Parent Driven Development

By Parent Driven DevelopmentTechnology Kids & Family

Parent Driven Development episodes

January 02, 2020037: New Panel Intro - Welcome Chris and Adarsh
Parent Driven Development
Episode 037: New Panel Intro - Welcome Chris and Adarsh!
This episode we feature two new panelists on Parent Driven Development, Chris Arcand and Adarsh Pandit!
Chris is a Minnesota native holding two bachelor degrees in musical performance and computer science. After some years spent in Washington DC, Chris and his wife decided to return to their home in Minneapolis to start their family. They have a 2-year-old son and one more on the way! Chris currently works as a software engineer at Hashicorp. Welcome Chris.
Adarsh is a developer consultant living in Oakland, California with his wife and two sons. He is the founder of Cylinder Digital and is currently on the Ruby Developer Board. Originally from Michigan, this former scientist taught himself code while working for boutique consulting firms. Adarsh is currently the primary caregiver at home and is embracing every sock and sandal dad moment he can get! Welcome Adarsh.
00:30 Welcome Chris and Adarsh!
00:51 Chris Arcand
Chris shares a bit about his past work experience, family and himself!
03:04 Adarsh Pandit
Adarsh shares a bit about his past work experience, family and himself!
05:40 Do we do too much?
Adarsh’s wife is practicing physician and is super busy! Early mornings, late nights and even weekends
Adarsh is totally a hands-on dad! Taking on the majority of childcare in the home (socks and sandals kind of guy with no shame)
Bringing in software development tools into parenting, scheduling activities, etc… and they are useful!
07:25 Irregular work schedules
This can cause more difficulty in scheduling for kids
Kids thrive under routine and consistency and irregular schedules can be tough
Adarsh currently does leadership consulting and is a CTO working about 20-30 hours a week, this gains him flexibility
09:10 Consulting and irregular work schedules, how do they mesh?
Coding needs more focus and uninterrupted time, not conducive to irregular scheduling
To-do lists are super important, but so is knowing when to let them go!
11:59 Summer vs. school schedules
Allison’s kids are currently in year-round school, she preps for the years of summer camps, activities, and whole new schedules… uh oh!
14:05 Older kids get more responsibility
You’re actually managing less as your kids grow up.
Baby bags are essential!
Kids bring extra hands on vacations
Parents now empathize with crying babies AND the parents holding them
15:40 Traveling with young kids
Trend in families with a known “bad baby traveler”
The treats are not really necessary, a crying baby is normal
Chris had a seat neighbor draw a panda on a bag for his youngster when he had an uncomfortable flight
Overall consensus, we shouldnt be bribing each other
19:40 How moms and dads are treated differently
Mom’s may be glared at for having a screaming baby on a plane, dad’s are instantly supported
More empathy comes from parenthood, especially when you get more educated on child development
24:30 Growing families
KWu’s son starts part-time preschool, and is expecting her second!
Chris expects his second child as well
Doula‘s plus photography bundle - are these photos too personal?
Emergency births are very overwhelming
Scheduled C sections are bizzare, but can be more calm
31:45 Multiple kids
Is it the different personalities of the kids, or is the younger child a bit easier to manage?
Multiple kids can help entertain each other
Time goes quicker after each kid
Kids learn lessons when having siblings
Oldest vs youngest child
43:28 Genius / fail moments
Adarsh's family camping trip ends in the hospital #fail
Chris fails at pre-planning to move-out of his house.. by taking a vacation the week before!
KWu fails at unpacking from her cross-country move, misplacing her microphone and engagement ring…
Allison has a genius finishing her daughter’s “quiet book”
Chris finds success by implements reading time before bed #genius
JC has a proud dad moment #genius
KWu’s forgets the bug repellent #fail, but scores from a teenager to keep her son safe! #genius
Follow & Support
Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at [email protected].
Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.
Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.
Panel
KWu
Allison McMillan
Chris Sexton
JC Avena
Chris Arcand
Adarsh Pandit
1 hr 1 min
December 11, 2019036: The Process for International Adoption
Parent Driven Development
Episode 036: Adoption
This episode will discuss the process of international adoption, the major changes that hit home, and future challenges adopting parents and children face
00:28 Welcome, Kalimar
How long does it take to adopt a child internationally? It took Kalimar 2 ½-3 years!
Kalimar and his wife have had their baby girl for 6 months, she is now 21 month old
Huge learning curve welcoming a child that already has mobility
01:12 Why choose adoption?
