Wall of Shame: Mom Fired For Taking Daughter to Work on National Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

Depending on the type of work and regulations to be followed I would not take my children to certain worksites. In a supermarket it can be difficult to control small children also safety reasons. Unless the place of employment allowed this I would not take my children on my job.

Years ago it was take you daughter to work and at that time I worked for the federal government. It was in time changed to take you children to work day. Our agency let everyone know that they needed a count of how many children were coming allow for activities they had planned for the children. Programs were sit up with the children in the auditorium where they were briefed on the work of the agency and shown different things pertaining to the different commands (Medical, Clothing and Textile and Substistance). They were then escorted around the base on a bus and taken to lunch then returned to the parents to spend the rest of the day at their parent's office.

For those of you that think the mom in question did the wrong thing and deserved to be fired I ask if you actually read the whole story? The article specifically says that this was not the first year that her job had allowed the "Bring Your Child to Work Day". There is clearly a double standard at work here. In previous years she had been allowed to bring her child to work on the designated day but on this year they fire her?? In a case like this I believe the employeer was in the wrong. I could understand the mother being fired if she was doing something she was specifically told not to do.... but she was doing exactly what had been allowed by the company in previous years.

IsleDance,
I spent so much time at my mother's job. She worked in the county courts. I sat in on cases and spent time with judges and attorneys. The court officer would show me the holding cells and tell me what it was like to be a prisoner. I'd run errands and have lunch with the court staff. I loved the environment and my mother's role in it. It's how I discovered I wanted to be a lawyer.By the time I was an employable teen, everyone knew me and I worked summer internships and associateships.
So I am an example of the power of this kind of initiative. Sometimes you need a designated day (this one has a Congressional Resolution) in order for people to get it. Even one day is better than none.

Contributing Editor Gina Carroll also blogs at Think Act: Proactive Black Parenting  ( http://www.proactiveblackparenting.blogspot.com/ )and Tortured By Teenagers ( http://momhouston.com/torturedbyteenagers )

I grew up with parents who exposed us to their work and brought us to their workplace, for many reasons. But only when it worked well for their employers, too.

(Or we hung out in the auto until it was time to go. Or we waited quietly at the library. Or we walked to our music lessons. Or we waited on the street corner. Okay, it was a small town, but still.)

Just as importantly, exposing children to adult work more than one day per year is essential, if they're going to grow up understanding their life options.

For these reasons, I've never believed in a formal "take you kid to work day."

One Friday night, I loaded up my life and headed out... ( http://isledance.blogspot.com )

I think the daughter learned a valuable lesson. You can't go around making up your own rules or disregarding rules in place. Well, you can, but there will usually be consequences.

Adriennevh,
I so agree with you in terms of doing what is appropriate for the job. Not every workplace can accommodate kids. But with this story, something smells fishy about the application of company rules. I say if you've got a policy that is inconsistently enforced, you've got no policy at all.

Contributing Editor Gina Carroll also blogs at Think Act: Proactive Black Parenting  ( http://www.proactiveblackparenting.blogspot.com/ )and Tortured By Teenagers ( http://momhouston.com/torturedbyteenagers )

Sorry, but Take Your Daughter to Work Day is the same as National Pancake Day or National Wear Your Clothes Backwards Day (both of which do exist), if your employer does not participate then you can not do it.

The company has a clear policy that "guests" are not allowed in certain areas, i.e. the cash register. Certainly there are insurance and OSHA issues here, not to mention health department and child labor issues with it being in a grocery store.

The idea of Take Your Daughter to Work is wonderful, it can do many great things for the girls of our country and for their mothers as well. But if you don't get approval first from your employer, then you are s.o.l.