Bringing our Children to Work

Sometimes we can’t make it to work because our children are sick, the daycare worker is ill or the school is cancelled and there is no backup plan. What do you do? One woman I worked with used to take “snow days”. Because we live in Canada, many times the reason she couldn’t make it in was because of freezing rain or a winter snowstorm. She would use her vacation days whenever she had to stay home to take care of her children. Would a better solution have been to bring the children to work?

A company in the States has a family-friendly policy that allows women to bring their nursing babes to work. Faced with four executives leaving on maternity leave at a crucial time for this company the decision was made to let the new moms bring their newborn babies to work and it has worked out well for the families and the company. Click here for the full story.

With more and more women in high management jobs it is not always easy to let them go for the full maternity leave, which is a greater incentive for companies to look at other childcare options. This of course will filter down to other working women, with us all having this choice. But do we want it?

Other alternatives are daycare centres who are partnering with corporations for backup childcare. The reason behind it is to relieve the parents’ minds when small emergencies crop up so there will be a place for the child to go and the parent can still go to work. It is a win-win situation for both the employer and the employee. Click here for a company that is doing just that.

I have always thought having an onsite employer-sponsored daycare centre would have been a great solution. Offices are not equipped to handle small children, accidents can happen, it can be disturbing to the other workers, and the mother’s would be distracted with childcare needs.

If there was a daycare centre adjacent to the office that was staffed with qualified daycare personnel, with easy access for moms who are nursing, it would provide a safe environment for the children and a good alternative for parents.

As a single working mom that would have been ideal for me. There is a lot of stress getting the children ready in the morning and off to daycare, as well as managing to get yourself to work on time. At the end of the day there is the mad rush to get to the daycare before supper to pick up your child so you won’t disturb the babysitter’s family time. Having a daycare at work would have been a great option.

On the one hand the government is offering longer time off for maternity leave (in Canada it is now up to one year with benefits) and in other cases some companies are giving the option to bring our children to work. I find it is a bit of a mixed message, but we each have to do what we feel is best in our own situation. Some women have even continued to work and their husbands have stayed home to raise the children, with great results.

Whatever works best for the family, and as long as the children are taken care of and women who want to are able to pursue their careers. If it was my choice, however, I would take the year off.