Kalimar and his wife are 35+ and decided this was the right option for them
01:39 What is process for international adoption?
Adoption ad in paper, an option
International adoption agencies is most common and safe
International adoption requirements: Micro scale of state approval, social workers, background checks, reading, workshops, cultural events, then moving to federal approval then international country approval
4:43 How hard is it to adopt a child? Is parenting easier or harder?
The paperwork is tough, but Kalimar says parenting is harder!
Everyone and every book has a different advice on parenting
Kids don't come with instructions
6:05 Challenges of being a new parent?
No more late nights because baby doesn’t sleep in
The need for more friendly activities with friends, luckily most of Kalimar's friends already have kids!
Secret sledding hills that have mostly been kid only zones are now opened up to play at
8:08 Experiencing everything with fresh eyes
KWU's son is full of excitement and the energy is contagious
Kalimar's daughter eats spaghetti for the first time and its adorable
New toddlers like to explore their limits and gravity
10:36 Things to consider when adopting a child
The challenges in adopting a newborn verse a toddler
Kalimar had to baby proof before bringing his daughter home
The danger kid zone within the house, everyone has one
12:20 Are post adoption services and consultants available?
Yes! Massive support from adoption agency, trainings, workshops, other families and community members
Why parenting classes are important and how biological parents should be put through parenting school just like adoption parents
First day with adopted child - the bumps, triumphs and everything in between
15:23 How do you decide which agency or country to choose from?
First google agency, then attend an open house and adoption seminars, see who you mesh with
Factor in expense of international adoption cost and timeline that it will take
17:45 How do the adoption seminars prepare you?
Kalimar reflects on the self question of making it known that his daughter is adopted in daycare or not
Adoption transition tips - understanding the child is going through HUGE emotional changes
Kalimar feels lucky his daughter is so adaptable
How to talk about the adoption process with your child at the level they can understand.
Open discussion is best, remove the taboo
Adoptive parents do a whole lot of work and are totally the parents
24:13 Top parent concerns, are they adoption based?
Kalimar worries about his daughter being treated as a minority, as he and his wife are caucasion and their daughter is Indian.
Girl and dad relationship, other common worries
Become a part of the local community of their daughters orgin
Pros and cons of exposing your child to their origin country
28:46 Genius / Fail moments
Chris stores old legos and toys in his attic until his friends with new babies need them. Out of the house and supporting a friend #parentingwin
Allison gets crafty by using walkie-talkies to keep in touch with her 4-year-old son at her office HQ #genius
JC’s 10-year-old daughter is a total catch! She learns how to put in the work to improve her skills as her teams catcher.
KWU’s son is repeating everything. She’s noted to watch her language, but proud that her son has picked up on her good habits and is mimicking new language.
Kalimar temps his daughter back to the dinner table by making it look like the most delicious time ever!
Kids continue to throw food on the ground... to learn reaction and explore new roles #fail
Follow & Support
Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at [email protected].
Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.
Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.
Panel
KWu
JC Avena
Allison McMillan
Chris Sexton
Special Guest: Kalimar Maia.
44 min
November 20, 2019035: Summer Vacation
Parent Driven Development
Episode 035: Summer Vacations
Welcome!
00:35 Summer vacationing as a kid vs. adult
The hosts reflect back on their experience of summer vacation as a child vs. what their kids experience now.
How much do kids actually remember on these family vacations?
Loads and loads of driving!!
06:52 Flying vs. driving
The views!
You can either see more of the places in between or more of the place you’re going to
What does your family value more?
Is the classic road trip only nostalgic?
10:20 KWu's travels
KWu becomes a foodie in Paris!
Winter ski trips
KWu thinks it’s a good start to travel domestically before going internationally with her own children
12:06 Involving the kids in travel plans
Get the ideas of what the kids are actually interested in to make for a better vacation
14:13 Take the kids anyways
Kids may end up being grumpy anyways, so let's take them along regardless
14:50 Older kids remember more
Super rewarding as a parent to hear positive feedback from the kids on a successful vacation
Playing name that tune on the car ride home - the feeling that may actually last in our kids memories.
17:11 Yearly vacations and sporadic trips
Chris plans a yearly beach trip with family as the designated time to get together
Annual cousins week
Josh’s daughter gets real about wanting to go to new places and experience new things during summer trips
JC takes the kids on an annual beach trip but mixes it up with locations
20:13 Let your kids bring friends on vacation
Josh finds success having his daughter bring a friend on a weekend getaway
Built in play buddies when friends come along
23:01 Sporting events with kids and friends
Built in getaways with friends
Typically less drama
Other parents around to mingle with and relax
23:43 Vacationing with another family
Allow the kids to be with kids, and adults to be with adults
Share responsibilities of who is caperoning #parentinghack
But do the parenting philosophies match up?!
