On ‘Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day’ Stop Telling Kids They Can Be Anything They Want

“You can be anything you want to be” are encouraging words to a child, but when it’s not followed up with how-to instructions, it makes you wonder how valuable those words are really worth. The reality is that children are born with talents that need to be nurtured for them to mature into their potential greatness. To help parents and guardians expose their children to different career opportunities, The National Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work foundation sponsors Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day on the fourth Thursday in April each year.

The purpose of this day is for children to attend work with their parents and guardians to learn about what they and their business do. Last year, 40 million people participated in the program alone in the U.S.

I still have memories of participating in this event as a child when my dad took my brothers and me to work with him. He worked as a case examiner in the medical records department of a local hospital in Baltimore. This experience taught me at a young age that you didn’t have to be a doctor or nurse to work in the hospital. I also discovered that I never wanted to work in a hospital because it reeked of bandages and hand sanitizer. I knew I couldn’t stomach that smell everyday.

Thankfully, I learned early on (and saved my parents time and money) that being a doctor or nurse was not in my future. The point I’m making is that children tend to remember what they experience instead of what they are told. Invest in your child’s future career by allowing your child to attend work with you this National Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.

Here are four reasons why taking your child to work is an investment in their future career.

-The Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work foundation recommends children ages 8 to 18 participate in the program each year. If you were to participate each year, this is up to ten years’ worth of workplace exposure for your child.

-Participating in this program can be great networking for your child, which can lead to an internship, job and/or professional reference.

-Your child can add this experience to their first resume. Although it’s not paid work experience, it shows potential employers that they have been exposed to the work environment. This will be helpful as they begin to build their resume and apply for after school, summer jobs, and also college.

-Although they may learn what you do and not be interested, it’s still a step forward in the right direction. Process of elimination is a benefit in helping children to discover who and what they want to become professionally.

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