--- title: "Show your kid what you do at work" status: "Idea, not yet tested" published: "2026-10-15" updated: "2026-10-15" author: "Dad Field Manual editors (drafted with AI help)" time: "30 min" cost: "$0" ages: "5 to 12" where: "Any table or the living-room floor, with room to lay out a few things from work." topics: ["work-home"] print: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/print?p=show-your-work" url: "https://dadfieldmanual.com/plans/show-your-work/" --- # Show your kid what you do at work > Most kids know their dad goes to work and not much else. In half an hour at the table you'll show them what you do, who it helps and how it turns into groceries, and they'll interview you with their own questions. **Tested on:** not yet. When a dad tries this, his name, the date, the place, and the kids' ages will be added here. ## What you need - Two or three real things from your job: a tool, a badge, a uniform piece, a sample of what you make, or a photo you're allowed to share (have) - Paper and markers so your kid can draw your job (have) - The question cards: the questions below, written on scraps of paper (have) ## Before you start - **Keep work private things at work.** No customer or patient names, no screens with company data, no photos your employer doesn't allow. - **Show hazards as photos.** Blades, chemicals, medicines and power tools stay at work or in the truck. Bring a picture instead. - **Keep money worries off the table.** If they ask whether you could lose your job, answer honestly and simply, and remind them the grown-ups handle that. - **Every job counts.** Between jobs, working at home or caring for family? Show that work too, with the same respect. ## Steps 1. **Write your one sentence** (Dad) Before you sit down, finish this: "My job is to help ___ by ___." For example: "My job is to help people get to work by fixing the buses they ride." If you can't fit it in one sentence, it's too long for a seven-year-old. 2. **Show the stuff** (Dad shows) Lay out your two or three things and let them hold whatever's safe. For each one, say what it is and when you use it: "This is my badge. It opens the door in the morning, so I wear it all day." 3. **Walk through a day by the clock** (Dad) Tell your day in order: when you get there, what you do first, lunch, the busy part, when you leave. Use times: "At 8 I check the schedule. At 10 the first truck comes in." Kids like hearing that you eat lunch too. 4. **Name the hard part and the good part** (Dad) Say one thing that's hard about your job and one thing you like. "The hard part is when a customer is upset. The good part is when we figure it out together." This is the bit they'll remember. 5. **Let them interview you** (Kid) Spread out the question cards and let them pick: "Who do you help? What did you do first today? What happens if you make a mistake? How did you learn to do it? What do you like best? How does your work turn into money for our groceries?" Answer every one straight. 6. **Draw your job** (Kid) Ask them to draw you at work, with labels if they can write. Tape it near your landing spot or take it to work. Ask: "What would you want to do if you had my job for a day?" ## If it stalls - If your job is hard to show, like software or sales, show one real result instead: a screen you're allowed to share, a thank-you note, a map of the places you drive. - If they lose interest, skip ahead to the questions. Kids care more about the lunch and the mistakes than the org chart. - If they ask how much you make, it's fine to say "That's private family money stuff, but I'll tell you it pays for our home and food." Decide ahead of time what you're comfortable sharing. - If you can, follow it with a visit: a drive past where you work, or a family day if your workplace has one. ## Variations - **Ages 5–7:** One thing to show, the one sentence and three question cards. Let them play at doing your job for five minutes afterward. - **Ages 8–12:** Look up your job in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook together: what it says people in your job do, and what training it takes. Then look up a job they're curious about. - **Two parents or grown-ups:** Each adult in the house takes a turn, including anyone whose work is at home. Kids can compare: who has the earliest start, who talks to the most people. ## Sources - **Kids learn about earning by watching you.** The CFPB's middle-childhood handout says children want to learn about money and do so by watching you earn, save and spend, and suggests thinking out loud about your money choices with them. (checked 2026-10-15) - **You earn money by working.** The CFPB's Money as You Grow page for children ages 3 to 5 lists earning as a first money lesson: you need money to buy things, and you earn money by working. (checked 2026-10-15) - **Looking up jobs.** The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook groups occupations into 25 fields and gives a short description of what workers in each job do, with entry-level education, median pay and projected job growth. (checked 2026-10-15)