Imagine if you could find a job that doesn’t mind if you bring your kids to work every day. It may seem too good to be true, but there are actually many jobs that are kid-friendly and let you bring your child.
Finding them takes some research and work, but rest assured that finding such a job is not impossible.
It’s no secret that juggling a job and childcare can seem impossible. On one hand, you want to find a job that you enjoy and that will bring in money to support you and your family. On the other hand, hours can be inconsistent and someone needs to be there to watch your child.
What do you do when there is no one available to help with childcare, especially since daycare is so expensive?
The solution is to find a job that allows you to bring your child along!
I’m going to break the list of jobs you can bring your child to down into two parts: kid-friendly environments and independent jobs.
Table of Contents
Kid-friendly jobs you can bring your child to
To begin, we will start with jobs that are naturally more welcoming to employees who need to bring their children. These may not seem like the job for you, but they are all great ways to earn money while saving the expense of a daycare or babysitter.
1. Daycare Center or Nursery
I know, I know. This one seems pretty obvious, right? But you would be surprised at how many people who need to bring their kids to work don’t think of it! Working at a daycare center or nursery can mean anything – a cook, a janitor, an administrator or secretary, or a security guard. It does not necessarily mean you are the one who actually cares for the children, although that is definitely an option!
As a business that specializes in child care, you will be able to watch your children all day! Depending on their age and your position, you can drop them off and stay in the same building or watch them along with several other children. This makes working in a daycare center or nursery one of the best possible jobs for working parents.
2. Private or Public School
Much like our first option, jobs in public and private schools are a lot more varied than people think. Sure, it can be hard to become a teacher without the proper certifications. However, public and private schools have so many other jobs available! Bus drivers, cooks, janitors, and administrative assistants are all people who work in the school system without being teachers.
Childcare for school employees is something that many schools actively provide, so you can do your research on the schools in your district to find which are the most child-friendly. As a bonus, working at a school often sets up your children for success once they get older! They will already know the ins and outs of navigating school just from watching you work.
Schools also keep shorter hours, allowing you to get home earlier in the day and have most weekends off to watch your children. That’s just one reason why jobs in public and private schools are great for working parents.
3. Start-Ups and Businesses With Young Workers
Remember the importance of research? It’s really going to come in handy with this area! Many start-up businesses are more likely to offer childcare to their employees. A start-up is a newly established business, typically just finding its feet and with fewer employees. As new companies, start-ups offer many different positions and are generally more flexible with employees and their childcare needs.
In addition, businesses with a lot of young workers or who are known to offer good childcare services may include daycare for employees either within the office or close by. Nowadays, more businesses are paying attention to the needs of their working parents.
Research start-ups and businesses with young workers in your area, and communicate your needs early with the interviewer. If you’re lucky, they will either offer childcare or be perfectly fine with you bringing your kid to work with you.
4. Caregiver (at home)
This job really depends on the specific cases, but there are definitely times when it can work out. An at-home caregiver is someone who assists patients in their own homes with daily needs such as hygiene, medical care, medication, and transportation. They often travel between the houses of different clients during the day.
If you are qualified or in the process of becoming qualified to be a caregiver, there may be patients who are willing to let you bring your child along with you provided that they are well behaved. Keep in mind that not all caregiving environments are kid-friendly, as you are dealing with medical care and the dignity and privacy of your patients should come first.
However, depending on the age of your child, their behavior, and open communication with your client, you may be able to bring them along with you! This is another job where research and communication are absolutely key.
Independent jobs you can bring your child to
Now, let’s cover some other options about kid-friendly environments! It may make more sense to bring your child to work at a daycare or school, but there are still plenty of options left if that is not your style.
Independent jobs give employees the ability to handle their own schedules and largely work alone, which makes it easy to care for a child at the same time. Here are some of the best independent jobs to bring your child to!
5. Working From Home
In this case, work will come to you and your child instead of the other way around! COVID-19 has changed a lot about how we live our lives, but the knowledge that many jobs that once had to be in person can be done from home is perhaps for the better.
