When childcare isn’t available, or because you can and it saves money, taking your child to work with you is something you could consider doing.
A child can get a tremendous education just from observing and participating in their parent’s work. Your child won’t miss you and your relationship and parent-child attachment will benefit.
Why would you want to do this?
When children are in the same building for childcare day after day, they are in artificial world designed for children with little opportunity to participate in wider society – it’s great for their learning if they can participate in outside activities too and this includes adult and real-world activities.
It is easier for parents who work for themselves to have their child with them as not all places of employment have family-friendly employment policies.
When taking your child to work is possible
Does your family live on the premises of a business such as a corner dairy that you run?
Perhaps you are an owner-driver for a courier company and your child enjoys going with you to many different locations and meeting different people?
Maybe you work in an office environment with parents of other young children and so having a cot and toys on site and flexible work hours is supported? Or maybe you are the company boss and enjoy total say as to when your child is with you.
Some employers may frown on employees who have their baby or young child with them at work believing the employee to be less productive and of course, there are some workplaces such as an air traffic control tower where it is just not safe for a child to join their parent and the child’s safety and the safety of others need to be the first consideration.
In the second half of the following video early childhood expert and mother Dr Sarah Alexander explains more about taking your child to work with you.
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