Bringing kids to work?

Specialties Geriatric

Published

I work NOCs at an LTC and it is fairly common for several of my coworkers to bring their kids to work with them, all night. It seems very unprofessional to me. While they are preoccupied with taking care of their kids for half the night, I am picking up their slack. Maybe I am overreacting, but I am tired of little boys running up and down the halls and the one year old baby screaming at the top of his lungs, waking up all of my residents. This is work people, not playgroup for your kids! :no:

Specializes in Trauma Surgical ICU.

I have never heard of such a thing..

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I know I shouldn't, but I'm dying laughing imagining having to step over kids running in the hallway and the baby crying in the background....omg, my nerves would be shot.

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Specializes in Med/surg, Quality & Risk.

That's obnoxious, and I can't believe any admin would tolerate it. If you don't think you'll get anywhere with management I'd contact the state licensing authority for your LTC and whoever accredits them...anonymously of course. OH and the federal & state occupational safety and health administration (OSHA, and for example TN's is called TOSHA).

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Specializes in Neuro, Trauma, and Psych.

Completely inappropriate. Although I admit that my mom used to bring me to the hospital unit she worked on and I would stay for about 30 mins or so and then one of the night shift nurses would take me and her son to school. I loved it and found it so interesting. I have great memories of all my mom's friends. I knew that I had to absolutely behave on the unit. But I cannot imagine a child "hanging" out for a whole shift

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Specializes in retired LTC.

I have seen it done at places I have worked. Momma would be tied up babysitting more than her job and kids would be hanging around - noise and being in places where they shouldn't have been. I never knew if it was technically approved by mgt or if staff just figured they could do so.

I know in LTC, seniors love when children come in for approved, scheduled activities, like around holidays and playdates. But those activities are sanctioned by Admin and the Act/Rec Dept supervises with sufficient # aides for a specific length of time. And then the kids go home before they get tired out & cranky & whiney, etc.

To Sun0408 - If this is what you're questioning, there has been a program national day when parents are encouraged to bring kids to their place of employment so kids could learn what parents do for work. But not all employment fields seem appropriate. I would imagine that employers would announce that the practice was or was not OK for that place, but I guess not all do. I googled it and was surprised that it's been around for 20 years. It gets Philadelphia TV coverage all the time!

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Specializes in Medical Surgical.

One of the my ex-coworkers at the job I am currently working at (hotel, not health care) brought her 1 year old and let her crawl around in the back office while she cleaned rooms. The baby kept crawling around the corner as I was trying to check guests into the hotel and every time I rushed back there to check on her she was trying to put stuff in her mouth. I don't think kids have any business being at a job like that. I would be just as disturbed as you and would either complain or look elsewhere if management refuses to deal with that. Poor kids and patients :(.

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Specializes in Trauma Surgical ICU.

To Sun0408 - If this is what you're questioning, there has been a program national day when parents are encouraged to bring kids to their place of employment so kids could learn what parents do for work. But not all employment fields seem appropriate. I would imagine that employers would announce that the practice was or was not OK for that place, but I guess not all do. I googled it and was surprised that it's been around for 20 years. It gets Philadelphia TV coverage all the time!

I don't think this is what the OP is talking about. I know of the program, yes, but find it very hard to believe it is acceptable to bring your children to work in a health care facility on a regular basis. I'm sure it is more acceptable in a "office" setting where the parent is more stationary KWIM..

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Specializes in retired LTC.
I don't think this is what the OP is talking about. I know of the program, yes, but find it very hard to believe it is acceptable to bring your children to work in a health care facility on a regular basis. I'm sure it is more acceptable in a "office" setting where the parent is more stationary KWIM..
Oops - my mistake.
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Specializes in oncology, MS/tele/stepdown.

I was a pharmacy technician before nursing, and my old boss would periodically have her children with her if there was a lapse in childcare. It was never for more than a couple hours, but so help me she would give her youngest Mini M&Ms and I would have a heart attack every time that kid would eat something. This was an educated woman letting her child eat round colorful candy on a floor where there are dangerous round colorful pills.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Home Health.

When I worked in Assisted Living, employees brought their kids to work during school vacations. No one seemed to mind.

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There is a nurse on dayshift who's kids will come to the facility after school let out. you never knew they were there tho, they were so well behaved that i always figured they were visiting a resident.

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What this topic points out to me is, the inequitableness (inequity?) of the availability of childcare options for 3-11 & 11-7 employees. Like only dayshift employees deserve childcare as a bene. (sarcastic)

I know! You can find DAYcare all over the place, but is there even a such thing as NIGHTcare? No. I've heard of a couple of private, in-home child care centers offering 24 hour care, but it's kind of like a mythical beast. Everybody's heard of it, nobody can actually find it.

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