I work in a professional team, and one of the things that makes us even more professional is when we all get our kids together for a gathering, and let our kids inter-mingle. It has helped us become less of a group of cold-hearted single-minded professionals and more of a coherent, self-interested group with aligned survival potential.

Having kids sometimes come over while we work is pretty cool. They ask questions about what we're doing at times and we have to ELI5, it's great practice.

My desk has a number of puzzles and they have a ton of fun playing with it. Sometimes they draw on the whiteboard or write a quote.

A++, would definitely recommend bringing kids a couple of times a year.

I've found it really breaks the ice between colleagues .. especially when our kids make friends/make drama independently from the office politics - it somehow unites us. :)

Of course it helps to work in a company producing things that might be actually interesting to kids in the first place. If all you're doing web-blah, ymmv..

The ultimate form of Rubber Duck debugging is trying to explain what you're doing to a 5 year old in real life.

The ultimate reward for good parenting... the kid solves your problem in a way you never even thought about.

On the flip side I totally love working in a team that does find this annoying.

Hah, my first LOL this week. Good for you!

Bonus points if you ever leave the webcam on while changing a diaper or breast feeding. :-D

I had a video call interview recently and my interviewer was being attacked by his new puppy during the call. Although distracting it made me want to work there.

The comparison between kids & pets is amusing. So many workplaces are pet-friendly (despite people having allergies or phobias) but try bringing your toddler to the office.

Oh, there is no freaking comparison. Pets won't swipe stuff off your desk, practice their infinite regression of "why" on you, yank your pony tail, hand you stuff they swiped from another desk, knock over your empty-soda-can pyramid, try to eat a nerf dart, or demand your attention so they can explain to you how they are super-special and going to heaven because Jesus loves them.

No, I am not kidding or making up any of the above, though it wasn't all the same kid, nor all the same day (or even the same workplace), and admittedly I have no phobias or allergies.

Ok... there's a pretty huge difference between a puppy and a toddler. A toddler is a lot smarter, and a LOT more disruptive than any puppy (not to say puppies aren't, but they don't have two hands either).

One of my colleagues has a large dog who is often asleep, snoring, during conference calls :-)

Yeah -- I blame it on the dog too.