If you are a parent, you have probably experienced some variation of “take your child to work day” – you know, the one where your son or daughter tags along to the office and you plop them down in front of a computer and hope and pray they will be able to occupy themselves with games and the Internet long enough to stay out of your hair so you can actually get your work done.  What genius came up with that idea?  Most office environments would be interesting to a kid for about 20 minutes before some serious boredom kicks in.  Then what?  After all, most of us spend our time at work on the phone, in a meeting, or working on a computer.  And if your job day requires more active pursuits, it probably isn’t safe or appropriate to bring a child along.

DON’T BRING YOUR KID TO WORK, BRING YOUR WORK TO YOUR KID!

While I may not endorse taking your child to work, I do endorse taking your work to your child.  As working parents we spend an enormous amount of our time either at work or working and it is important for our kids to understand what that means because one day they will be working too.  Finding ways to share what you do with your kids is a great way to let them get to know a different side of you, and it is an important part of what you teach them and how you may shape their own views and “work ethic” as they grow up.  If you constantly bitch and moan about your “job” in front of your kids, what message is that sending them about “being employed?”  On the other hand, if you can find ways to share your passion for what you do, and involve them in the aspects of your work life that they can understand and relate to, you just may be building a foundation that will lead them to be the architects of their own successful careers.

WE ARE ALL ENTREPRENEURS, AND OUR KIDS ARE TOO!

We live in an age where we are all entrepreneurs of our own careers.  Whether we are an employee or the employer, in order to be truly successful I believe we need to be our own boss and treat our job responsibilities as a business that we are the CEO of, regardless of our actual position or title.  More than ever, today we have to create our own job security, and like it or not, this is the world our children are growing up in.  With that in mind, teaching our kids by example, that, while often demanding, “work” can and should be fun, rewarding, and involve PASSION, is one of the many very important lessons we are tasked with sharing as parents.

FIND WAYS FOR YOUR JOB TO MAKE YOU A HERO

No matter what you do for a living I bet you can find something to share with your kids that will make you a hero in their eyes (and your job seem really cool).  It could be as simple as an interesting picture or souvenir from a business trip, or a colorful piece of “schwag” you picked up at a trade show that lets you share a story about an interesting aspect of your trip.  It could be showing them the cover of a thick report with your name on it as the author or a contributor.  It could be a hat or t-shirt with your company name on it, left over from the last corporate bonding event.  You know your job, and you know your kids, so go ahead and figure out ways you can bring your work to your kids.

GO AHEAD, BRING IT HOME!

I have been very fortunate to have had a career that has touched on the entertainment, video game and music industries in ways my kids could definitely relate to and I’ve been able to “bring home” toy and video game samples, have a popular cartoon character show up at a birthday party, and share some fun stories of meeting some “stars” my kids were fans of (and I did stick my then 2 year old son Zach in a scene in a movie I worked on – now at age 20 he still brags about his name in the credits.) However, it doesn’t matter what you do for a living.  With a little thought and creativity you can find something you have done or have worked on that your kids will most surely think is awesome, and they will love the fact that you were willing to involve them in your work world and share it.  Something that may seem trivial to you will be huge to them, because YOU shared it.

Do you agree?  What have you done to “take your work to your kids?”  I’d love to hear interesting and unusual ways you have shared your work with your kids, especially if you have an unusual job or profession.  Please share your own experiences and opinions in the comments!

Jeff Sass is the proud dad of ZEO (Zach, 20, Ethan, 18 and Olivia, 17).  He is also a seasoned entertainment and technology exec and active social media enthusiast.  You can see more of Jeff’s writing at Sassholes! and Social Networking Rehab.

Photo Credit: © Jaimie Duplass – Fotolia.com