I don't know how I missed this gem of an article from earlier this month. But whoa. Really? And can I please not work there?
For those of you like me that missed the article too, the gist of the Time story is that there is this new trend to allow employees to bring their babies to work. And while for most of us that would mean having an adequate day care facility on campus, oh no, in this case it means actually bringing your baby to work. To have little Peggy Sue sitting on a blanket next to you while you do your office work stuff.
And all I can seem to think is "Who the hell does that?"
I mean it's one thing to bring your kids in when you have no other choice. Up until recently, I worked from home every Friday. On the occassion that I needed to attend a meeting in-person and I couldn't arrange for alternative child care, I have brought my son into work with me. And not without letting the team know that I had no other choice (and not without putting pressure to move the meeting to a day in which I did not have a child in tow).
I understand the need to have flexible options for working parents. I wish that the image of corporate America included on-site childcare, understanding management, flexible work force, better benefits.
But is bringing your baby to work the answer?
How do these parents juggle both work and parenting at the same time? How do you keep a child properly entertained, educated, cared-for, with age appropriate activities? What happens when you need to attend a meeting? Does the kid come along with you? And god forbid you are potty training. I don't even want to know how you'll manage that one.
On the rare days that I have brought my child to work (I can remember 5 times in the nearly four years he's been alive), the day was HELL for me. I had to figure out a way to keep him occupied so that I could still work. I still remember the time that I threatened to hang him by his toe nails after he attempted a mad dash out the door - yelling at the top of his lungs. Those moments of balancing both at the same time are in the top 10 worst moments of motherhood for me. It was so not fun. Not balanced. Not productive.
Maybe I'm not the right demographic for the bring-your-baby-to-work campaign. But I think I'm a fairly-typical working mom. And I think that I have a pretty well-behaved child as far as a well-behaved three year old can be (except for the running through the halls incident).
But I'm still having a hard time believing that this could work.
