Talking about kids at work

Of course I talk about my kids at work.  If I'm not talking about, well, work, I'm probably talking about my kid or listening to co-workers talk about their kids.  Nearly all the pictures displayed in my cubicle are of my kids.  I even have their birth announcements up and I didn't even have my current job when either was born. 

I was surprised when I read a recent Huffington Post article that there was a time when acknowledging you have kids - and that they're a priority too - was taboo.  Yet, I still recognize that talk of kids and personal life is still internalized by women as not being a smart career move.  (Whether bosses actually look at it this way, I don't know.)  And so I'm very aware of how I approach these topics at work.  Like the article's author, I'm in the camp of trying to change office culture one mom at a time.

On my first day I was asked by a non-reporting manager whether I wanted more kids, (we were talking about kids and how many kids everyone had or wanted to have, so the question was not out of line in my opinion) and without hesitation I told him "a couple more."  I was asked to write a short bio about myself, which would be posted on the Intranet in a section introducing new employees.  One of the suggested topics was previous employment, (along with family) so I wrote that I have a husband and kids and had worked in local government - but prior to this new position, had been a stay-at-home mom. 

As I was getting to know my new co-workers, one of the first conversations I had with a fellow mom was that when she started two years prior to my arrival, she glossed over that she too had been a stay-at-home mom directly before taking her current job.  She specifically left out dates when chatting with others about previous work experience and let people assume that there wasn't a three-year gap between her last job and her arrival in the office.  She thought it was wonderful that I was so open about having been a stay-at-home mom and that I felt comfortable making that common knowledge in the office. 

Maybe some women (or men) are worried about being respected and seen as competant.  For me, my view is that I have nothing to hide and nothing to lose.  Something I felt passionate about when returning to work was being in an office culture that supported work/life balance.  I clearly don't want to work in a place where my boss and other co-workers don't think I'm a team player because I talk about kids.  If they know what hobbies I'm passionate about, why shouldn't they also know I'm passionate about my kids?  I also feel I can afford to take a chance with my candidness since my career aspirations are different from the woman trying to make partner or be chief resident.