When it comes to jobs that utilize a lot of online work or phone calls, many places looking to hire people are offering more options to work from home than ever before! You will still have meetings, phone calls, and tasks to complete but it does make it easier to keep an eye on your child.
Most places that allow you to work from home are also understanding about breaks and allowances for child care. Get in touch with work from home options quickly!
6. Building Caretaker
As a caretaker for a building or property, you will be in charge of cleaning, simple repairs, security, and necessary maintenance. Being a caretaker can look very different depending on who hires you, but it is generally a very independent position that would allow you to easily bring your child with you.
Caretaker jobs can also be in the realm of security guard or janitorial work with the option to eventually be promoted to caretaker. In any case, there is a good chance a caretaker job will satisfy the need to work as well as bring your child along.
7. Cleaning Services
This is a job that has a lot of variation – you could be part of a cleaning service that dispatches workers to homes, or work completely independently and build up a list of regular clients. You could clean houses or buildings, but in general, you will be working alone. Even within a team of cleaners, there will be separate tasks for each person.
Depending on the location and need for travel, bringing your child to cleaning jobs will be simple. Just make sure they’re on their best behavior so they don’t make any additional messes!
8. Delivery Driver
Talk about bringing your child along for the ride! Working as a delivery driver can mean delivering many different products, from food to groceries to necessary medication. If you have your own vehicle and car seat, working as a delivery driver can be a great way to earn money with your child right in the backseat.
This works especially well for children who enjoy car rides or even fall asleep when they are driven! This job is definitely one of the most independent ones you can do, and it is safer than delivering passengers or dropping people off.
Remember to keep in mind that you will be leaving the car for short periods of time to pick up and deliver products. However, this is easily something your child can be around for!
9. Freelance Work
Finally, a great independent job that can be done with your children right beside you is that of a freelancer. If you have a talent for writing, editing, proofreading, or art and design, this job will be perfect for you! The hardest part about being a freelance worker is gaining a regular list of clients and collecting good reviews, but once the foundation is built the work is fairly consistent.
There are several websites and companies for freelance workers to advertise their services, so you won’t need to start on your own. If you are good at personal branding and confident in your work, becoming a freelance writer or artist (or anything!) can bring in money without forcing you to go to an office each day.
How to find jobs you can bring your child to
Finally, here are the best strategies to use to find jobs that allow you to bring your child.
Research
The first thing to remember when searching for a job that allows you to bring your child is that research should always be done first. If you find a job that sounds like it would allow you to care for your child, don’t wait until your interview to actually find out!
To begin, you can look up the available position online and see what other people’s experiences are. Many people post in online forums or blogs about their experiences as working parents. If the information is available, you can even research the company hiring to find their policy on childcare. Doing research first allows you to know for sure whether or not you can bring your child and avoid any stress in the future.
Networking
The next thing to do is network. This may sound official, but all it really means is to utilize your connections and relationships to find new opportunities. Perhaps you have a friend or family member who struggled to find a job with flexible hours and can refer you to several places. Maybe a friend of a friend knows somebody who is hiring and can give you a reference!
Networking helps set you apart from other applicants, and it can help establish right away that a job with enough flexibility and structure to allow child care is a must. Many people struggle with letting those close to them know about their job search, but that can keep you from valuable opportunities!
Communicate
Finally, remember that communication is key. A lot of people react well to honesty and appreciate a worker who is up-front and does not wait until the last minute to talk about potential problems. So many employers are working parents themselves and will be sympathetic to your schedule, provided that you communicate that need first!
Research, networking, and communication will be your best friends as you search for kid-friendly jobs. Don’t be discouraged and start out with some of these examples of the best jobs to bring your child to.
Jobs you can bring your kids to work: The bottom line
This list of both independent and kid-friendly jobs is not exhaustive, and there are still plenty of options out there for everybody! It can seem discouraging, but there is always work to be done and all you need to do is search.
In this day and age, many employers are sympathetic to working parents and are willing to offer assistance. As long as you are a stellar candidate, they will typically be happy to work with you and find an arrangement that suits everyone. Just remember the three keys to preparation: research, networking, and communication!
There you have it! These are some of the best jobs in a variety of different fields that you can bring your child to. Happy hunting and good luck!
