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Take Your Child to Work Day gives children a supervised, age-appropriate look at what parents and caregivers do, while helping employees connect across roles and family experiences. In 2027, it falls on Thursday, April 22. A thoughtful plan should include meaningful activities, remote options, accessibility and no-pressure ways for everyone to participate.
Children are inquisitive. If you’re a parent yourself, you’ve probably experienced this and may have been asked by your child what you do all day.
Of course, you can explain your job to them in simple terms. But wouldn’t it be great if you could actually show them?
Take Your Child to Work Day is happening on Thursday, April 22, 2027, and it is a useful opportunity to invite employees to share their work with a child in their life.
In addition to creating a bit of fun, inviting children into the workplace can support connection among employees and give children a broader view of careers. Read on for ways to make Take Your Child to Work Day fun, educational and inclusive.
This blog post was updated on August 26, 2026 and now features the date for 2027.
What is Take Your Child to Work Day?
Take Your Child to Work Day is typically celebrated on the fourth Thursday of April each year. In 2027, that date is April 22.
The purpose of Take Your Child to Work Day is to give children a glimpse of what their parents or caregivers do at work and encourage them to consider the variety of career opportunities available to them.
What are the benefits of Take Your Child to Work Day?
Children learn from parents, caregivers and other adults around them. Seeing people perform different roles can make the world of work feel more concrete and help children ask better questions about careers.
Take Your Child to Work Day can be especially useful for older students who are beginning to explore career paths. For younger children, it can simply be a memorable introduction to the people, skills and teamwork behind an organization.
Allowing employees to bring children to work gives those children the opportunity to see firsthand what it is like to work in a particular field or organization and to learn about roles they may not encounter elsewhere.
The day can also create a shared experience between children and their parents or caregivers. Colleagues may connect over their lives outside work, while participating children can meet one another and form new friendships.
Overall, Take Your Child to Work Day can be an exciting and educational experience. It is an opportunity to expose children to the world of work, encourage career exploration and create meaningful connections among employees, caregivers and children.
Why should your organization celebrate Take Your Child to Work Day?
Take Your Child to Work Day is less about a direct productivity outcome and more about creating connection, curiosity and a positive employee experience.
Welcoming children can show employees that the organization recognizes their lives and responsibilities outside work. A well-run event can also demonstrate a thoughtful workplace culture to candidates, clients and the wider community.
How can you plan an inclusive and safe event?
Before inviting children onsite or into virtual spaces, set clear participation guidelines. Confirm which locations and activities are appropriate for visitors, identify age ranges, arrange supervision and ask about accessibility needs, allergies and emergency contacts. Establish photo and recording expectations in advance so caregivers can make informed choices.
Participation should remain optional. Provide alternatives for employees whose roles, schedules or workplaces cannot safely accommodate visitors, and avoid putting employees without children in the position of having to organize or supervise the event.
What activities can entertain and educate children?
Here are a few simple suggestions for Take Your Child to Work Day:
- Ask for volunteers to organize age-appropriate events throughout the day.
- Give children a tour of the workplace and explain what happens in each area.
- Offer supervised mock assignments, such as sorting sample materials, brainstorming a product name or planning a pretend project.
- Invite employees from different teams to give short, child-friendly explanations of their roles.
- Ask children to create a poster that explains what the organization does.
- Set up a scavenger hunt with safe, easy-to-find items such as a coffee cup or a red pen.
- Organize a team bonding activity that includes children without making participation mandatory.
Should you call the holiday Take Your Child to Work Day or Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day?
Take Your Child to Work Day is an inclusive name that invites children to learn by observing and participating. Whatever name your organization uses, make the event welcoming to children across genders and identities.
The observance began as “Take Our Daughters to Work Day,” with the first national event held in 1993. In 2003, the program expanded to include boys and became officially known as “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day,” according to the National Women’s History Museum.
At Electives, we recommend using Take Your Child to Work Day as a concise, inclusive name for workplace communications.
How can remote employees and remote workforces celebrate Take Your Child to Work Day?
Sitting next to a parent for a full day of video calls is unlikely to create a memorable experience. Instead, build a few short, interactive moments into the day and give employees flexibility to participate around their responsibilities.
Ideas for remote Take Your Child to Work Day celebrations include:
- A short all-team call during which children can be introduced and share their hobbies or interests.
- A chaperoned virtual room where children can meet through trivia, an art project or a scavenger hunt.
- A brief career showcase in which employees explain their jobs using a prop, story or simple demonstration.
- Live virtual learning, such as yoga or lessons from Olympians, that children and employees can enjoy together.
Should you involve people without kids in your Take Your Child to Work Day celebrations?
Take Your Child to Work Day can be opened to more people by allowing employees to invite a child who is important in their life, such as a niece, nephew, younger sibling or family friend, where workplace policies and caregiver permissions allow. Participation should be optional and should not assume that every employee wants to discuss their family situation.
Employees with and without children can be invited to volunteer, share their career stories or lead activities, but no one should feel pressured to participate. Consider offering quiet work areas and scheduling focused activities during limited time blocks so the event does not take over the full workday.
No matter how you celebrate, Take Your Child to Work Day is a chance to recognize employees as people outside their roles and help children see how curiosity, collaboration and different skills shape how work gets done.
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