I WAS curious to see reports of Elon Musk taking his son X to meetings with some of the world’s most eminent leaders.

The official Take Your Kids To Work Day is the fourth Thursday in April in the USA, so Musk is an eager beaver. I’m not sure we’ve established such an occasion in the UK yet, although Google tells me Derbyshire County Council runs one from time to time, for older children to discover what the world of work is like (gripping, I’m sure).

To be honest, when you work from home, any school holiday is Take Your Kids To Work Day. In fact, any weekday after 3.30pm is Take Your Kids To Work Day. Daughter comes barrelling in, all “YOO-HOO!” King Charles III himself could be on the phone, and she would still demand hugs and hot chocolate, on the double.

Last week was half-term, and the Other Half was lounging around using up his annual leave, so I had two of them interrupting my flow. OH doesn’t even have to be in the room – if he rings me from afar and I don’t answer because I’m, say, on the phone doing an important interview, he’ll just ignore my “send to voicemail” hints and keep ringing. I’d send him a text to say “please stop it”, but I’m not sure he’d know how to answer it.

Then there are the pets – feed the cat, put the rabbits out. It’s so busy, I might as well be in the office. I mean, let’s invite the neighbours over too, shall we? (Actually, one just popped a fabulous cake into my kitchen while I was on the phone – she can come any time).

There are a few theories as to why Elon Musk took Lil X to meet Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. Perhaps he’s a doting dad who can’t bear to be separated from his darling offspring for too long. Awwww.

Or maybe it was an exploitative photo opportunity designed to make him look more cuddly and offset his image as the bad guy. Not-so-awwww, and a risky strategy to boot.

I don’t think I’ve ever dared take Daughter to an event where I’ve wanted to have a serious conversation with someone I was desperate to impress. It looks unprofessional, for starters, and it’s not fair to expect your child to be on their best behaviour just because you have to be. It’s asking for trouble.

I’ve taken her (and OH) to things that are meant to be fun and family-friendly: the theatre, for example (fortunately, I write the reviews – she’s a ferocious critic), and the World Pasty Championships (she tasted the oggies and totted up the scores – excellent maths homework).

Even then, success is not guaranteed: consider the behind-the-scenes tour with an AGM-shaped sting in the tail, or the craft workshop that reduced her to tears (I now know she has a pathological aversion to anything artsy).

In these days of both parents having to work to pay sky-high mortgages and childcare fees, it could be refreshing to see that parents don’t have to be pariahs and children no longer have to be seen and not heard.

There are plenty of us, especially mums (even in the 21st century), who would love to have the pressure taken off in this way. Please Take My Children to Work Day, on June 30, encourages “non-mom partners” to take their children to work to give mums a break. Sweet.

But we’re not Elon Musk, and therein lies the rub. He gets away with it while the rest of us have to suck it up, fighting over whose turn it is to stay at home for the poorly child or the inset day.

And that’s kind of the point. My own theory about Musk’s departure from the norm is that it would take a brave world leader to ask Trump’s right-hand man what on earth he was thinking bringing his kid to an important gig, or to tell Lil X off for making too much noise or picking his nose.

It’s none-too-subtle power-play. Once Musk’s meeting partner has recovered from the initial shock of finding a mini-me with a seat (plus booster cushion) at the table, an uncomfortable realisation sets in.

Not only were you not important enough for Musk to leave his child at home, you’re not even important enough to complain when said child tells you to “shush your mouth”. In the current global pecking order, you come some way below Donald Trump’s “special government employee”, and his four-year-old.

Parents shouldn’t have to be ashamed of furthering the human race, pretending the kids and their needs don’t exist. But neither should our kids be used as PR accessories, and even less as an emblem of authority.

Leave him at home next time, Elon – I'm sure you can afford a nanny.