Before it was a “thing” to do, my mother took me to work.

At the time, she worked for what was Pet Frozen Foods on Downyflake Lane in Allentown. In my childhood understanding of manufacturing, waffles were made there.

My mom had worked at Pet for several years on different shifts and was at the time on the overnight shift, which meant she was home in the afternoon when my siblings and I got home from school. A selling point, she said.

I am not really sure why she took me to work that day. It probably involved me asking repeatedly to go.

We had seen artifacts of what she used on her job: a hard hat, special dark-green work clothes, earplugs, steel-tipped work boots, thick work gloves and a channel lock, the coolest tool I had ever seen in my life at that point. My dad had regular tools in the garage like hammers, saws, screwdrivers and wrenches but nothing as mysterious as a channel lock. I was fascinated by it.

Much of the day is a blur. We didn’t go during her regular shift because 10 p.m. was past my bedtime. And she must have gotten permission from plant officials to bring me.

But I remember the doors to the factory floor opening and being dwarfed by the equipment under her care 10 p.m.-7 a.m. There were steel stairs, pipes to everywhere, gauges and levers, buttons and lights.

And in an instant my mom, already my hero, became a superhero.

This year’s Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is April 25 and features the theme Workforce Development for All.

The first Take Our Daughters to Work Day was observed in 1993 in New York City. Started by the Ms. Foundation for Women and Gloria Steinem, the day is intended to be more than a career day or a job shadow assignment.

According to the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day website, fundamental to the event is the opportunity for children to see what parents, guardians and mentors do during the workday as well as expand understanding of careers and the value of education.

Children also learn about the value their parent, guardian or mentor holds in a different environment and community.

On its website, business magazine “Forbes” offers readers 17 dos and don’ts for Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, including advice from what to do the night before, setting ground rules for what is expected of children while at the workplace and the importance of introducing your young visitors to your co-workers and colleagues. Also, it is recommended to talk with kids after their day on your job to glean their thoughts on the experience. The website for the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day Foundation, daughtersandsonstowork.org, offers tool kits, resources, activities, sample days and more to help navigate the day.

At last tally in 2018, 3.5 million workplaces participated in Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day in the United States, according to “Forbes.”

Always held the fourth Thursday in April in the United States, similar events are held in the other countries including Canada where Take Our Kids to Work Day is held in November.

And about that channel lock: Although the whereabouts of the first one my mom had is unknown, I did buy one several years ago and keep it under the kitchen sink. I still am not 100-percent sure of the tool’s true purpose, but I will be ready to put it to use when I find out. And I have my day on the job with my mom to thank.

April Peterson

editorial assistant

East Penn Press

Salisbury Press