Babies in the Workplace

programs in other businesses, and how the concept of babies in the workplace could transform our society.

Responsive Care
Creates Happy Babies

A key reason that babies at work are so content is that, in the workplace, parents tend to quickly respond to their babies' cries in order to keep the babies content and avoid disturbing coworkers, as well as to allow the parents to get work done. Mary Admasian explained that crying really wasn't a problem for most of the babies that are part of the bring-your-baby-to-work program at Zutano. She said, "the babies do cry, but when they are close to mom and mom pays attention, it's usually not an issue. It depends on the quality of the parent as well." These babies learned that they could trust their parents, they did not have to cry

very long to get their needs met, and they
were able to spend much of their time
fulfilling their purpose of learning about their worlds.

Newborns usually start out whimpering or making quiet sounds of unhappiness when they feel out of sorts. If a caretaker responds quickly to these requests and solves the baby's problem, in most cases the baby never has a reason to resort to full-blown screaming. If the babies' cries are ignored, however (since crying is the only method babies have of communicating their distress) they will steadily cry louder and more insistently in a desperate attempt to get the help they need. Eventually the baby's need is met, and the baby returns to equilibrium and contentment. But the next time the baby is uncomfortable or scared, he has learned that he won't be helped until he cries loudly and for a long time. Since he can't return to contentment until his need is