25 Take Your Child To Work Day Ideas (Office + Virtual)

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Summary: Take Your Child to Work Day is a national day held on the fourth Thursday in April. It’s meant to be a learning experience that introduces children to different career possibilities. The following ideas can make it more educational, fun, and successful.

The fourth Thursday in April is often set aside as Take Your Child to Work Day. This event introduces kids to a variety of career possibilities and can be a family bonding experience. The following ideas will help create a day that’s exciting, educational, and fun for everyone involved.

Key Takeaways:

Take Your Child to Work Day began in the early 1990s and started with a focus on introducing females to career opportunities; it has since expanded to all children.
Not all companies have to or want to participate in this event, as it might not be safe or productive.
Establishing a company policy for how Take Your Child to Work Day will run and creating events will make it run smoothly.
Virtual Take Your Child to Work Days can be very successful and a great learning experience.

When and What Is Take Your Child to Work Day

According to the national calendar, Take Your Child to Work Day in the United States falls on the fourth Thursday in April. Of course, this may vary based on your employer and their policies.

This day was first celebrated in 1993 and was referred to as Take Our Daughters to Work Day. The idea behind this day was to expose young girls to future job possibilities and encourage them to learn more about different professions.

In 2003, the program was expanded to include boys and renamed Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day or Take Our Children to Work Day. Most companies that participated in the day had already opened it to both male and female children.

Because this typically happens on a school day, schools are encouraged to roll this into the teaching curriculum and promote the program and career exploration.

Take Your Child to Work Day Company Policy Ideas

Before diving into celebrating Take Your Child to Work Day, each company should take a look at what’s involved in this day and establish some baseline rules and policies.

Announce your involvement (or not). Every business needs to be clear about whether they’re participating or not. All employees need to know if it’s acceptable to bring their child to work that day or if that’s not allowed. There’s no room for a gray area here.
Time range. Not all businesses want to use the entire workday for this event, especially if the business is run on a 24-hour basis. Establishing the timeframe for the event sets parameters.
Establish an age range. Just to make sure the day is giving everyone the biggest benefit and the greatest learning experience possible, it’s a good idea to establish age limits for the children. For reference, between the ages of 8 and 18 is a common range.
Designate safe/unsafe areas. Some businesses have manufacturing areas, labs, and other areas that are simply not safe for children. These areas need to be pre-defined and marked as unsafe so all people know that children aren’t allowed.
Consider safety/security concerns. If your company deals with sensitive information or dangerous equipment, this also needs to be part of the policy.
Have a sign-up, sign-in, and sign-out. To keep track of who is participating, who is expected to participate, when they’ll be there, etc., It’s a good idea to have a sign-up, sign-in, and sign-out policy.
Pre and Post Meetings. Some companies like to run this program and make it the best experience possible for children. If this is the case, having a pre-event meeting to plan the day will help it run smoothly. A debrief afterward will provide insight for future Take your Child to Work Days.

Take Your Child to Work Day Basic Ideas

These ideas are some of the basics that many workplaces like to include to expand the experience for the children, so they see more of the company than just their parents’ jobs and to help them feel included.

Have a welcome meeting. This is a business, so instead of a welcome party, start it out with a meeting, so the kids immediately feel like they’re part of the event, and it sets the tone.
Take a tour. When you begin a new job, you usually get a tour of the facility, so show the children the same courtesy.
Hand out welcome packets. Create welcome packets for your guests with paper, writing utensils, some information on the company, and a few pieces of swag. Everyone likes getting free stuff, and this packet gives you a chance to add some activities for the kids to do if they get bored.
Break into focus groups. To introduce children to more careers, it’s a good idea to break your company into groups or areas and have the kids visit different areas and learn in-depth what happens there and what jobs the people they’re meeting have.
Parent quality time. Encouraging parents to come up with tasks for their children to help them do on this day will prepare them for this part of the day. This should be a bonding time and educational.
Recap of the day. At the end of the day or the allotted time, bring everyone together and talk about what they learned. Have the children share what they found most interesting about their parent’s jobs and the company in general. Encourage them to learn from each other.

Fun Ideas for Take Your Child to Work Day

A day in the office can be pretty boring to a child, especially when they’re not qualified to do much. In addition to basic ideas for Take Your Daughter or Son to Work Day, these are some fun possibilities you might want to try to round out the day.

