then bring him back to work with her so she could meet a deadline. I told her just to take him home. In that situation, it was better to not bring the child to work with you.



rcjames -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 1:40:11 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: LaurainAL

A few months ago one of my employee's son got sick at school and they called her to come and pick him up. He apparently was sick all over the lunch room floor. She was going to pick him up and then bring him back to work with her so she could meet a deadline. I told her just to take him home. In that situation, it was better to not bring the child to work with you.


Ah yes; the wisdom of a Pastor's wife never ceases to amaze me.

Thanks
RC



OneOfHisJewels -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 1:44:55 PM)

It totally and utterly depends on the kind of workplace. A daycare worker SHOULD be able to bring their child, a hairdresser, it would depend on the age and behavior of the child, and the discretion of the salon owner, a high school teacher, I could see it being OK as an occasional, fun thing, a military pilot, NEVER(and they would lose their job if they did).



LaurainAL -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 1:47:48 PM)

My husband bring his whole family to work at least twice a week (Wednesdays and Sundays).



Jenny-Fair -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 1:59:51 PM)

I have brought one or both of my kids with me to various jobs. When I worked for my dad, I was able to do so once very week or two. They were generally put to work, lol. Sometimes they got to go on tows or lockout calls, as well, and that was good occupational ed.

When I worked for Fish & Wildlife I brought them every so often on an empty-office day--the day after Thanksgiving, or a friday when most people would be gone. No one minded, and in fact the eldest may be working there 'for-real' this summer.

I used to take them to college with me once a quarter or so. Brandon answered a question in my Biology class that none of my classmates would or could answer--he was 9. I also tutored at the colleges and so the boys would sit with me there-mainly just the eldest one, and never more than one at a time.

Once when I got 'called in' at Cinnabon Brandon happened to be with me and napped on the flour sacks[:D]

They both worked the paper route with me just about every day.

Never took them to the concrete factory--it was a hardhat area, so that would not have been a happy thing.

As far as what do I think about it? Obviously I am all for it. I don't think kids should be kept separate from the adult world. In addition to sometimes coming to work with me, I have actually sent them to work with other people. How else will they learn about working, choosing a career, etc? Brandon used to go to work once a quarter with a crop consultant friend, and can tell you all you want to know about apples, their qualities, the blights and insects to look out for, and I actually made him draw me a flow chart that showed what happened in the processing facilities. If you want good apples, have him pick them!



1love1God1way -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 2:00:23 PM)

[sarcasm]

Awww. Is this kid making it difficult for you to concentrate on the forums while at work?

[/sarcasm]

It does vary a lot on situation/location/reason/work environment/etc.



car2ner -> RE: Should Parents Be Allowed to Bring Their Young Children to Work in a "Pinch" (5/2/2008 3:37:14 PM)

Was today the offical "Bring your kid to work day"? I had a child leave school early for that.

My opinion is that it depends on the job, the day, the temprement of the kiddo, lots of stuff. Brining the kid in just because they don't have a sitter is not usually good policy, but I do understand the struggle.



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