26:50 Different screen time rules
Josh’s daughter is a mini Zuckerberg while her comrades are a bit behind
A friend to Chris's kids ican't seem to put his phone away during bowling night
JC had a TV in the mainroom on a vacation and it became the default daily wind down
29:40 Setting ground rules for phone time before vacations
Josh’s daughter follow suit and uses her phone for taking pictures
Assigning family time without phones is best to keep everyone on the same page
33:01 Keeping things fresh during family vacation
Dice roll for a fresh activities
Some of the best memories come from impulsive detours
34:36 Genius / fail moments
KWu’s son went out and got eaten by tons of mosquitoes causing so much itching that they eventually bleed Bath time is now a nightmare #fail
Chris and his wife volunteer to help out a family friend’s twins! He soon realizes the horror of having multiples
Josh’s daughter has been having loads of sleepovers and he’s been sending a bottle of wine for the watchful parents. Definite notion of being invited back #genius
JC’s oldest graduated high school, planning for college and is working hard over summer break. #proudparent
Follow & Support
Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at [email protected].
Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.
Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.
Panel
Chris Sexton
KWu
Josh Puetz
JC Avena
44 min
October 30, 2019034: Extracurricular Activities
Parent Driven Development
Episode 034: Back to School and Extracurricular Activities for Kids
00:59 Welcome, Barrett Clark
Barrett Clark is a data programmer, speaker and author of Data Visualization ToolKit. He is a longtime member of the Ruby community and a co-organizer of RailCamp South. Married for 22 years, Barrett and his wife have two teenage boys and a new dog.
Ruby community
Family: 2 highschool teenage sons (senior / sophomore) both in band.
Parent advisors and past president to children’s band team
01:46 Extra curricular activities for kids
Barrett’s son involved with band
The parents get involved as well, to have the kids know that you value them and their interest
carpools with fellow parents
08:25 Extra cirrculars taking up more time than school and work. How to deal?
Helping kids see the importance of prioritizing (school, dating, work, band, etc)
12:20 Helping kids find their “thing” + Overly committing kids to activities to help them find a passion
Signing your kids up for more activities
Kids getting wiped out from over activity
Teaching kids the importance of community at a young age
15:15 Help kids find their community
Friends of similar interests and ideals
Creating deeper bonds
Certain activities lend towards a larger community than others. gymnastic - girls range from 12-18, while sports often limit to one age group
17:13 Becoming a part of your kids activities
More time with your children
Build your own community amongst the other parents involved with your kids
Flexibility in being involved “part-time”
20:51 Uninvolved parents vs. involved parents
Single parents
Younger kids in school
Parents helping each other get their kids to activities
Making sure other kids have support if their parents aren’t there or too busy
25:45 Ways to keep busy parents in the loop: build greater community
Film concerts, games, etc for distant family members or busy parents to help keep them involved
Building the community feel past just teammates and classmates
27:28 Discussing the organization of extra cirrculars before getting involved
Sit down and discuss with your child. what’s important to you most? will you have time for all these sports and clubs?
Ask about the history of the organization and decipher if it’s the right fit for you and your child
30:02 How to deal with “that parent” + learning to manage other parents in your kids activities
Don’t yell at refs
Overly involved parent envy
32:14 The financial side
Fundraisers - parents typically have to get involved as well
Writing a check vs. spending the time on fundraisers
Kids take responsibility (older kids)
Parents budgeting for future extracurriculars for kids
Non-negotiable extracurriculars for kids - kids choice vs. have-to’s
Budgeted financial support for activity or sport
42:35 Genius / fail moments
The volleyball team offers a weekend trial for students to try without commitment. #genius
New favorite child when they take on your same activity
Barrett plays catch up with son’s college applications - the struggles motivating your child and parent strategy #geniusfail
Middle school back to school night, too many teachers and no quality time #failmoment
Allison’s son on a mission to find Sukana bread… except she doesn’t know what it is #fail
Kwu’s son’s first haircut goes awry #fail So Kwu stepped up, orders tools and cuts his hair at home now #genius
Follow & Support
Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at [email protected].
Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.
Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.
