Are you one of the many people who operate one or more family businesses? If so, you have a wonderful tool for connecting more with your kids, while teaching them some of the life skills they need to learn. Many parents don’t involve their children near as much as they could, partly because they don’t see the many benefits.
I had the wonderful experience of growing up working on my parents’ farm. The experience was rich and rewarding, and has served me well. Your kids could experience similar benefits if you take them under your wing and involved them in your work.
Some of the major benefits:
- Share the workload. Many parents feel overworked and have too much responsibility to relax with their family as much as they’d like. If your kids work with you, you will have more time to relax with them. As well, you will feel more supported and they’ll feel more like part of the team.
- A chance to be part of building something bigger. I was very proud of the fact that I helped my parents build the farm into a bigger and better operation.
- Teach them life skills. Work gives kids a chance to learn skills that they can use throughout their lives.
- A major source of our self-esteem . Our ability to do things in the world is a major source of self-esteem. When so much else was not going well for me as a child, I was able to take major pride in my ability to drive a tractor and herd cattle. Without those sources of self-esteem, the other challenges I faced could have been too much. For my kids the skills they are learning include website design, and office and personal management. These skills are arguable much more useful skills for their future life than my ability to drive a tractor turned out to be for me nowadays! (I haven’t been on a tractor in over 2 decades!) Nevertheless, I gained a major sense of myself as someone who was competent, and that transferable skill was immensely valuable.
- Positive ways of keeping kids busy . Keeping busy does a lot to keep kids out of trouble. While it is true that many kids are overscheduled, many are also left with too much free, floating time, especially as they reach middle school and the teen years. Too much unproductive leisure time, such as hours on electronic games instead of creative leisure pursuits like reading or imaginative play can lead to many problems. Responsibilities with your family business will help give your child a creative way to fill some of his or her free time.
- Opportunities for meaningful parent-child interactions . As you work and spend time together, you will have many informal opportunities to interact. That is invaluable time for you.
- Give your kids a glimpse into your world. Your children will see you in a new light when they understand better what you do. For me as a working mom, involving my kids has given them a deeper appreciation for what I am doing. Otherwise our work can take on a generic flavor and we lose the chance to share a big part of who we are with our kids.
- Tax benefits. Eva Rosenberg, http://TaxMama.com, does a great job in outlining how parents can involve their kids in their business and get legitimate tax breaks for doing so.
- Teach them the joy of working . Kids need the chance to see that work in and of itself can be pleasurable. I’ve seen my kids time and time again go from reluctant helpers to being proud of their achievements. If they didn’t get to work for us, they might avoid similar tasks as adults, because of not understanding that the job could be more pleasant to do than they first imagined.
- Inspire them to create their own business . If your child grows up knowing how to start and run a business, it gives him or her many options over just finding a job.
- Teach them more about money. You can talk to them about choices you are making in your life and business. If you are running a business on the side to make more money, explain that to your child. It is a huge benefit to them if they understand more about your family’s finances and the choices you make.
Things to watch for:
- Giving your kids too much responsibility, too fast. Don’t give your kids too much responsibility too quickly. Keep the tasks in bite-sized pieces that are not overwhelming to do, nor confusing or hard to do right.
- Leaving your child alone too much while working. Find ways to work near your child so that the experience is more pleasant for both of you. When my son helps me with my website, I either work at the desk next to him, catch up on some filing or putter in my office. That way I’m right there if he needs help, and he doesn’t feel stuck on his own working.
- Overlooking small tasks. Many small, menial jobs can be pleasant for your child to do. My daughter loves to open up envelopes, which we get by the dozen almost daily. When she is given a huge stack of envelopes to open she takes on the job with relish, pride and joy!
- Keep good records of their work. As I mentioned above, Eva Rosenberg discusses the tax implications of having family work in your business. She stresses the importance of keeping good records of the work your kids are doing for your business.
Another major benefit of involving your kids is the chance to build a legacy that they can be part of. If your child develops a passion for your business or even for business in general, you will have passed on a legacy for them. They won’t be starting from scratch because they will have learned valuable business skills either directly or from observing you in your business. Your business will become that much more meaningful to you when you see it as the opportunity to build a legacy for yourself and your children.
