April 27, 2006
On The Job
So I understand that it's "Take Your Daughter (Or Son!) To Work Day" today.
When exactly did the boys start getting invited? As I recollect, "Take Your Daughter To Work Day" was originally a product of the identity politics fever swamp, the idea being that if the girls got out and saw where Mom and Dad spend their days, they'd be more empowered. Or something. Evidently, somebody's decided that this was too exclusive an arrangement and that all the kiddies should tag along, lest Junior feel left out.
My attitude toward the whole business is that anybody who thinks a kid wants to sit around an office all day obviously doesn't have children of their own.
Dad?
Yes?
What are you doing?
I'm reading a brief, Sweety.
What's a brief?
Well, it's a written argument about what the law says about something.
Oh.
.
.
.
Dad?
Yes?
What are you doing now?
I'm still reading the brief, Sweety.
.
.
.
Dad?
Yes?
Are you done yet?
No, Sweety.
.
.
.
Dad?
Yes?
Are you done yet?
No, Sweety.
.
.
.
Dad?
Yes?
Are you done yet?
No, Sweety.
.
.
.
Dad? -
And so on.
Most of the people I've seen actually participate in this silliness either come loaded down with stacks o' stuff to keep the kiddies occupied or else resign themselves to the fact that they're not going to get anything done, stay for about fifteen minutes and take the rest of the day off.
UPDATE: Our pal LB Buddy makes a very good point in the comments and I should clarify that my gripe is primarily relevant to boring old office work. I used to go into Dad's office on Saturday mornings occassionally, but he had all sorts of coo-el medical stuff to fiddle with. If he were a paper-pushing lawyer like me, I'd have been bored to tears. (Of course, letting the Llama-ettes sit in on an actual trial might be a completely different kettle of fish...)
And as is so often the case, all this talk of alternative career choices has put me in mind of yet another Monty Python sketch. "Iiiiiiiif I were not before the bar, something else I'd like to be...."
Posted by Robert at April 27, 2006 08:33 AM | TrackBack
I always wanted to participate in this with my dad, but I imagine it would've been much like you describe had he been able to bring me. Unfortunately (or fortunately for him, maybe) he did classified stuff, so you really can't haul your kid along into a skif. :) He's out of that now and actually we work together now - I wonder if I can translate that into "Take your daughter to lunch" day...cause sometimes with dads, there is such thing as a free lunch.
Posted by: beth at April 27, 2006 08:38 AMOur institute does a pretty good job with the kids. We have demos with DNA and some microscopes with fish embryos etc. that they can check out. Of course scientists have the advantage of doing something, well you know, that doesn't suck.
Posted by: LB Buddy at April 27, 2006 09:10 AMHa...if my husband did that, he wouldn't get anything done either. He couldn't even take the kids into the super duper high clearance section anyway. Heck, I get bored there!
Posted by: GroovyVic at April 27, 2006 10:00 AMMy dad is a physics professor and I hung out in his office not infrequently as a child. Sometimes it was terribly boring, but most of the time he let me play with liquid nitrogen and super conductors -- those times it was fun.
Posted by: Jordana at April 27, 2006 03:14 PMMy Dad worked in a steel mill (I grew up near Pittsburgh, go figure). This "take your kid to work" thingy wasn't around in the 70's-80's, but if it was, I doubt my Dad would have taken me. Steel mills were dirty, dangerous places. Not a place for little kids.
Posted by: nuthin2seehere at April 28, 2006 02:43 AMI used to accompany my Dad to work occasionally way, way back in the early 60's. He drove a forklift and also worked in the shipping office of the shingle company where he'd been employed for many years. I had a lot of fun riding on the forklift, seeing how shingles were made, then going up to the business office, where the women who worked there spoiled me to no end. I got my first typing experience there, in between candy bars and sticks of chewing gum. Ah, those were the days.
Posted by: Denise at April 28, 2006 04:45 AMI blame the whole "take your daughter to work" thing for the rise of the KFed - that useless piece of male accoutrement that chews through your money while getting you knocked up every five minutes - and for the trend toward "take your student on a date" reciprocation by young female teachers.
Posted by: tee bee at April 28, 2006 12:41 PM
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