Panel
KWu
Chris Sexton
JC Avena
Allison McMillan
Josh Puetz
Special Guest: Barrett Clark.
57 min
October 13, 2019033: Raising Children Away From Family
Parent Driven Development
Episode 033: Raising Children Away From Family
00:28 Welcome, Adarsh Pandit
Adarsh is a self taught coder, scientist and consultant. He is the founder of Cylinder Digital, a software design and development studio, and is on the board of Ruby Together.
This episode we discuss what it’s like to raise a family, while living away from your parents and other family members.
03:00 The difficulties of raising a family away from family
Lack of support
Career trade offs
Finding a sitter
07:01 Home-Ops: The Business Side of Raising a Family
Who can help with childcare?
Realizing the limitations of parents age and health as they get older
Adjusting child care depending on the time, day or event that they are covering for. - who can drive?
13:30 - Coping with coordination
Co-op babysitting
Drop off playdates with neighbors
17:11 Finding the Right Child/Child and Parent/Parent Match
Finding the perfect family match: kids need to get along and parents need to get along
Building rapport with other families to become close enough to ask for favors for pick-up give specific dietary requirements, disciplining other kids and have other parents disciplining your kids
“it’s probably fine” - trusting other parents with your kids
22:15 The Importance of Being a Patient Parent Without Extra Family Support
Effective response to kids
Managing stress - yoga, lots of water, getting outside, eating well
23:37 Work Flexibility
Staying organized as a working parent
Being a consultant has been helpful for Adarsh because he can dial up or down depending on the demands of the children.
The benefits of being at home or working at home - enjoy the time with your toddlers because there will be a day they will not want your attention any more.
30:03 The Trade Offs of Having Two Working Parents
Potential extra PTO for one the parents
One parent typically has a more flexible schedule
32:30 Fail Moments
More poop stories, because poop is always funny. #Fail
36:16 Showing Empathy Towards our Kids
Kids are actually little people with little personalities and their own personal functions, weird!?
Allowing kids to figure things out on their own.
39:30 Genius Moments
Allison invites her son Devin on stage during a conference event and he tells says… “Mommy, I just want to be just like you when I grow up” #genius
KWu’s diaper change at the playground #fail… having a spare outfit in the diaper bag #genius
Adarsh gets his son to poop in the toilet #genius
Follow & Support
Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at [email protected].
Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.
Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.
Panel
KWu
Allison McMillan
Adarsh Pandit
51 min
September 11, 2019 032: Tackling More
Parent Driven Development
Episode 032: Tackling More
00:45 Welcome, Dana Jones
Our guest, Dana Jones, Engineering Manager at Abstract.
Dana has 4 children. Came in to software development from an untraditional path.
2:00 Dana goes back to school
Dana has also recently gone back to school to get her college degree and talks about her experience
5:15 talking about the people side of our work and people management
8:40 how do you organize yourself?
14:00 kids and driving
16:30 how are challenges different at different times in your life and when you’re kids are different ages
20:20 professional development with non-tiny children and child development/phases
22:00 Meeting kids where they’re at
23:00 how has family time changed as children have gotten older
25:00 ask more questions and give fewer answers at work and at home
28:00 moderating your reactions as a parent
35:37 Genius and Fail moments!
Follow & Support
Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at [email protected].
Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.
Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.
Panel
KWu
Chris Sexton
Allison McMillan
Special Guest: Dana Jones.
43 min
June 12, 2019031: Negotiating A Shorter Workweek
Parent Driven Development
Episode 031: Negotiating A Shorter Workweek
00:16 Welcome, Itamar Turner-Trauring
Itamar Turner-Trauring started his software career in the cutting-edge field of multimedia CD-ROMs. He currently works as a consultant helping speed up Python code and deployments, and shares his software and career mistakes every week with 3700 programmers on his Software Clown newsletter. His crowning achievement as a parent was when months of brainwashing paid off and his daughter stopped saying "my legs are tired" and started saying "my legs are getting stronger! Itmar is that author of "You Can Negotiate A 3-Day Weekend".
00:51 Working Part-Time as a Programmer and Writing a Book
"You Can Negotiate A 3-Day Weekend
03:54 Overcoming "This Isn't Normal" or "Entitlement" Feelings
Negotiation is easier at your current job. Your work ethic is already established.
Frame/approach it as a problem-solving situation.
08:05 Difficult Parts of Negotiation
Harder to do up-front at new companies.
Communication concerns.
What about emergencies?
Worries about getting work done and job commitment.
11:26 Scheduling Your Shorter Workweek
Be courteous of your team.
