Manufacturing manager refuses to allow his employee to bring her 7-year-old daughter to work: 'I do not want the liability.'

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Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Jan 2, 2026 8:00 PM EST

There's a big difference between bringing your kid to a boring office building and bringing your kid to a manufacturing plant.

There's a lot of debate about whether employers should provide employees with more childcare assistance. Many parents are forced to leave the workforce for the first couple of years of their kids' lives because their salaries are only enough to cover daycare costs. If workplaces wanted to retain young parents, especially young mothers, in the workforce, they could set up on-site daycare centers or help cover the cost of daycare for their employees. The problem with both of these options is that they are costly. Hiring childcare workers and setting up a daycare center within a company is extremely expensive, and most companies would only consider doing it if they are super profitable and have enough employees to make it beneficial for more than a couple of them. If only two or three parents are working for a company, there's no way their employer is going to prioritize subsidizing their childcare costs. 

But there are always exceptions to rules like this. If you work in an office, you've probably had a coworker bring their kid to work at least once or twice without incident. Emergencies are bound to come up, and sometimes employers are willing to make an exception to the "don't bring your kids to work" rule. A kid might be fine if they're hanging out in a conference room all day, but what if their parent is a nurse? They definitely shouldn't be allowed to wander around a hospital while their mom is checking someone's vitals. 

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  • Pensive female process engineer in work helmet and safety vest using digital tablet at factory
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The manager in this story took a firm stance against his employee bringing her kid into her manufacturing job. She's pretty upset about his denial, but his reasons for denying her request are all about keeping her daughter safe.

  • Am I the bad guy for not allowing an employee to bring her child to work?

    I manage a light industrial manufacturing company. Last week was a slow week because of Christmas. Due to family plans and employee asked if she could have her seven-year-old child at the office.
    via u/Unable-Choice3380
  • I felt put on the spot because she asked about bringing the child that day. She said she thought it would be OK because it was a slow week.
    via u/Unable-Choice3380
  • So I told the employee no because I do not want the liability. God forbid the child gets hurt. The company could be in a lot of legal trouble, and I have to think about the well-being of all the employees not just you.
    via u/Unable-Choice3380
  • Of course because she didn't hear the answer she want now I'm the bad guy.
    via u/Unable-Choice3380
  • PassComprehensive425 NTA- A co-worker got a call from daycare that her son was running a fever and she needed to pick him up. It was literally around the corner. She brought him back so she could give him some meds and grab some things to work from home. As she was holding him to leave, he had a seizure. We immediately called 911 and he was taken to local hospital. She went with her son. One co-worker drove her car and another followed so they could return. She called her husband and he met at t
    via u/PassComprehensive425
  • OP Unable-Choice3380 So, even if the kid gets sick on the premises, the company could have a problem?
    via u/Unable-Choice3380
  • PassComprehensive425 It did but they didn't like that the boy was there at all. They kept acting like the boy was there every day. Like we were lying to protect the co-worker. Eventually they did back off.
    via u/PassComprehensive425
  • Happy curly child is sitting and drawing in a playroom of hospital
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • ehs06702 She either doesn't have any more PTO or it's a position where she absolutely has to be there.
    via u/ehs06702
  • OP Unable-Choice3380 Already used up PTO
    via u/Unable-Choice3380
  • ObjectiveComputer502 NTA, manufacturing isn't a daycare, even on slow weeks there's still machinery and safety hazards everywhere, you made the right call
    via u/ObjectiveComputer502
  • Equal_Factor_6449 NTA. You are in the right here. Children does not have a place in any manufacturing industry. A lot could happen. Yikes.
    via u/Equal_Factor_6449
  • New_Animal8018 NTA. A workplace isn't a daycare, especially in an industrial setting with real safety and liability risks
    via u/New_Animal8018
  • A factory filled with lots of machines and machinery
    via Shavr IK

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • lynn620 NTA-During COVID my place of employment let employees bring their older kids to work since schools were closed and we had a large room nobody was using. They mainly did online school and watched TV. My kids were teenagers so we just hired them. After COVID this ended but a new employee heard about it. One day she showed up with two sick kids she didn't have child care for. Not sure why she thought that this was okay. She was promptly sent home. We allowed it with limits during COVID beca
    via u/lynn620
  • Sea-Operation-6123 She asked, you said no. Who else would be the bad guy? She can think whatever she wants. You made a business decision. That's your job, it's not personal. - eta I (57f, business owner) am curious about why you're second guessing yourself.
    via u/Sea-Operation-6123
  • lambeauzmum NTA. Once during a bad weather day and our building needed to be open (adult day care), the employee who did payroll assumed she could bring her kid in as "she was the only person who could do payroll" (untrue) This was the early 1990s so WFH not an option Several staff saw her and complained it wasn't fair that they needed to take PTO or find other daycare. When so and so was able to bring her kid in
    via u/lambeauzmum
  • Fragrant-Fly1433 Absolutely correct not to allow children into the work environment for many reasons. Safety, who will look after child while the employee is working, sets a precedence- other employees will want to do the same thing, there may be a noise nuisance from the child which could affect the other employees, to name but a few. NTA.
    via u/Fragrant-Fly1433

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rules daycare liable employee manager legal Office workplace children manufacturing
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