For 33 years Patagonia has had an on-site child care center that bears little resemblance to what anyone might imagine corporate on-site child care looks like. It is run by teachers, some of whom are bilingual and trained in child development. Learning takes place outdoors as much as in. Parents often eat lunch with their kids, take them to the farmer’s market or pick vegetables with them in the “secret” garden. Patagonia buses school-aged kids back to the company’s headquarters, allowing parents to connect with them after school over chocolate milk. Graves stays connected to his kids throughout the day. “It lets you be the kind of parent you want to be,” he said.
My brother-in-law, Curt, worked at Patagonia's headquarters in Ventura CA, 20 years ago when his daughter was young and I recall how innovative it seemed at the time. Curt rode his bike with his daugther in tow, took breaks and had lunch with her most days and left at a reasonable hour to get home to meet the rest of the family for dinner. A few years later I heard from my friend, a yoga instructor, that she offered free yoga classes on site. Patagonia is doing things right!
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