Hi there ~ I'm the bookkeeper for Office Nomads, a coworking space in Seattle, and I'm also a work-from-home mom of three (yes, three!) homeschooled kids, ages 3, 7, and 9.
When Jacob (founder and my brother) was first polling for interest in getting a coworking space started here, he got a lot of responses from families wanting a local place where they could work in a relaxed atmosphere where their kids were welcome. It's easy to bring a newborn to any office for the first 4-6 months, while they're sleeping a lot, strapped to mom's chest, or otherwise easy to entertain quietly. It gets harder with a fussy baby, and once they're itching to crawl around and get into stuff, they need a kid-centered and baby- proof environment. It's simply not appropriate for parents to bring their kids to a coffee shop and set them loose for a couple of hours, yet we parents ALSO have a need to work in the company of others. Childcare is okay for some people, but for those (like me) with a budgetary aversion to passing their salaries directly off to a daycare center, it makes little sense. What to do? Office Nomads has chosen to make our space welcoming to kids for SHORT stop-ins - I bring my kids in to the office on Wednesdays for an hour to have a meeting with Jacob and Susan, and we give them run of a big unused room to play with a bunch of yoga balls. An hour or so is just about all they can do without disturbing the rest of the coworkers, because the majority of our members and drop-in clients are used to working in a quiet adult space...I couldn't fathom bringing my kids into the office every day for 8 hours; I would have a hard time getting anything done if I was constantly trying to keep their noise or energy levels at a static low. So I still work from home, and just keep associated with Office Nomads as a resource. HOWEVER, I do believe that a very intentional community of parents could set up a coworking space where their kids were not only welcome, but part of the natural flow. A relatively soundproof room could be dedicated to the noisier activities, they could set up a breastfeeding corner, a childcare worker could be hired to keep things rolling and provide some supplemental supervision, and the community could be specifically focused on blending family and work life. Parents save money on daycare, keep their kids close and connected to them, and can integrate their social, professional, and family lives. I think the benefits would outweigh the cost, even if it would be more expensive and delicate to set up and operate. (I can specifically imagine leasing or purchasing an existing daycare center or small schoolhouse and converting a classroom or two into an office for the parents.) So I guess what I'm saying is that I think coworking spaces will each have their own policies about kids (and pets too) depending on the intentions of the founders and community members. There's room within the movement for a lot of variety, and my heart SINGS considering the strange and quirky possibilities of bringing people together. Kara Dugaw [EMAIL PROTECTED] bookkeeper Office Nomads Seattle, WA --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
