AT&T is working with an outside company to provide the children of employees with a day camp while they are home for summer. Bright Horizons is running camps at AT&T's headquarters in Dallas.
Employees can sign their kids up daily. AT&T says some are bringing kids just one or two days; others bring kids for full weeks.
"It's been really good to kind of meet those gaps in care," says Matt Phillips, an assistant vice president who runs the companys' health and well-being operations.
AT&T started requiring workers to return to the office five days a week in January. One employee says, since his kids are home for summer, the camp can help him and his wife save on childcare while giving them something to do when they are out of school.
"He loves it. He's already made friends and is running around," he says. "I went to check on him during lunch, and he barely wants to talk to me. He's having his pizza and hanging out with friends."
Phillips says he signed his own son up to come to the camp Friday.
"He's sitting at home alone. My wife is there, but his brothers are at church camp, so they're not there. He's very bored and playing a lot of video games," he says. "I think he's going to love it. I think he's going to want to come back for more days."
Kids can learn about activities ranging from sewing to archery to stop-motion animation. On Fridays, Bright Horizons takes kids on a "field trip" to try archery and a ropes course.
"The camp has so many different choices because you don't know what the child's going to come in wanting to do," says Bright Horizons' Sandy Wells. "A school ager has real opinions about what they like and don't like, so you design a broad program that really meets that need."
Wells says giving kids the chance to try different activities and make new friends can help keep their minds active even outside school and in an environment where can learn in a fun atmosphere.
AT&T's Phillips says the camp can also provide parents peace of mind. He says the company may try to extend the camp to employees outside its headquarters in the future.
"We want them to come to work. We want them to enjoy coming to work and be able to work hard without distractions," AT&T's Phillips says. "If they're worried about what their kid is doing at home, that can be a distraction. This provides some fun but also a safe and secure place for them, and you can drop down and have lunch with them."