Devoted to WAHMs -Work at Home Moms

I think that companies that offer daycare services on site are providing a valuable service to their employees. Having small children close by, where the parent can visit their child during breaks or lunches, is a real asset for parents.

Whether this occurs at a corporation or for stay-at-home moms, I think it is fine as long as they're able to get their work done without too much interruption that it makes it near impossible to complete projects.

Hi

As stated above (Lin - "Having small children close by, where the parent can visit their child during breaks or lunches, is a real asset for parents. ") is an excellent solution for many mums. When my child was at nursery school age (Pre-school in the states), I enrolled at college, where I could take my kiddy in with me, and leave her at the creche. This certainly made the whole experience more comfortable for both myself and my daughter. I was able to concentrate fully on my studies, knowing that my daughter was close by, being well looked after, and I could visit her during breaks.

The same principal would apply to work too - Employees with young kids would feel much more at ease, knowing that they can reach their child quickly if needed, allowing them to put more into their work.

Thanks for the article!

Hi Lin and Anonymous!

Thanks for your feedback on this topic.

I used to work for an employer who gave me incredible flexibility as far as my daughter was concerned. I worked from home half the time and in the office the other half. When I was in office, I could actually bring my infant with me (I had a pack and play behind my desk). It was a great set-up, but I'd have to be the first to admit that I didn't get a whole lot of work done when my daughter was in the office. I'll never complain about the set-up, but I would have preferred on on-site daycare as far as productivity was concerned.

wow, thanks for the linky love. While I would love to be able to take my kids to work, I think once they turn 6 months it would still become the issue most "working moms outside the home" face once giving birth and that is the struggle of finding the sitter and saying goodbye, especially since now they've been with them at work for 6 months. :(

I agree with the daycare being inside the building, moms would feel closer and happier knowing their baby was nearby. Not to mention a lunch break could mean spending time with him/her instead of waiting 9 hours while they are with someone else. I love the flex hours too, if I ever worked outside the home I'd only want my husband to watch our kids.

Hi Tamara and Eliza!

Thanks for sharing your experience, Tamara. I wondered how practical it would be to work with a baby next to your desk. I also wondered about possible noise if more than one employee brought a child.

Eliza, I think that the on-site daycare option is my favorite option too. Of course, I'm just dreaming since my business has no employees right now. ;-) This is the one I would certainly offer if I had the choice.

If I were in the position of having employees like that, I'd love to be able to offer on-site daycare and/or in-office children. I think it would depend on the business, also. Obviously a "corporate" environment (read: business suits, lengthy meetings, loads of time on the phone with "suits") wouldn't be conducive to having children of most ages in the office. However, a creative atmosphere ("Casual Friday" or artistic environment, more email, fewer phone calls, gab sessions and think tanks vs traditional meeting-style) might be excellent for both the children and the company itself.

Personally I can see an opportunity for parents working in environmental organizations, "green" companies, toy/art supply companies - cottage industries - small shops such as toy stores, bookstores, baby shops, etc - as being the perfect place to try out something like this. The small business person - male or female - who has a "play area" for their kids may well find that they start drawing in more customers and clients with littles at home because they can feel comfortable and the kids can meet new "friends" for a bit. Lowering the cost of child care for the employee, the client, and the business owner would be a more money-focused benefit.

On the same token, I think it's important for some employers to realize that older children - school age, especially tweens and teens - could be a boon to the business. Well-behaved children could "fade" into the background of course, but older children would make excellent interns or apprentices during those after-school/before end of business hours. Also true for homeschooled students; in an age where we have war widows and widowers returning to the work force, possibly from homeschooling families, it wouldn't hurt to offer a young teen an opportunity to be at work with dad/mom (like a weekly Take Our Kids to Work Day). They can learn a job, be with a parent as needed - and possibly make the business look much more family friendly.

Oops, guess you hit a nerve with me on the whole "kids at work" idea. *heehee* There's my, oh, $0.10 on the matter. ;-)

Wow Melonie!

What a well-thought out response! Thanks so much for your ideas!

