Message #3365

[ozbound]

I agree, Did, it does depend on a number of factors...and some of the children coworkers bring in are quiet and well-behaved (the dog, ironically, is the most unobtrusive of the lot!), and we have a small office without too many "dangerous" situations for kids to get into, and fortunately we don't have high public exposure. However, the kid that came in yesterday was a bit disruptive, running around, trying to give away his "artwork" to everyone he saw, etc. I also agree that it was unacceptable to ask the OM to babysit. Sure, it was her perogative, she probably volunteered and I'm sure if the situation gets too disruptive for her, she'll say something.  But still...she already has enough to do, and to be honest I had to bite my tongue to keep from making some sort of sarcastic remark right in front of the child (like "gee, you don't get paid enough for THIS")!

I think my real take on the issue is (and I'm trying to neutralize my own feelings since I personally find kids a bit annoying)-- it's nice that employees can bring their kids in because hey, sometimes you just get in a jam, especially during school breaks, but they shouldn't take advantage of it, and they really need to prepare for it as much as possible--make sure the kid has something to do, knows the rules, stays in one place & doesn't run around,  try to leave early if they can, and make other arrangements if they're going to be in a meeting or whatever. In other words, try to make it as un-disruptive as possible.