Mark Your Calendars for Take Your Child To Work Day - April, 24, 2008
By Lisa Frederiksen Bohannon
Take Your Child to Work Day (TYCWD) is an unparalleled opportunity for a child to better understand exactly what it is that his or her parent or guardian does at work all day. Not only does TYCWD afford children an opportunity to gather career information, but it also gives them information they can use to generate future discussions with their parent, e.g., “So, Dad, how did the meeting with ____ go – the one you were trying to schedule when I was with you at work?” or “So, Mom, did you finish that brief you were working on?” or “Dad, did your team finish production of _________ on time?”
TYCWD also offers children an opportunity to better understand what it takes for their parent to get to and from work, where their parent goes for coffee or what they like to do during the lunch hour. In addition to the bonding experience, TYCWD offers a child an opportunity to explore and discuss career options – not only their parent’s but those of all the other people their parent works with or comes into contact with during the work day. This exploration lends itself to better understanding the correlation between education and career options.
TYCWD was first held in 1993 and was known as Take Our Daughters to Work Day. It was founded by the Ms. Foundation to help young girls better understand career opportunities by exploring those of their parent. Seven years later, in 2000, over 25 million children were participating in the event and many companies had expanded the observance to include sons, as well, as daughters; hence the name, Take Your Child to Work Day. Officially observed on the fourth Thursday in April, this year, TYCWD is scheduled for April 24 this year.
To prepare for TYCWD, visit the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day Website – click here. There, you will find a wealth of information about how to work with parents, students, employers, mentors and educators to make this day a huge success.
Career Kids offers special packets for different age levels for your corporate-sponsored TYCTWD event -- look here for information. If your needs are different than what we've packaged, please contact us and we will do our best to gather just the materials you need to make your TYCTWD a big success!
Additionally, Career Kids offers a wide array of career exploration options to help you and your students prepare for Take Your Child to Work Day, April 24, 2008.