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Dad Field Manual · Field card 11 · Work & HomeIdea · not yet tested

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.

Time
30 min
Cost
$0
Ages
5 to 12
Where
Kitchen table

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
  • Paper and markers so your kid can draw your job
  • The question cards: the questions below, written on scraps of paper

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. Finish the sentence: My job is to help ___ by ___.
  2. Show the stuff. Lay out two or three real things from work and say what each is and when you use it.
  3. Walk through a day by the clock. Tell your workday in order with times, from arriving to leaving.
  4. Name the hard part and the good part. Tell them one hard part of your job and one part you like.
  5. Let them interview you. Let them pick question cards and answer each one straight.
  6. Draw your job. Have them draw you at work, then put the drawing up at home or at work.

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.
Questions asked · drawing done?
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date