Welcome to Round four of the Parenting Roundabout podcasts for the week of May fifteenth.
I'm Terry Morrow, and I'm here with Catherine Heleco. Hello. Nicole
Radics is out this week. We hope she's feeling better. As moms of
teens and young adults, we survived those little kid days, yet we're still
rethinking the decisions we've made all through our kids lives and worrying about what's going
on right now. Today's Thursday, which means it's time to give into our
obsessing, and today we're obsessing about take your child to work day, a
thing that I am not sure existed when my children were young enough to do
it. It probably did. I think it started in the nineties with take
your daughter to work, but yeah, but it would have been like late
nineties, yeah, or maybe possibly early two thousands, just because I was
working at Working Mother magazine and it was a big deal, okay there,
and that was like, yeah, that was the that was the late nineties,
I guess. Yeah. I think at no time when my kids were
were young was I working in a place that was big enough to really do
it up. And then I was freelancing, so every day is take your
kid to work day, Come into my office? What do you need?
But I see now that there's some companies that really do it up. There
was, Yeah, they have little you know, seminars for the kids and
workshops and they do jobs and they really make it a make it a thing.
Which okay, yeah, I mean you don't work in that kind of
place. You're like, well, what am I gonna do? My kid's
gonna sit in a chair in the corner for the whole time. Yes,
yeah, Just this year, my son was like, hey, let's take
our children to work day. I think I should stay home from I'm going
to the mother's workplace and I'm going to observe her for the days. Get
ready, real bored kids get off school for this? Yeah? I think
they can. Wow. I mean depending on the school, but I think
I think they can, especially if it's for like an organized you know event,
and it's really more for little er kids, so like, who cares
if they day? It's true, what if your mom's a teacher, you
have to leave your classroom and good class I mean that might be interesting in
dad's not just moms, Yes it is, and it's no longer just daughters.
Obviously all kids is did you do it at all when your kids were
little? Were there any you were working any places where they had that.
No, I mean I've been working at home too ever since my daughter was
two, but I think I'm pretty sure she went with my husband when he
had like a a corporate job, so, um, you know. So
I think it was one of those where they had a whole program and that's
cool, you know, I think it's interesting. It's yeah, it's not
a bad idea. I would have liked it for my kids, although I
don't know how well they would have fit in with things that are like organized
for typical kids. But still, it would have been nice to try just
bring my son to the workplace and let him loose see if anybody could do
anything with him. It'd be fine. Probably have to pay his pair professional
to come with him, come with Yeah, I did for summer programming for
quite some time. But yeah, your your thoughts. You would like to
take your mom to work day? I think we need to expand this.
Absolutely, we need a take your mom to work day. It could be
every day that'd be fine, but least once a year that you could bring
your parent with you and have everybody meet them and allow them to ask questions
and show them around and show them all the things you do and all those
people you've been talking about, Oh this is that guy. Okay, fine,
and you know of them experience. I mean, I would stand out
in the hot parking a lot with my son while he gathered carts. It
would be you know, I do it on a cool day. But still
I would love I would love, love love to see what my kids do
at work and how people respond to them, and whether you know the boss
I've been saying, Oh, they probably really like you. They just are
trying to help you to do better. Is really that's true? Or they're
just mean? It's there's so much I want to know, Catherine. There's
so much I want to know, and there's no format to find it out.
You're not allowed to call, right, they don't have professionals anymore that
I can have spy for me and then whisper to me in the back hall
what's go going on? No, I have no way of knowing, and
we've forbidden you from calling. Yes, yes you have, and it's actually
turned out that was a good thing. But still, once a year,
you know, probably a fair number of employees. Their parents wouldn't want to
come, but the ones who want to come want to come. I want
to go. I would pay if you want to charge at the door.
If you want to have a little entrance fee, I'm down with it.
That's fine. I'll buy my own lunch. I'll buy things vending machine like
my I will, I totally will. My son really enjoys the vending machine.
Look at his credit card statements every month and it's like there were ninety
two charges from the vending machine last month. And I would like to go.
I would like to buy something from the vending machine. Wouldn't that be
fun? Show me what your day's like. Son, Let's go get some
things from the vending machine. It'd be awesome. The two main parking lot
and the vending machine and the vending machine. Yes, show me where the
break room is, show me where the tool place is that you go and
hang out with the guys. I mean, I can walk around the store,
but I don't know these things. I would like to be formally introduced,
right, I don't They could have like a little they could have,
you know, a little presentation about the business in the back room for the
parents. So that the kids could go work. But any place that has
teens or young adults working, Golly, would that be fun. My mom
would love to go to my workplace too. Yeah. I might not have
liked that so much, but she would have been super into it. Sure,
she would have flown across the country to go to my take your own
to work day at Palmark. Yes, that would have been fun. I
think they're missing a niche here. I think that would be a very popular
offering. You could do it around Mother's Day, or around Father's Day,
or just really any old day you want. I would be there. I
would cancel meetings. I would be there. I don't have that much to
do. I mentioned I don't get out much. Let me come in.
You would avoid scheduling a podcast recording on that day. I would I record
it Live your work day. This is so fun. Oh there's a lady
who said that mean thing. Let me go over and give her this stink
guy. Oh, I want it so bad. Every time I hear about
the bring your daughter, bring your child to work day, I think there's
a niche that is not being filled. Someone needs to think of the schools
to bring you. You know, they make back to school night where there's
no kids there. But if they could just let us sit in the back
of the classroom during a normal day bring your mom to school day. I
have a problem. I need to post me quiz about how overinvolved are you?
I would venture to guess we didn't do the parents all, are you?
Because I already know my rotors are spinning? Baby? Oh dear,
Well, we could do crafts in the back of the They could set us
up a little little off a little office or cubicle or conference room and you
know table could we could make things as popsicle sticks. It'd be fine.
Yeah, and we'd discuss. We could discuss all our children and how they're
doing. And I was having a problem, and anybody else gets ninety two
things from the vending machine in a month a part time work. I believe
he is buying friends with vending machine purchases, and I am for it.
You're okay with that, I'm okay with that. If it's a buck sixty,
you know, go ahead, buy that person a candy bar, you
go. If it's giving your friend a your your debit card information and letting
them charge six thousand dollars with the stuff not so much a bag of skittles.
You go, we're going for it. Well, I think you've identified
her this and think, yeah, make it happen. Make it happen.
Businesses, please please, Yeah, I'll donate to your favorite charity. I'll
say nice things about you on social media. Yeah, I'll you know,
there's also some possibilities context me, I'll go to somebody else's work. Really,
honestly, I'm just well, it has to be like an exchange program.
Would they go to your kids work and then their kids work, and
then we much afterwards and chang change notes. Yes, exactly. I'm just
gonna see typical pocket. Don't worry that. When that happens, we will
talk about it here. But from Mother's Day present, I want that's it
for today's Round four. Tune in tomorrow and we'll share our Roundabout roundup of
things we've been using or enjoying lately that we think deserve a shout out.
Find all our episodes at parenting roundabout dot com and talk back in the moments
there on our Facebook page or on Twitter, where we'll find the set round
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