Bub & Me: Vet for A Day @ Clinic For Pets

Quite some time back Lil Pumpkin attended the 'Doctor for a Day' programme at Mount Elizabeth Novena where children can get a taste of what it's like to be a doctor. It was about an hour's program and she went around tending to patients and responding to various make-believe medical scenarios in the hospital.

I thought it was a very good experience made even more real with the white doctor coat she was wearing so when I saw a Vet costume on sale at ELC, I couldn't help but get the set for her to wear when she goes to her daddy's vet clinic to have her own fun "Vet for A Day" experiences haha.

In case you didn't already know, my mother-in-law is a vet too and Clinic for Pets, the vet clinic that the boy works at is a family business. My mother-in-law opened it in 1980 and its been around for almost as long as the boy.. 36 years!!

Ever since he was a small boy, the boy has been helping out in the clinic too and that's where he first got his inspiration to be a vet. Keeping up with tradition and also out of necessity sometimes due to our busy schedules, the boy has also been bringing Lil Pumpkin to work and she's at the clinic once a week. 

When he has time, the boy will teach Lil Pumpkin about the animals and even give her hands-on experiences in helping him check the animals and preparing for the surgeries. She loves this special time she has with her daddy and has told us on a few occasions that she'd want to be a vet when she grows up too. Of course on these occasions, we took the opportunity to tell her that she would have to study very, very hard then and make sure she performs academically :P

Personally, I think it's wonderful if she can carry on this family business but even if she doesn't, I still like that she's learning how to care for and be kind to animals from her daddy. Nowadays, we often hear many stories about animal abuse and abandonment.. if we can raise one little human being to prevent this and spread the word about loving the animals properly, it would not be one too many.

Bringing Lil Pumpkin to work is beneficial to her in so many ways. She gets to see first-hand the ups and downs of her daddy's job {being a vet doesn't mean just playing with animals - sometimes they have to clean poo & vomit too!}, his responsibilities and learn the value of hard work and persistence. Yup, she understands that money doesn't drop from trees haha.

Lil Pumpkin also gets to build her confidence and communicate with people from all kinds of backgrounds as she sits in her daddy's consultations and hangs out the clinic staff & neighbouring shopkeepers {if the clinic gets too busy my MIL will bring her out to eat and play}. When she gets assigned small, tasks like folding towels, walking the animals or packing the medicine, it exposes her to new way of working, thinking and moving.

For the boy, having Lil Pumpkin in the clinic also motivates him to work harder and set a good example so it really is a win-win situation.

Unfortunately, I can't bring Lil Pumpkin to work with me as we don't have that culture in my organisation but she has been to my office more than a few times in the past when the boy sent / dropped me off at work. I've actually suggested to our HR to have "Bring Our Kids to Work Days" but so far, they haven't given it the green light yet haha.

Do you bring your kids to work?

How does it benefit you and your kids?

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