Facebook Getting Fancy New On-Premise Doggy Daycare, But Jack Squat For Kids

dogs in strollerFacebook is embracing alternative families like no other. The company that gave us Olympic style procrastination is reportedly erecting a  $120 million, 394-unit housing compound on their premises so that employees have a super happy commute (reminds me of college). But among all the fancy amenities, including a sports bar, laundry and dry cleaning facilities, hairstylists, woodworking classes, on-site bike repair, there is zero daycare. At least for your child. But there is daycare for your dog.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook is going straight undergrad with their corporate environment:

At Facebook, the company’s headquarters are supposed to feel more like a college campus than an office.

The 56-acre parcel, which it moved to in December 2011, will soon be connected to a new wing, designed by architect Frank Gehry. There is a winding asphalt road that runs through the center of campus where employees glide through on bicycles.

Throughout the workday, programmers bond with advertising product developers over free lattes or ice cream, walking around the sculptures and shops, or lounging on sun-drenched grassy knolls and park benches.

There is a company game day, where employees run the three-legged race. At night, employees watch movies on a giant, stadium-style outdoor television screen that looms over an open plaza in the middle of campus.

Lauryn Hale, a Harvard Business School graduate who was hired by Facebook in 2010, said all the amenities take some stress out of the daily job and allow her to think more creatively.

Considering that not everyone will have children, a doggy daycare does exhibit some healthy consideration for the one in five American (women) who are passing on kids (assuming those same people even like animals). But the fact that one of our most prominent companies didn’t factor in care for kids between free lattes and doggy daycare does speak to our culture’s inability to prioritize affordable childcare. But, you know, enjoy that free ice cream!

(photo: Joel Abroad)

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