![]() It did, but I had an office mostly to myself with a door-a luxury many staff members did not have. ![]() I was used as a test case to see if our policy could work. Based on a template from the Parenting in the Workplace Institute, the task force created a policy addressing topics such as crying babies and unhappy staff members. The task force began tackling the challenge of making the policy as equitable as possible across departments and among staff who did not have children. Near the end of 2019, two staff members in different departments, both parents of babies, were bringing their young ones to work with them on a regular basis. ![]() Based on that research, coupled with the complete support from museum leadership, a policy was in development to allow parents and infants to clock in together. Research has shown that allowing parents to bring their babies to work has a wide variety of benefits for the health and well-being of the parent and the infant. I was also eager to get back to a job I loved. I was eager to find a way to maximize time with my infant after my maternity leave ended. However, for obvious reasons, this accommodation typically applied to older children, not babies. As long as I was able to complete my work and be available, I could still be a mom.” “The family-first mentality at CDM is amazing, especially in my department. “I always was very appreciative of the option to bring the kids with me when I needed to,” said Brianna Daignault, CDM’s membership coordinator and mother to Charlie (10) and Autumn (8). Historically, Creative Discovery Museum (CDM) has bolstered a family-first environment through its Children of Staff policy, which allowed staff members to bring their children, grandchildren, or siblings to work as long as productivity wasn’t disrupted. Those are some of the questions Creative Discovery Museum’s Babies at Work Task Force brought to the table in the fall of 2019. But does that translate to supporting the children and families of those on staff? Is it possible? Can it be done equitably? Now, almost a year into the pandemic, with limited capacities, unexpected closures, and tighter budgets, this challenge has not diminished.Ĭhildren’s museums across the country have a variety of different missions but most center on supporting children and families in their communities. respondents reported childcare as being a “very significant financial strain,” with average costs consuming 37 percent of a family’s average household income. In a 2019 poll done by New York Times Parenting and YouGov, an international polling and marketing company, 28 percent of U.S. This article is part of the “Forged in Fire: New Models” issue of Hand to Hand.Ĭlick here to read other articles in the issue.īy Kyrstin Hill, Creative Discovery Museumįor working parents of young children, finding quality, affordable, flexible childcare was already difficult before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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