If you are an entrepreneur, it may be a good idea to take your children to work from time to time. Most people work because they need the money. Often children do not understand why their parents spend so much time at work. If you take them to work, they can see for themselves what it is you do and why you spend so many hours doing it.
Let your children see what you do so they can understand what you do and why you do it.
Many parents have been curious about what their children do at school all day. They are familiar with the building and have a vague idea about what goes on inside, but they curious about what actually happens with their children all day long. Children have a similar curiosity about what their parents to at work all day long. If your children are curious about what you do at work all day long, dress them up and take them to work with you. When they can see with their own eyes where you go and what you do, it gives them a piece of comfort and ease that merely hearing stories does not provide. When they see where you work, what you actually do and how you do it, their questions are answered and their level of appreciation and comfort is increased. It is an easy way to make your children feel comforted, appreciative and proud all in one fell swoop.
When you take your children to work, keep their age in mind. For example, young children will not be able to behave appropriately at your place of employment for extended periods of time. If your children are too young to come to your job for extended periods of time, or it is not possible, take them by your office on your day off. Explain you are not working that day but you want them to see where you work. Then pull our your smart phone and do an internet search and show your children your work being done either at your company or a similar company. Being at the place where you work and seeing the work being done on your phone will be sufficient for young children.
It is important to remember to respect confidentiality of information when you bring your children to work. You cannot trust children to keep confidential information to themselves. If you have ever tried to get a child to keep a present secret from a spouse or one of their siblings, you know children are not the best secret keepers. It is unreasonable to ask them to do keep corporate or client secrets. Before you realize it, the secret will slip out to a friend and be all over social media. This is not acceptable and it is not a position you should put your child in. Instead, keep them away from that pressure and temptation. Do not expose your children to confidential corporate or client information. If there is no way to do that while they are visiting your job, this is another situation where a visit to the building and an internet search will get the job done.
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When describing your job to your children, be sure to make it sound interesting. No matter what your job is, your children will have more respect for it and for you if you make the work sound interesting. Even if you have the absolutely most boring job on the planet earth, suck it up and find a way to show enthusiasm for it when talking to your children about it. The goal is to have your children respect you and what you do. This means you must respect what you do and appreciate the work. Do not get overly technical when talking about the work. Do not use industry specific jargon. It does not make you sound more important. It makes it sound as if you have something to hide. By explaining what you do in simple, everyday words your children can understand you keep them interested and engaged in what you do. Children are more likely to respect something they can understand than things that confuse them and make no sense.
When you take your children to work, tell them how your job fits into the world around them.
When your children understand that what you do is part of making the world a better place, they will appreciate the work you do. No matter what your job is, it is part of the larger economy, part of what it takes to make the world work. Often when we help our children see how we are part of a bigger picture, they have deeper and better appreciation for the work you do.
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