What is the purpose of Take Your Child to Work Day?

The goal of Take Your Child to Work Day is to give kids a better idea of what their parents do for a living. There are a lot of wonderful benefits to offering this special day to your employees, including:

• Children get a chance to see how hard their parents work and what they do behind the scenes to provide a living for the family.
• Allowing a child to spend the day with their parents at work is a wonderful bonding opportunity.
• Employees can form new friendships with their coworkers as they get to know each other’s children and learn more about their families.
• Hosting a Take Your Child to Work Day can be an excellent way to create a positive work environment and boost morale.
• This event gives parents the opportunity to talk to their kids about the importance of hard work and how it can make them better adults.
• Kids who get to see their parents at work may be inspired to take a new path for their future, discover a new interest and observe how their parents are good role models.

Encourage your employees to talk to their children before the day arrives. They should talk about what they do for a living and find out if their kids have any questions or want to know more about specific aspects of their workday. Have parents tell their kids what to expect in advance so they’re ready when the day comes. Create a handout or flyer that explains what kind of attire and behavior is appropriate.

Benefits of offering an official Bring Your Child to Work Day program for employees

If you want to offer an official Take Your Kid to Work Day, consider these benefits:

• Children will have the opportunity to learn more about what their parents do and see where they work.
• Having kids in the workplace can create a fun environment and makes for an exciting day.
• This is an excellent chance to learn more about your employees and their family.
• The program gives parents a wonderful opportunity to teach their kids about work ethics and the importance of hard work.
• This special day empowers kids, sparks their imaginations and teaches them some important life lessons.

Ways to make the day a success at your workplace:

• In your employee communications, include a link to the official website so everyone knows it’s a special day that occurs once a year.
• Several weeks before the day, hold a meeting to discuss how you see production and how the overall atmosphere will change that day so everyone feels included and informed — even those who do not bring children to the workplace.
• Make it clear that children are only allowed to be present on the designated, official Take Your Child to Work Day and not on any other day.
• Your employees will have to spend time monitoring their children throughout the day, which could slow down production.
• Children might become bored or restless, and your employees might need to leave work to take them back to school or home in the middle of the day.

Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to include a Take Your Child to Work Day as part of your company policy. There are no requirements to offer such a program, so it’s at your discretion. The type of work environment you have can also play a role in your decision. For example, you may not want to bring children into a busy manufacturing plant where safety is an issue.

What to include in a Bring Your Child to Work Day policy

If you determine that offering a Bring Your Kid to Work Day is right for you, it’s important to implement a few guidelines. If an employee has an emergency and a child cannot make the official company day, you can include an exception to this rule somewhere in your company handbook near the parental leave policy. Just make sure that you outline exactly what constitutes an emergency and how employees would go about getting this type of exception approved.

In addition to laying out the rules for when this day will take place, you should also make it very clear where children are and are not allowed to go. For example, children should not be allowed to roam the building unattended or enter specific areas where it could be dangerous.

Make it clear that parents must be with their children at all times on this day, depending on their age. Another important component of this policy should mention how long children are allowed to stay during the day. Perhaps you can set specific hours when kids are welcome and emphasize that they can only be there during this time.

The general age range for kids attending their parent’s workplace is between 8 and 18. If employees plan to have their children at work during their lunch break, consider offering special food like pizza or sandwiches. You could also host a brief introduction for the kids that explains what your company does and how important their parents are to your business.

Make sure that the building is clean and free of potentially dangerous obstacles or harmful toxins that kids could accidentally ingest. Planning ahead ensures that this special day goes off without a hitch and everyone has a safe, enjoyable day.

Is Bring Your Child to Work Day right for your company?

Talk to your Human Resources department about the possibility of implementing this day into your company policy. You can also ask your employees for their opinion to ensure that it’s a good idea for everyone. Allowing kids to observe their parents at work can be a wonderful way to improve morale, strengthen bonds and foster new relationships between your employees, their children and each other.