Babies in the Workplace

babies who feel engaged and connected to their world.

Babies in developing countries are generally held all day by parents or siblings. A mother may do household chores, talk with other women in the village, do farming tasks, and spend a lot of time outside where there are likely to be other children and possibly animals to look at. These mothers don't have leisure time to sit and play with their babies for hours the way many Americans try to do. The babies don't have access to the huge array of toys American babies do. Yet these babies are content and rarely cry--because they are active participants in society.

Community Parenting

Baby programs seem to create a community or family feeling in the workplace. Coworkers and executives in

these companies frequently help parent-employees by stopping by to play with the babies for a few minutes or taking the babies for a walk if the parent has an urgent project to finish.

Being able to bring their babies to work with them gave new parents a built-in support network during a very stressful time. As described in more detail in the Benefits to Families and Benefits to Society sections of this site, parents were often extremely grateful for the chance to have adult conversations and social interaction--instead of feeling isolated at home with their babies. Many coworkers enjoyed the chance to see and play with happy babies as a stress reliever during their work day, and they felt invested in helping to nurture these tiny people.

In fact, large companies--with lots of people who had spare moments to help