Toiling Tuesdays: Bring a Child to Work Day

Now re-read that title... It says to bring "a" child to work day not to bring "your" child to work day.

Have you ever asked a young person what they want to do/be when they grow up? Not too long ago I used to be one of those "young persons" and do you know what my answer was? Usually it was that I didn't know. Or, when I grew tired of hearing that question, my answers would become more and more humorous or absurd, such as "drop out of school and have ten kids" or "underwater basket weaving." However, if you ask some young kids/teens what they want to do/be they might have a solid and unchanging answer. My question for those kids is, "how do you know for sure?"

Here is my answer: Bring a child to work day. Bring your kid, bring your neighbor's kid, bring a kid from the local school. Bring a kid who wants to do your job when they grow up. Bring a kid who is undecided. The point is to expose them to a realistic job experience. 

Why bring someone else's kid? One of the one jobs I was certain I did NOT want to do when I 'grew' up was be a teacher (my mother's profession). Plus, because she was a teacher and my mom, I was already exposed to that career's characteristics. If you bring a kid who thinks they want to be a teacher, it will be more beneficial for them versus your own kid who already knows they don't want to be a teacher or already knows the ins and outs of being one.

One step further: What about a program from the business end where businesses sort of sponsor the bring a child to work day and partner with schools to provide this type of experience? If it does well enough, it could even be for longer than a day, kind of like a mini internship.