Babies in the Workplace

   we end the program when the babies
   reach six months.

   This six or eight-month window also seems to work well biologically, since the fact that the baby can crawl coincides with a number of other milestones that make it easier for babies to be away from their parents. The first six months of a baby's life are an extremely key time for babies and parents. In that relatively short period of time, many babies change from being completely instinctive and dependent to being able to hold objects, interacting with their environments by their own choice, and traveling under their own power. Also, if a mother is able to breastfeed because she can bring her baby to work until six months (when her baby starts eating other foods) or eight months of age, she will be in a better position to maintain a sufficient milk supply even after the baby goes to day care since her baby will no longer be completely dependent on her milk. A

risk in a workplace environment, and it's also much more difficult to adequately supervise a crawling baby while trying to get work done.

   Though there are some workplaces that allow children older than this to come with their parents every day, the larger companies found that a six or eight-month limitation worked well. Susan Matthews of Borshoff said that one of the moms in the program commented that at five months and three weeks, she could see that her productivity was dropping as her son became more active. Susan said:

   When they're little, basically all they need is
   to be fed, hugged, loved, changed, and to
   sleep. This allows the parent to care for her
   child and get work done at the same time.
   But when babies get older, they become
   more active, and it's more difficult for
   parents to care for their children full time
   and also be productive at work. That's why