Kids See Business Trips Differently

So what do your kids think you’re really doing when you go away on business? The Residence Inn hotel chain and AT&T Corp. asked 501 children and got these answers.

Fifty-eight percent said dad or mom was attending meetings; 31 percent said sightseeing, playing golf or sitting by the pool; 22 percent said eating at fancy restaurants; and 77 percent said “working hard.” Those numbers add to more than 100 percent because of multiple responses.

Nine out of 10 said dad or mom brought them presents from their trips, usually T-shirts which they didn’t want.

But having one parent away often meant doing things they usually don’t do. Forty-two percent said they got to stay up past bedtime; 40 percent said they watched more TV; and 22 percent said they ate more junk food.