LynneSin's Yearly Rant: Bring your kids to work day

[LynneSin]

Ugh, I just saw the signs at work that the yearly "Bring your kids to work" day is soon coming. When will business get rid of this horrible irritating day which, in my opinion, harms work more than helps it. Fortunately for some of the day the kids spend in a special program setup by the business but the parents have to stay with their children which means the rest of us have to pick up the slack while parents get a free half day to hang out with their kids.

THEN, the kids come hang out with the parents for a few hours while the parents work. Personally, as a kid, I would find nothing more boring than to watch my Mom (a secretary) or my Dad (A Surveryor) work. And every year I find most of the kids who are part of the "Bring your Kids to Work" day pretty much agree with me. But do the kids sit their quietly watching mom or dad work? No - they run around, bored out of their skulls and irritate the rest of us who either don't have kids or can't be bothered with this dumbass idea.

Am I alone in this irritation?

:rant:

[tjwmason]

1. The only parent in this office has a 2-year old

I'd be delighted for him to come into work - no way that's gonna happen though.

Yeah, I'd agree and the theory sucks as much the practice does.

[bleedingheart]

2. I have kids and I have never brought them to work

I understand the idea behind it but to be honest I think it is just a PR trick to make companies look more family friendly.

[liberal N proud]

4. Same here,

The kids each year ask why I don't bring them to work, they know other kids who I work with their parents who do come.
I always tell them they will be working soon enough.

[wtmusic]

14. I don't get it

They're curious what their mom/dad does all day. That's an education they'd never get in school, and it's invaluable.

It costs one day of minor inconvenience, and most of the time only part of the day is in the actual workplace.

[LoZoccolo]

3. This time, /I/ get to knee-jerk!

DON'T YOU KNOW that this day started as "Bring Your Daughter To Work Day"??!! Don't you know that it was a day that was supposed to make young women feel like they could have REWARDING CAREERS? What do you have against THAT??!!

:wtf:

You may may been ignorant of this FACT, but that's the problem...IGNORANCE! :grr:






:+

[bleedingheart]

6. Yes but unfortunately people have gotten carried away..

To be honest I think it would be a great idea if people brought their 15 year and older child to work to get an idea of what mom or dad does...In fact I think it would be better for the kid to go to work with someone in a career that they are interested in so that they can determine if that is what they want to aspire to...

However it has become a circus.

People bring infants, toddlers, and elementary school age kids who aren't really at that point of deciding what the are really going to do when they grow up...and they get bored really fast..

My co-worker is going to participate in it for the first time but her daughter is 13 and old enough to contemplate what mom does and perhaps take an interest in it.

[LynneSin]

7. I realized a long time ago it started with just our daugthers

however, that's not what it is anymore. On paper it was a good idea, but that idea has gone really bad now!

[LoZoccolo]

8. The kids dress up more than the parents do.

I saw someone's son wearing a tie...they are rebelling against their parents' business-casual dress code.

[GalleryGod]

13. You mean, like a Plaid, Double knit Sport Coat with Car Door Lapels?

That kind of "outlived" !???

N.S.S.= No Shit Sherlock!

Feel sorry for you and others, Lynne!:argh: :grr: :hide:

[tigereye]

18. my son wants to go with his dad to work

this year. He is 9. I work at home a lot, so he's already seen me writing ( not every exciting), and he can't go to see patients with me.(I'm a therapist). So it will be interesting to see what his dad decides. I have never seen little kids at the offices I worked at, that makes little sense, but it might be good for the older, more mature kids to see what mom and dad do.

[Straight Shooter]

5. You are not alone.

I work at home, and my single most irritating distraction is the yelling of the kids who live two houses over. Even a super-duper soundproof window doesn't cancel it out.

There's no way I could do my work which requires intense concentration if I actually had a kid running around my office. Children are naturally curious, and if you speak to them kindly, it makes them want to hang around you more. And of course, you can't be rude to a kid, because it's not their fault the company has this silly policy.

Good luck.

[wtmusic]

9. The lines on this one will be drawn

with who has kids and who doesn't.

As a parent, I don't see the big deal. It's one day, the parents with "problem" kids often don't bring them anyway, and it's an education. Get enough of your co-workers who hate the idea together, though, and they'd probably cancel it.

[Bouncy Ball]

10. I think they should just come once or twice.

There's no need to come every year unless mom or dad is doing something drastically different.

I can see the original aim of this program and how it CAN be good, but again, there's just no reason for the child to have to go every year.

And if I had ever done that (I haven't), I WOULD still work and not goof off. If the kid is there to see what I do, then I need to do it, LOL!

Then I'd realize how bored she'd be and she probably wouldn't want to do it, either and we wouldn't.

Eh. :shrug: Hope it's not too bad at your workplace.

[LynneSin]

11. I'd rather eat an onion filled migas

:eyes:

[Bouncy Ball]

12. Wow, that's pretty bad!

:rofl:

Again, hope this year isn't too bad for ya. DON'T do the work of the slackers. Not that you would, but I hope you don't.

[RubyDuby in GA]

15. I really don't think I could agree with you more than this!

Please come to my office an yell at one of our partners. He regularly brings his hellions to the office and then forgets that he has kids. They run and yell and make gawd awful messes and then don't clean up after themselves. They are the worst behaved little brats I've ever seen in my life. And I can see it's because they don't get any training at home. It's a case of where I'd like to smack the parent and not the child that doesn't know any better (although these little shitasses are old enough now to know better without any parental guidance).

End of my own rant. :rant:
I totally feel you pain :)

[LibertyLover]

16. Kids to work day

Where I work we have a fairly extensive program for the kids. And the parents have to stay with them for part of it. I was asked last week by one of my collegues if I were going to bring my daughter in. Now my daughter is the smartest 2 year old in the world and the cutest (YMMV) but she is for heaven's sake 2 years old. Am I bringing her in to the office - no way. Recently, the day before teh Christmas weekend, I had to bring her in one day because my husband who usually watches her had to take his daughter from his first marriage to the doctor and didn't want to take the toddler as well. It was a real strain on me since I actually had to work that day on an emergency that developed in one of our Asian offices - running around to get people to sign off on documents while simultaneously watching the kid - not my idea of fun, thanks very much.

[micrometer_50]

17. Yes, kids at the office make for a difficult day.

This weekend was family night at work.
It's not your ordinary, bring your kids to work day.
An afternoon and evening are dedicated to touring
the mountain and the instruments we make, maintain and use.
Here are two of the pictures my daughter took Saturday.






Edited for spelling.

[tigereye]

19. cool

you make telescopes/ are an astronomer? Now that would be a fascinating bring your kids to work day.

[micrometer_50]

20. Yes, very cool.

I'm an instrument maker (machinist).
This job makes me feel like I'm on top of the world.