Showing kids the workplace

Monopoly money and tumbles down a couple of stairs were enough to keep a kindergarten class engaged in learning about a claims adjuster’s job.

Bill Tann, a recently retired claims adjuster, hosted his daughter and her kindergarten classmates at his office back in 1980 – 13 years before the Ms. Foundation for Women founded Take Our Daughters to Work Day.

The national event, which changed its name to Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day in 2003 and takes place Thursday, was created to introduce children to various careers.

Tann knew his profession would not be the most exciting for kindergartners, so he planned ahead to engage the children and help them understand the role of a claims adjuster.

“An insurance office has got to be the most boring thing for children,” Tann said. “I can’t think of anything worse.”

The children took turns filing claims after purposely falling down two stair steps. After accepting their compensation in Monopoly money, they were invited to shop for candy and trinkets in a store set up in the office.

Maren Murphy, a junior at the University of Washington with a double-major in geography and Scandinavian studies, also participated in Take Our Daughters to Work Day as a child, visiting her occupational therapist mother and her chaplain father at Sacred Heart Medical Center. Although she’s not planning to follow the career paths of either of her parents, Murphy said her childhood experiences watching her parents work made an impression.

“It did get me started thinking about what you do after you’re done with school,” Murphy said. “It definitely got me thinking about the work life.”

Added perks were that she could skip school and see how her parents spend their days, Murphy said.

Her mother, Jeannette Murphy, said parents also benefit from bringing their children to the workplace.

Having Maren come to work allowed her to show off her daughter and gave co-workers a glimpse of her personal life, Jeannette Murphy said. The experience helped Maren understand why her mom’s job was important.

“I enjoyed having her see what other women do for a career,” Jeannette Murphy said. “I felt like women need to see what their opportunities are in the workplace.”

Meghan Johnson, a freshman at Oregon State University, fondly remembers the time spent visiting her mother’s public relations firm during her elementary and middle school years.

“I was fascinated by her work,” Johnson said. “I never got bored.”

She even enjoyed helping with filing. Now Johnson is working toward a degree in business administration with a focus on marketing, and may one day run her own business, thanks in part to her mother’s influence.

Of course, not all kids will be interested in their parents’ professions. Tara Bertholf, 25, remembers participating in Take Our Daughters to Work Day in junior high. She spent the day with her father, an accountant at Avista.

“I was just not too intrigued by it,” Bertholf said. “It definitely made me see that I’m not a huge fan of desk jobs.”

Bertholf is now a senior at Eastern Washington University and plans to enter graduate school at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to study occupational therapy.

Although her career pursuits are a far cry from accounting, she still said the experience with Take Our Daughters to Work Day was valuable, since it allowed her to spend time with her father.

“It was nice to see what my dad does,” Bertholf said. “It helped me at least know one thing I didn’t want to do.”

An estimated 16 million children nationwide will participate in Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day this week, according to the Ms. Foundation for Women Web site.