Have them present a meeting. Have the children organize a meeting with the parents and give presentations on what they learned.
Build a resume. Part of getting a job is having a resume, introducing kids to the idea of a resume, and helping them create their own.
Deep dive into education. Discuss each area of the business and explain what type of education is most useful for that particular job. This is very useful to kids who might have an interest but don’t know how to focus on getting the qualifications necessary to do the job.
Scavenger hunt. Kids love games, but playing a regular board game won’t teach them anything about your company. Instead, consider a scavenger hunt where they will have to travel around the company looking for items that are a part of your business.
Work bingo. Much like the scavenger hunt, create bingo boards and have the children look for images or information that they can use to fill their cards.
Multimedia presentation. Kids are great with social media and creating videos. This is where they are comfortable and where they can shine. Encourage them to put together a video of their day and their experiences.

This can be a simple glimpse of what they’re doing, or it can be a full package, including interviews with other people who work there and slick production techniques.
Bring in a customer. If your company has some great customer relationships, consider asking one of them to be a part of this day. This not only gives the kids insight into what their parent does and what the company does, but it gives them the reason why. This full-circle view of the business helps put it all in perspective.

Virtual Take Your Child to Work Day Ideas

Many jobs today are done virtually. While your child might see you on the computer every single day, they probably don’t really understand what you’re doing. There’s no reason to skip this opportunity to introduce them to what might be their future. The following ideas help you create a virtual Take Your Child to Work Day.

Set up a virtual meeting. There should be a few of these throughout the day, so the child gets used to communicating virtually. Not only should you invite them to a meeting, but older children should learn how to create and invite others to meetings.
Have them host a meeting. Make sure this isn’t too stressful for them, but this is a great introduction to behaving and communicating professionally.
Work on business email etiquette. Sure, they know how to text and send videos, but children also need to learn the basics of professional communication through email.
Set up a fake business project. Whether you work on spreadsheets or graphics, whatever it is you do, establish a fake project for your child to work on as you show them how you work and what tools you use.
Play a virtual game. Virtual games aren’t always a part of the work environment, but some companies are using them as team-building exercises with great success. Set up a virtual game for kids to play, so they feel like they’re a part of the team.

Take Your Child to Work Day FAQ

Do all employers participate in Take Your Child to Work Day?

No, not all companies participate in Take Your Children to Work Day. This is not mandatory or required, so any company can opt out of participating if they want to. Some companies simply cannot accommodate children in their facility, and it would be unsafe to be involved. Others feel it would be too disruptive.
What age does a child have to be to participate in Take Your Child to Work Day?

There are no official rules for Take Your Child to Work Day, so there are no age limits. Some companies like to create age limits for their business to ensure the children are capable of participating in the day’s events and will get the most out of it without being disruptive. If a company is participating, it’s a good idea to establish some guidelines.
Can you participate in Take Your Child to Work Day if you work virtually?

Yes, you can, as long as there are some activities established for children to do in a home office. This can be a great opportunity for them to learn about video conferencing, creating professional emails, managing files, and other computer activities.
What do you do at Take Your Child to Work Day?

What activities you and your child do during Take Your Child to Work Day depends largely upon the company you work for and what you do. The best approach is to have a discussion with everyone involved before the day so there is no confusion and there are some activities planned. Having a child sit next to you for eight hours while you work is uncomfortable for everyone.

Final Thoughts

Take Your Children to Work Day is a great event that can introduce children to career pathways that they never even knew existed. By opening your company up to this day and creating a schedule of events, you’re more likely to have this be successful and good for the child, the parent, and your company.

Putting a lot of forethought into how the day will roll out and remembering that you’re working with children, often of a wide age range, will help you balance work with learning and fun. This is not just a great opportunity for kids to learn, but employers can prepare them to work with professionalism, creativity, and confidence.

References

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Author

Kristin Kizer

Kristin Kizer is an award-winning writer, television and documentary producer, and content specialist who has worked on a wide variety of written, broadcast, and electronic publications. A former writer/producer for The Discovery Channel, she is now a freelance writer and delighted to be sharing her talents and time with the wonderful Zippia audience.