Plan around regularly-scheduled meetings.
14:40 Utilizing Extra Time as a Parent
17:52 Taking on Remote-Friendly Tasks + Peer Reactions
20:12 Output Value + Impact
You can be productive and work shorter hours.
The better the management, the less of an issue.
Asking yourself, "What is enough work?" can be a struggle to measure when you're not counting hours.
Honor your commitments.
Parents are excellent multitaskers!!!
28:44 Genius / Fail Moments
KWu uses a sippy cup at night so she doesn't knock it over. (#Genius)
Chris told his daughter, "You are not your homework," which was adapted from "You are not your code!" (#Genius)
Itmar's daughter's snack negotiation skills are getting more sophisticated. (#Genius/Fail)
It took less than 90 seconds for Allison's life to fall apart in her household! (#Fail)
Follow & Support
Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at [email protected].
Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.
Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.
Panel
KWu
Chris Sexton
Allison McMillan
Special Guest: Itamar Turner-Trauring.
38 min
May 29, 2019030: Moving and Traveling Internationally
Parent Driven Development
Episode 030: Moving and Traveling Internationally
00:11 Welcome, Annyce Davis!
Annyce spends her day-to-day working as a Software Developer and Leader. She has specifically been focused on Android applications for the past several years. She's also an Android Google Developer Expert. This means that she spends a lot of time developing videos, blog posts, and conference talks for the Developer Community.
Annyce is currently the Software Group Lead at a social impact startup called Zola Electric. They provide clean, transformative energy to households that suffer from expensive, unreliable grids or have no grid access at all. She gets to help impact the lives of people across Africa by developing a high-quality Android application that’s used by their entire sales force.
01:25 Moving from the U.S. to Amsterdam
Fell in love with Europe about 4-5 years ago.
2 years ago, had an opportunity to move for a job opportunity.
02:55 Kids' Reactions to the Prospect of Moving / Transitioning After Moving
Were worried about their grandparents and what the food would be like.
Curiousity around schooling. Now attend an International School and take Dutch language lessions twice a week.
Adjusting and acceptance of differences between life in the U.S. vs Amsterdam.
09:35 Logistics of Relocation to Another Country
A cleaning process for your life and letting things go.
If it wasn't sentimental, it went.
Renting a furnished home.
Take what you need to get through a few months. Shipping containers take a loooong time to be delivered.
15:20 Giving Kids Worldly Experience at a Young Age
Exposure to diverse cultures.
Status/prestige differences.
Blissful ignorance to certain things.
19:26 Networks of Support & Feeling American While Not in America
Having family send U.S. essentials!! Stock up while visiting.
Visiting at least once a year.
25:39 Travel Tips
Bring snacks.
Have laundry soap.
Wear compression socks on the plane.
Figure out the money situation in advance.
31:43 Traveling Without Your Kids: Maintaining Relationships
Having a transparent schedule.
Talk every day.
Bring souveniers.
Being a parent and pursuing your career:
People ask me for career advice all of the time. Here's a cheer:

Self-deprecate, self-deprecate
Just smile and congratulate
Work twice as hard for half the pay
Play with your kids every other day
GOOOOOOOOO CAREER!!! #happytuesday #morningthoughts pic.twitter.com/sEH2xkl4y0
— Annyce Davis (@brwngrldev) April 23, 2019
Set limits.
Make it count when you're home.
When you're away, the kids will be okay. And half the time, they don't even care! (They'll just make you feel guilty leading up to the trip.)
What Do Teenagers Want? Potted Plant Parents
45:37 Genius / Fail Moments
KWu found convenient vegetables! (#Genius)
Annyce messed up the train schedule, so they walked and tired the kids out! (#Genius/Fail)
Mandy didn't pay attention to where her daughter way playing. Heeeeyyyyy, poison ivy! (#Fail)
Follow & Support
Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at [email protected].
Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.
Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.
Panel
KWu
Mandy Moore
Special Guest: Annyce Davis.
50 min
May 15, 2019029: Organizing Conferences
Parent Driven Development
Episode 029: Organizing Conferences
00:57 Balancing Conferencing with Parenting
Andy has organized RedDotRubyConf, still organizes Brighton Ruby, and has spoken the past few years at RubyConf.
Andy also puts out an email newsletter, with one Ruby/Rails technique delivered with a ‘why?’ and a ‘how?’ every two weeks. It’s deliberately brief, focussed & opinionated, and called One Ruby Thing.
