Taking baby to work - I just don't UNDERSTAND this

[morningpaper]

I don't understand when people talk about 'taking baby to work' - what KIND of babies are these? And what KIND of job could you do this in?

Or are my screaming attention-seeking babies freaks?

One thing (of many) that annoys me about Miriam Stoppard's pregnancy book is a photograph of someone teaching music with a baby in a cradle on the floor, with the caption like "You might be able to take baby to work with you." WHAT?

[CarlyP]

my boss would love baby in the draw and toddler doing the filing........ not.....

maybe if your a 'mobile' or 'work from home' it could work. but commute etc is laughable

[starlover]

yes, i can just imagine myself with Linus strpped to my back as I fit screaming children with shoes

i thought work was where you go to get away from them? lol

[SorenLorensen]

Miriam Stoppard is nuts though.

No, I can't imagine any job where you could take your baby in ...and definitely not my babies.

[georginarf]

I wouldn't even take a baby into a music lesson anyway - people haven't paid oodles of money to learn the clarinet and also watch my baby scream at the noise

[SoupDragon]

I could easily have taken DSs in but BabyDragon??? no way!!

[Bugsy2]

Laughable suggestion!!!
Only someone in their late 50s could suggest you take your baby to work. They have forgotten what both babies & work are like. Can't bear M Stoppard books as they are so full of soft focus, whimsical pictures. Made me feel resentful when I had my howling, colicky baby. I wanted to be smiling, wearing pastels & in soft focus too!!

[chipmonkey]

I would need 3 servants to do everything Miriam Stoppard suggests at home never mind at work!
I know someone (optometrist) who used to bring her baby to work in a Moses basket. But it was her own practice and I believe it was fairly quiet.
I brought ds2 to work with me once just for an hour. He was 18 months old at the time. He sat at the front desk with me and actually helped me out just by being there! We had a very unpleasant unreasonable customer, who would shout and behave nastily every time he came in but clearly didn't want to do that in front of the child so was much nicer! and all the little old ladies gave him great attention!

[WideWebWitch]

Mad Miriam is wrong. And mad, obviously.

[bundle]

you just can't. it's bonkers. stoppard? double bonkers.

[fennel]

i have on occasion taken a baby to work. I had quite settled babies. to meetings, in seminars etc. but would generally prefer not to. you don't really get that much work done.

[Cristina7]

A friend used to take her DS to work. She did evening work at a pregnancy clinic. I don't know if this was the most sensitive thing to do, given the clients were trying to have terminations...and there she was with her lovely baby.

I took DD to work last week. I only went in for a couple of hours at lunchtime to do some printing and photocopying, no thinking required.

[bundle]

fio that's dreadful.

[bluejelly]

Obviously highly inappropriate in today's office environment. But in many countries in the world it's commonplace eg babies tied to their mother's back and taken to the fields/the market etc
Even in rural Greece babies are put in a sling thing and hung off a tree, so that their mothers can pick olives etc

[HRHQueenOfQuotes]

PMSL - sorry have wonderful visions of babies hanging in the trees

[Cristina7]

In today's office environment would coat pegs do?

[motherinferior]

Loads of people assume I work with the Inferiorettes frolicking prettily around my feet. Even people who've met them.

[bluejelly]

[bundle]

wot, MI, work with those bobble-haired-tornadoes???

[HRHQueenOfQuotes]

I've taught music lessons with my 2 boys in the room - (not teaching at the moment don't have time - or energy) I always explained to my prospective students/their parents before they even booked their lessons that my children would be there and were absolutely fine with it.

I take my boys to choir practice with me - they're generally quite noisy - but we still get the stuff done - when I can stop my choir playing peek-a-boo with DS2

[fennel]

I have a string bag from Papua new guinea which babies can hang off hooks in. Strangely, dd3, a generally uncomplaining child, objected vehemently to this practice. bag ended up being used for vegetable shops instead.

[JanH]

chortling here at "frolicking prettily" - MI, you have such a lovely way with words

[lovecloud]

My friend runs her own toddler music group and took her baby to her music group from a few months old and now he is 10 months old and is very well behaved!

It is possible, she just managed to get him into a good routine and fed him before the class started. It only lasted 40 mins, 15min break before the next one started so she would top him up and give hugs.

As a young baby, all the noise kept him amused and then when he was old enough he joined in.

My other friend is a tutor and her students came to her house, her little one is really good and amused herself whilst mummu done her thing.

The jobs tend to be people who are self employed as its your rules then! :)

[Wills]

Personally I haven't got my head around working from home yet. My kids see me they know they own me. I mean ok if they're in bed but social services might be round if I insisted on keeping them strapped to their beds all day.

[motherinferior]

I will admit this is the day when I get DD1 straight from school and insist she does something else, such as veg in front of the telly while I do a bit of work, but even that tends to go pear-shaped as she wanders into my office. I definitely couldn't have conducted the long interview I did this morning, with her pottering in. Or worse, dashing in noisily with a little friend.