I have the benefit to work what I call a 70/30 with my current company. I worked full-time, but my position is so contained that I am the only one that performs it, so there was really no need for me to come into the office. I can ask questions through IM, email, or phone just as easy as yelling it from my office. So, I work at home 3 days (basically all week), then 2 days I go in for updates, reviewing, etc. Granted, both of my children are older, but if they are out of school, sick or for whatever reason they are home and I need to run into the office, they go with me. The person that runs our office has three young sons, she brings them to work with her all the time. If anything it sure does lighten the office up a bit.

I have had the misfortune of working for a large retailer that really did not put family first and I was constantly feeling quilty as a parent because I was made to feel that I had to choose between taking care of work or taking care of family. I left after I had my second child and have had some similar issues with other companies, but have gradually found my way to the perfect fit.

Thanks for sharing your work experience Dannie!

I think that more and more employers are seeing the value of telecommuting.

Speaking as someone who has picked up more than one cold or bout of flu from a co-workers sick child, and the one who gets stuck filling in for the mom who leaves early because her baby can't stay at daycare because the child is sick ( phew! run on sentence) - I say don't bring your children to work and if you can't have a sitter in your own home, stay home until your children are bigger!

The best ten years of my life were those I was a stay at home mom. My children (adults now) also remember those days as the best years of their childhood.

We didn't have a lot of money but it was worth the scrimping and budgeting to stay home with my babies!

Thanks for adding your opinion Shari. I do understand the problem of getting sick from other people. When I worked in an office I sometimes got sick when my coworkers came in to work sick.

I also understand wanting to stay at home with your kids. That's the reason many of us work from home.

Its interesting that this issue seems to center around infants and I personally always enjoyed my time away from my children when I was working or at school. There have been times when I took my kids with me either to work or school when there were no other options; I was glad the environment was welcoming rather than hostile. I think its healthy to have mommy time that doesn't involve taking care of the kids though(but that's another story).

When I was growing up, my sister and I would catch the bus to my mom's job after school and hang out at the office until mom got off work. We went to school pretty far from home and she didn't feel confident that we'd be safe getting all the way home. The idea was for us to stay in the conference room and get our homework done, then find something quiet to do. Since we spent so much time there though, we bored of the conference room and ended up befriending several lawyers who worked on the same floor as my mom.

Mom was always worried that we were distracting people from their work but even one of the senior partners at the law firm encouraged us to come by his office from time to time; a few of the lawyers and games and treats for us too.

The point is that sometimes having child care for older children can sometimes be an issue and having an environment that is at least not hostile to children is very important. Now my mom is at a different law firm and they tend to be hostile when she needs to take time off to deal with school or health issues with her non-adult children. Its stupid, unfair and forces her to choose between work and family unnecessarily because she tends to be very productive.

I'd say the bigger issue is companies needing to understand that family is important and allowing employees the flexibility to find that work/life balance.

Thanks for sharing your personal experience Kimberlee! I especially appreciate that it was from the perspective of a child (through your memories).

I think that this discussion is centered around babies because the Dallas Morning News article was about companies that allowed employees to bring babies (up to six months old) to work. That sort of set the tone.

The problem with daycare for older children is twofold:
1. Finding a place to take them.
2. Finding a place they want to go.

Thanks for highlighting this issue.

While Shari makes a good point about catching colds and such from co-workers' children, I think it should also be made very clear that for those who work retail or in large offices with a variety of clients, the cause of illness often cannot be pinned on kids - quite frequently parents carry sickness HOME from work. Public schools and daycares are just as "guilty" so to speak, since *any* environment where you have a large number of people - of any age - who are not focused on creating an antiseptic environment as in a hospital type situation - you're going to have a breeding ground for germs and "ick". ;-)

Case in point: how many parents have taken perfectly healthy children to doctors' offices for a standard well-baby exam and had them come home sick because of other sick individuals in the waiting room? How many times have we adults gotten the willies at the water cooler because we know we heard someone sneeze near it but don't know who it was or where they went next...did they just blow germs all over the water fountain, coffee maker, photocopier?

While I'm all for being a SAHM until the kids are older - barring my personal belief that I should be at home anyway - not all working women are a) able or b) WILLING to stay home. But if a daycare won't take the child, plain and simple, the child has to go somewhere.

It seems like the case originally discussed, tho, was about infants who need childcare - not for illness, but to help mom and baby bond more and to alleviate other problems?

Thanks for your insight Melonie!