By Mark Berven, President and Chief Operating Officer, Property & Casualty

As with most things, Take Your Child to Work Day, which happens on April 22 this year, may be a little different. Originally started in 1992 as Take Our Daughters to Work Day, the event continues to grow and now offers boys and girls of all ages an opportunity to learn firsthand where their parents work and what they do.

Even if you only have the chance to take your child with you down the hall and into your home office this year, I would encourage you to take advantage of the many opportunities the unique times we’re living in can provide — not just today, but every day! Some ideas include:

Let your child do the teaching
In 2014, researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara found that, when students teach the content of a lesson, they develop a deeper and longer-lasting understanding of the material. This research was highlighted in a 2019 article, Want students to remember what they learn? Have them teach it, which states that the original research found the difference to be significant: learning by teaching can potentially improve C students to a B+ or even an A-. If you let your child show you what she or he is learning about, you can let them take you to school!

Help your team know they can take a break
If you lead people, this event is also a great time to make sure the parents on your team know they can take time to be with their kids and be present in the moment. As leaders, we might assume our teams know this, but let’s not leave anything to chance.

Share your calling with the next generation
Those of us in the protection business have a particular opportunity here, as this event gives us a great chance to dispel the myths about our ‘traditional’ industry and help us build future generations of people committed to protecting others. From Babylonian, Indian and Chinese traders who would redistribute their commodities across multiple vessels to limit losses due to any single boat sinking, to colonial America, where Benjamin Franklin helped to popularize the practice of property insurance to protect against fire — insurance has a long and proud history as a bastion of society. Let’s be sure to pass along our proud heritage of risk management and protection to the next generation.

While I have a passion for promoting #insurancecareers, I hope you’re able to share your own passion with your children and that they’re able to share something with you, as well.

Enjoy #takeyourchildtoworkday!