With Planning, Bringing Your Kid to Work Can Be Child’s Play

An assistant bank manager in Philadelphia brought her 3-year-old son to work with her on a Saturday earlier this month.

While his mom was distracted, Landon Garcia started playing in the bank vault. The bank manager didn’t see Landon and shut the door, which was time-locked until Monday morning. It took four hours and dozens of rescue workers to drill Landon out of the 6-foot-square vault.

Few forays by little people into the world of work are this disastrous. But as any parent knows who has tried to get a bit of work done with Junior in tow, bringing your child to the office can combine the worst of being at home with the worst of being at work.

It doesn’t have to be that way, with some planning and (let’s face it) a little luck.

“People need to think ahead, before the deadline or the child-care crisis,” said Leslie Godwin, a family therapist who heads Parent Support Services, a Calabasas consulting firm that helps companies develop family-friendly policies. “In the heat of the moment, it’s hard to think of all the smart things you normally would.”

Here are some tips on planning a kid-trip to the office:

* Don’t do it. Not until you’ve checked with your supervisor, at least. Your employer might have safety or liability concerns that are best addressed in advance, and any disruption in office routine will seem worse if it’s a surprise.

“Let them know about your child-care needs, and be open to their suggestions,” Godwin said.

* Prepare as if you are going on a long car trip. That means age-appropriate toys, crayons, paper, videos and lots of snacks. But be aware of the destructive capability of what you bring. For example, one 2 1/2-year-old, who wished to remain nameless, made amazing headway in only a few unsupervised moments using a blue marking pen on an editor’s specially ordered, ergonomically designed chair.

* Win over your colleagues. Nearly everyone has a co-worker with a keep- your- kid- outta- my- face attitude, which can only be aggravated when your 4-year-old forgets to use an “inside” voice or your 13-year-old keeps sighing and muttering, “Whatever.” Warn those who sit near you that your child will be visiting, keep an eye open for signs of adult irritation and beg for forgiveness afterward. Try to introduce your child to the people you work with, so the child gets a sense of what you do and the adults get a chance to warm up to your offspring.

* Set clear limits. Be clear about the rules at the office. Stress such things as what they can touch and what they must leave alone.

“Your work mate’s computer is probably off-limits,” Godwin said. Limits apply to the parent as well. “Tell your child how long you will be there, and stick to it,” she said.

* Be flexible. An office visit is not the time for lessons in discipline. If your child is not following the rules, then leave. If you can’t possibly go home, remove the child from the situation, take a walk together or have a heart-to-heart in the bathroom.

* Be realistic. “You know your child best,” Godwin said, and are best able to judge things like attention span, frustration level and ability to follow directions.

* Invent work. If possible, find something “work-like” for your child to do, such as sharpening pencils or licking envelopes. An older child could collate or alphabetize.

“Make sure they feel like they are helping,” Godwin said.

* Get out while the getting is good. Don’t stay longer than your child can handle. It’s a rare child who can spend an entire day at a parent’s workplace without whining.

* Reward your child. “Take them for ice cream or do something that is fun and focused on them,” Godwin said. Emphasize the things your child did right, not the slip-ups. The rat race is tough enough for mature rats, let alone little rats. Any measure of success is cause for celebration.

* Reward yourself. Some parents have found that including a child in their work life from time to time can actually pay off. One retailer mom found that customers were amused when she would introduce her young daughter as “my lovely sales assistant.”

One working dad, a consultant, admitted that the presence of his child doing homework quietly in a corner during a meeting actually softened up a client who had been somewhat cold and distant in the past.

“What I thought would be a nightmare turned out to be pretty good,” he said.

Has your company developed an interesting way to help employees balance work life and family life? Write to Balancing Act, Los Angeles Times, Business Editorial, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. Or send e-mail to nancy.rivera.brooks@latimes.com