Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Summer Fun

My daughter is already a part of the Philippine workforce. This is child labor I know but my little girl had fun on her first day today! What can I do? I can't deprive her of that. :)

It's summer as we know it and for my Andi, it means fun-filled summer activities. One of them is her stint as a Kiddie Crew at McDonald's. I know she will enjoy this since she loves mingling with other children and she loves learning new things. We were excited to see her don her 'work clothes' - a red cap and a McDonald's tee and how she will do her 'tasks'. Mind you, she refers to this as her 'work'. The other night she told me and my husband, "mommy, daddy, let's watch a movie na lang after ng work ko sa McDonald's". We couldn't help but laugh at that one since she uttered the word 'work' with conviction.

Upon enrolment, the manager oriented us on how their Kiddie Crew program will go. It doubles as an art workshop too for the kids. They will go around different stations of the store except for the kitchen for safety reasons. They will be assisting the frontliners in the hi-and-hello-sir/ma'am-greetings, will do light assignments like drawing softdrinks from the dispenser, arranging condiments, the like. Of course the kids are not expected to contribute to lessen the manhours of the store's existing schedule. They're there for the fun of it. And the parents' too I tell you.

Their 'duties' will be two hours three times a week. Each batch will only run for a week. It's quite short but a good exposure for the kids nevertheless in terms of meeting new people, facing a big crowd and a closer look at how things are done inside one of their favorite restaurants. It's all novelty for them.

On the way there, Andi told me and her daddy that she's nervous and excited. She keeps on relating this activity with Sponge Bob's line of work - a head cook in a burger joint called Krusty Krab making krabby patties. Uh-oh. If she's excited, I am too. I am in full battle gear, I have spare batteries for my digicam just in case it runs out of batteries in my endless photo-ops. :) The mommies had their time taking pictures of their kids' every move. We were discreet, no flash, and we know when to back off. :)

A little calculation on my mind, this program will bring the company just a break-even in terms of profit since the number of children that they can accommodate is limited versus the expenses they incurred - uniforms, banners, extra manhours for the Store Marketing Officer handling shifts of the kids. But it's a good investment because its effect for the company is long term. It involves the family and the children will recall that McDonald's was a part of their childhood. This is what we call a program na may kurot sa puso (a program that touches the heart). Best of all, it's all fun!

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