This week was the annual "Take Our Daughters And Sons to Work Day," devised by the Ms. Foundation to expose daughters to the world of work and boost their self-esteem. Boys were added to the mix later. But the whole thing is looking increasingly problematic, reports The Wall Street Journal's Jared Sandberg.

When Tony Lombardi worked on a trading floor and people brought their children to work, the kids got quite an education. ...But even though they got to see adults act worse than they did, some kids didn't enjoy their visits. "It's almost like they look behind the curtain at the Wizard of Oz," Mr. Lombardi says.

Meanwhile, the kids themselves weren't always on their best behavior. On one visit, one of the daughters of a supervisor had a meltdown, and the other managed to shut down a computer alert that was supposed to notify a trader of the status of his orders. In workplaces unsuitable for kids, Mr. Lombardi says, "you really don't get to meet someone's kids. You usually end up enduring them."

(on)....Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day...if we're not careful, there will be a clash of uncivilizations or, worse, the kids will be bored senseless. Some of them may even wonder why, if this is all there is, they're bothering to work so hard at school.

....Now, though, some school systems encourage both boys and girls to forgo the holiday. And some workplaces, perhaps crushed by the pressure to make this year's program more interesting than the ones in previous years, have all but given up on the day.

Don't let your kids miss school for this holiday, say school districts in Florida, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Arizona.

Of course, instead, you can PAY your children to come to work, something politicians of both parties know about.

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at April 29, 2005 05:44 PM