Babies in the Workplace

Babies in the Workplace  44

experiment with a baby program might do well with this sort of informal approach.  She suggested that it helps when a company makes it clear that they "realize that [the parent] has some needs right now" but that it's not a permanent thing.  Using this open-ended concept as a guide, smaller companies could allow parents to bring in their children when they're babies or even when they're older, as long as the children aren't disruptive.    Although the issues associated with older children in the workplace are too complicated to effectively cover here, older children at work can add a whole new layer of benefits for businesses.  Holly Reigh, the co-owner of Reigh Services, a landscaping and home maintenance business in Centre County, Pennsylvania, discovered this with her son.  Her nearly-three-year-old son, Jameson, had accompanied her to client meetings and

45  How to Implement

sounds, windows to look out of, and plenty of other interesting things to learn about. Older Children    Companies may also want to experiment with allowing older children to come in on an occasional basis.  An increasing number of companies across the country  are allowing older children to come to work on an occasional basis--such as on school holidays or snow days.  Willie Jones, the owner of Magical Journey Bookstore, mentioned that his son, who is seven years old, will occasionally spend the day in the bookstore, and often he'll just wander around the store and say to each customer, "Welcome to Magical Journey."  Dana Croy, who brought her baby to work at Magical Journey, explained that Willie's philosophy was that she could bring her baby "until it wasn't working anymore."  She thinks that a business that wants to