I recently took my son (age 9) on a business trip for the first time and plan to do more with both of my kids (daughter is almost 8). The reasons: I'm embarking on a book tour and will be on the road quite a bit over the next few months and this is a way for me to see more of my kids. But more importantly, I wanted my kids to see me "at work" and a lot of what I do is public speaking. When I travel, I usually am with a client all day, and it wouldn't work to bring a child along. But if I'm giving a 45 minute speech, I figure it's a good learning and bonding opportunity.
So my recent trip San Diego was a trial run with my son. I was set to give a speech on a Monday morning, so we left SFO early on Sunday to squeeze in a day at Legoland. That was "the bribe", along with missing a day of school. In the morning, we checked into the conference at registration (they made up a badge for my son, which was a nice way to include him) and got set up. He saw the backstage and then I found him a seat in the second row, sitting next to a friend he already had met before.
And this is our key survival tip - Nintendo DS. The night before, we made a trip to Best Buy and got him a new game. It kept him happy and busy for most of the boring waiting around, although I did make him promise to watch me for at least the first part of my speech. Frankly, he fit in with most of the other techie guys (and they were mostly guys) in the audience huddled over their laptops taking notes (or checking their emails).
After the speech, there were some hallway questions, which my son waited patiently to end, and then TV and radio interviews where he got to hold microphones and work cameras. We stayed for lunch and then headed back to San Francisco. As the plane touched down on the tarmac, I asked him what he thought, and he said, "When's the next trip?" Ah, the sweet taste of success.
My survival tips:
- Keep it short and sweet. I planned to be at the conference for only a few hours, and had some leeway in terms of being able to leave early if my son became bored and irate. It turned out he was a trooper and was game to try anything and everything.
- Plan a fun excursion. All work and no play makes for very cranky kids. I made it very clear that this was a working vacation, and that my son had certain responsibilities. An upcoming trip to Chicago will have a trip to the Field Museum and "the best pizza in Chicago", which we're still trying to figure out (chicago moms, any suggestions?). A trip to Seattle will include a full day spent sightseeing. You get the picture.
- Have self-service distractions on-hand. Being a geek, I had an arsenal of gadgets available for my son. In my bag was his Nintendo DS, several games, and an iPod. I also gave him my phone, which has several games on it as well as a lame browser and at one point, also my laptop since I wasn't using it.
- Stock up on food, water, and gum. The last thing you want to do is to hunt around for food and drinks. My survival stash is granola bars and Crystal Light powder packets, and I also let him pick out any kind of sugarless gum at the airport.
- Plan, plan, plan. I made it very clear with my son what the schedule was going to be and his options at each point in the day. I also had backups, such as my friend taking my son out of the room if he became distracted, or a swimsuit easily accessible in the luggage if he wanted to go for a quick dip in the pool.
One observation: It's still pretty unusual for people to bring kids on trips with them, and it can lead to some awkward situations. Most of the conference attendees cut a wide swath, especially during meals (I couldn't get anyone at a crowded lunch table to talk to me, and I had given the keynote!).
I also worried about the sterotype of a working mom lugging along a kid. Seems like there's a bit of a double standard -- a man bringing along a child would be praised for being family-oriented, a woman is dealing with the realities of being a working mom. I'd be interested in what you, dear svmoms.com readers, think about taking kids on business kids. Is it business-is-business and it's unprofessional to show up with kid(s) in tow? Or should we be bringing the kids along in specific circumstances, as long as they can behave themselves?
Originally posted on Silicon Valley Moms Blog.