Chris helps to co-organize Ruby For Good.
Systems, systems, systems.
Staying in the speaker hotel during crunch time.
Getting paid helps.
Having no co-organizers = no extra communication challenges.
Relying on your partner.
Staying local helps.
Having a venue.
06:52 Conference Sizes: How Big is Big?
Andy runs Brighton Ruby as a single track, one-day conference of 300-400.
Ruby Central conferences by comparison are up to about 1,000 attendees and multi-track over 3-4 days.
Ruby For Good is about 80 people, but has less of a conference feel because it's groups of people hacking on different projects over a few days.
09:46 Classifying These Gatherings as "Work-Adjacent Hobbies"
Benefits the career.
Meeting, networking, and making friends.
Feel-good factor.
Prioritization.
Time frees up as kids have gotten older.
19:30 Family Involvement
Kids on stage are cute.
Teenagers can help volunteer!
Osmosis of exposure. This is what mom/dad does!
Showing that work does not necessarily equal drudgery.
22:30 Behind-The-Scenes Tradeoffs
The best track at any conference is the speaker track.
Coaching, mentoring, and cheering on first-time speakers.
Repetition of putting on conferences over the years = it gets easier, more fun, and less stressful.
Atomic Habits
28:21 Meal Kits and Meal Planning Conversation
We all have tried them. We all have opinions. We are definitely open for sponsorship. Email us! 👇🏻
32:36 Getting Involved in Conferences (for those who are brave enough)
Speak.
Volunteer.
Conference Scholar/Guide Programs. i.e. Ruby Central's
Community Meetups
37:46 Genius / Fail Moments
Andy's kids learning empathy from movies. (#Genius)
Chris forgot to pack his son's main lunch entreé and left it in the microwave! (#Fail)
Josh's daughter revealing she has a video clip of the two of them from when she was very little and being fond of watching it often. (Genius)
KWu's son fell and hit his head 🤕. (#Fail)
Follow & Support
Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at [email protected].
Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.
Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.
Panel
Chris Sexton
KWu
Josh Puetz
Andy Croll
45 min
May 01, 2019028: Primary Caregiving
Parent Driven Development
Episode 028: Primary Caregiving
00:17 Introducing Guest, Nick Gauthier! Becoming a Full-time Parent
Nick is currently the CTO and Co-founder at Nomics. Before co-founding Nomics, Nick created MeetSpace, a video conferencing application for distributed teams. Before that, Nick worked at Codeship on the Codeship Pro Continuous Delivery platform, as well as various other web application consulting projects in Ruby on Rails, Go, and JavaScript.
03:55 Being a Full-Time Parent as a Man
"Aww, you're babysitting!" 🙄
Experiences with "Mommy and Me" groups and Meetups.
Feeling instrusive in Mom spaces.
Breaking into a "Mommy Group".
08:17 Partner Dynamics and Making Decisions
Getting the scoop and being thankful to not have other parents' problems.
Liking vs not liking the baby phase.
11:07 Changes as Baby Grows
Transitioning to a nanny but still working from home.
When going to work is a "vacation" or an "escape".
Fielding distractions.
17:11 How Having a Child Has Changed the Way Nick Works
Working with other parents.
Context switching and protecting time.
Asynchronous communication.
24:16 Communication Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
Any communication, the normal expected turnaround time is 24 hours; unless in text is says urgent.
Cell phone calls are last resort, but must be answered.
Everything is "Do Not Disturb".
Keep communcation very close to or 100% on topic.
29:06 Team Relationship Building + Watercooler Talk
Optional "huddles" with no agenda. Explicit watercooler time.
Company retreats.
31:21 Genius / Fail Moments
Nick's daughter announced "Oh yeah! Get some beer!" in the middle of the store. (#Fail) But, she is mastering potty training with M&Ms as rewards! (#Genius)
Chris: M&M inflation. (#Fail) "Scream Parade" on the other hand... (#Genius)
Allison: Flow picture charts for the morning on what her son needs to do to leave the house 👍🏻. (#Genius)
Follow & Support
Please follow us @parentdrivendev on Twitter or email us at [email protected].
Our website is at ParentDrivenDevelopment.com.
Support us via Patreon and get access to our our Slack Community.
Panel
Josh Puetz
Chris Sexton
Allison McMillan
Special Guest: Nick Gauthier.
40 min

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Turns out children arrive with no manual. There's no coherent online tutorial. Between staying up to date with emerging technologies and balancing work and home life in an industry that often requires…

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