Tomorrow, Thursday April 22nd, is the date for the annual Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. According to the sponsoring foundation’s website, this event has been going on for over 16 years. My son informed me that this year, since he is now 10 years old, he would like to accompany me to my place of employment for the day. He asked in the nicest way possible, even inquiring if the library would allow him to come.
The short answer is yes and now we are both looking forward to spending the day together. He told me on Monday morning that he can’t wait to come to work with me this week and see what I do. He then promptly asked me, “Mummy, what DO you do all day?” I gave him the short answer I think any librarian would give. I sit at the reference desk and answer people’s questions, I shelve books, I work on statistics and reports, I plan programs, and I attend meetings. He should get to see me do all of these things tomorrow, as well as help with some of them.
I feel that ultimately, not only will this experience expose him to job possibilities and options for his future, but it will also give him a greater understanding of what actually happens when Mummy says she has to go to work.
Websites offering ideas for planning this day and activities for children you may be bringing to work:
About.com: Working Moms
Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Foundation Activity Page
Book suggestions for those looking to balance their family and work lives:
Flex Time: A Working Mother’s Guide to Balancing Career and Family by Jacqueline Foley
Ask the Children: What America’s Children Really Think about Working Parents by Ellen Galinsky
The Comeback: Seven Stories of Women Who Went from Career to Family and Back Again by Emma Gilbey Keller
Life Matters: Creating a Dynamic Balance of Work, Family, Time, and Money by A. Roger Merrill and Rebecca R. Merrill
Stop Living Your Job, Start Living Your Life: 85 Simple Strategies to Achieve Work/Life Balance by Andrea Molloy
The Daddy Shift: How Stay-At-Home Dads, Breadwinning Moms, and Shared Parenting Are Transforming the American Family by Jeremy Adam Smith
-Melissa
Eleventh Stack 