This idea is excerpted from Barbara’s book “Balancing Acts: More Than 250 Guilt Free, Creative Ideas to Blend Your Work and Your Life” (Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2003)
Most of us will spend the majority of our lives working, at jobs both paid and unpaid. It is important that we help our children feel good about our work and thus about working in general. Here are some suggestions to give our kids a positive attitude about work:
- Select books to read about different jobs or professions. Richard Scarry’s word books are especially fun to read.
- Tell your children what you do for a living in language they can understand.
- When your children complain about the number of hours you work, remind them how they benefit by your working. Of course, the financial reward is a direct benefit, but you and your family gain from your experiences, the people you meet, the friends you make, and the places you travel.
- Try not to always blame your crankiness or tiredness on work. Let them know that work can also be stimulating, uplifting, and satisfying.
- Above all, try to make time for your children no matter how hard you work. Let them know that while you want to provide for them, they are more important than your job. Your children should never feel like they have to compete with your work.
Barbara Glanz Biography
A member of the prestigious Speaker Hall of Fame and one of fewer than 700 Certified Speaking Professionals worldwide, Barbara Glanz, CSP, CPAE, works with organizations to improve morale, retention and service and with people who want to rediscover the joy in their work and in their lives. She is the first speaker on record to have spoken on all 7 continents and in all 50 states. Known as "the business speaker who speaks to your heart as well as to your head," Barbara is the author of twelve books including The Simple Truths of Service Inspired by Johnny the Bagger®, CARE Packages for the Workplace, and 180 Ways to Spread Contagious Enthusiasm™. Voted "best keynote presenter you have heard or used" by Meetings & Conventions Magazine, Barbara uses her Master’s degree in Adult Learning to design programs that cause behavior change. She lives and breathes her personal motto: “Spreading Contagious Enthusiasm™” and can be reached at bglanz@barbaraglanz.com and www.barbaraglanz.com.
