So will my own kids think they’ll be poor if they work from home in their sweats rather than leaving in a suit like their dad? Hopefully not, with some guidance and daily education to the contrary.

Jenny Groberg, CEO and founder of BookSmarts Accounting and Bookkeeping and a work-from-home mom of five children, says that her “three older kids will do everything possible to work from home [or] remotely rather than in an office. The flexibility of remote work and the realization that I was able to successfully provide for the family while keeping them as my main focus as they grew up has opened their eyes and is driving them to work ‘smarter not harder,’” she adds.

Kids these days are also moving into the workforce with the expectation that nobody should have to work for a long span of time without room for coffee with a friend or a long lunch break to walk outside. “I think we see a bit of this effect in the current group of young people who are moving into the work sphere,” says Bonnie Scott, MA, LPC-S, a licensed professional counselor at Mindful Kindness Counseling and parent to a 10-year-old. “They are more likely to decentralize work in their lives, and they have boundaries around their personal time. They tend to flex the traditional work hours to meet their own schedule needs, so they work the required hours [and] get things done, but not in the typical eight-hour stretch.”

Maybe they don’t need to know it all yet

When learning about Groberg’s story, I realized that it might be fine—and even a sign that things are going well—if kids don’t know all the nuances of their parents’ work lives and related finances.

Groberg shares that “for 17 years, my children didn’t see or value the work I did remotely. They were oblivious to the fact that I contributed to the family finances. In fact, it was necessary for me to contribute and pay my husband’s way for school and residency and dig us out of student debt after only two years. For 17 years they also had no idea that my side hustle grew into a very successful company, but I am OK with that.

“I’m grateful because that means they didn’t feel neglected. My remote work enabled me to be at home with them and be present when they needed me. I am not offended that they don’t value my work as important as my husband’s employment. They know now what I did and that I was there for them, and that is what is most meaningful to me. For this reason, I will do everything I can to grow my company so I can offer more work to stay-at-home moms.”