Dave (Daeyeon) Jin - Technology, Biz Dev & Marketing
"A curious child can be more successful than a child who is too passive."
Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.
I have been working with Silicon Valley companies for a long time in South Korea. I am mainly responsible for business development in South Korea and had worked for Evernote, Awair, Allganize, Chegg etc. I am currently working for mmhmm.
How old are your kid(s)?
I have two energetic sons, one 8 years old and the other 5 years old.
Who is the primary caregiver in the household, and what are you and your partner’s do parenting philosophy?
My wife spends most of her time with our two beloved sons. Fortunately, we have similar parenting philosophies. In particular, we think our sons should have a lot of experience. It feeds knowledge, and knowledge feeds experience in turn. So, I try to provide a variety of experiences to my children. To this end, we visit various places, especially the library, which is one of our daily routines to live through other's second-hand experience via books.
What's your favorite moment in the day with your kid(s)?
I often play board games with my kids. Lately, we've been playing Splendor together. In fact, they are too young to play Splendor. Nevertheless, I am very impressed with how they focus on the game and do their best to beat me.
How do you keep yourself sane?
I have my own morning lunch and dinner routine. I am using an app called Routinery for this. My condition changes every morning, and my mood changes depending on my condition, and running a routine using Routinery makes it easier to get my life back on track. It helps me keep myself sane everyday.
Most helpful advice you've received as a parent.
My father is a very blunt person. So I didn't have many conversations with my father when I was young. I use this as a contrast teacher. So, when I became a father, I always try to have many conversations with my children. But, there are words of my father that I can remember even in small conversations. "It was very difficult for me to raise you because you didn't always listen to me. That upsets me. But that is better than without having you." He left these words with me the day before I went to mandatory military service in South Korea. It was the first moment I felt my father's love. I want to talk more with my children, and to be a more good friend.
What lessons do you not want your kid(s) to learn?
I have a younger brother. My brother and I have an 11-year age gap. So I grew up as an only child. At the same time, my parents had high expectations of me. So it seems that for a long time I lived a life for my parents and not myself. However, it was only in my late 20s that I was finally able to live my own life, not my parents' life. I want to tell our children to create their own lives with their own individuality.
What was the best lesson you learned from your child?
As a child, I was a poor listener. So I used to do things my parents told me not to do. Here is one episode. My father's room had an expensive personal computer. My father told me not to touch it, but I secretly touched and played with the computer by any means possible. Perhaps such reckless attempts are what made me live in the current technology age well. I have a belief that a curious child can be more successful than a child who is too passive. Because of that, even if they don't listen to me, I'm trying to understand them in a good way.
What is your proudest dad moment?
I am proud of every moment our children grow up. One day when they have a conversation with a completely new, difficult word, when their logical words leave me speechless, when they show off a great piece of clay, when they make their own game with a coding program for kids and all the moments are proud moments to me as a father.
If you could ask anyone, dead or alive, for their best parenting tip, who and what would that be?
I have my kids set goals they want to achieve each month for themselves. And we design the rewards they receive when they achieve that goal. Details are important, and as a parent, we have to think a lot about whether their goal is actually achievable or not too difficult or easy and put a lot of effort into setting the final goal. And we have to give them lots of compliments so that they don't give up halfway through. Even when they finally get their reward, it's good to rejoice and praise them together. I sometimes miss some months for setting goals, but the experience of achieving their goals together was really blissful. I believe this instills great courage and a challenge spirit my children. However, when setting a goal, I need to pay attention to it so that it can be a challenging goal that can be achieved carefully and meticulously. They accomplished their goal last month, and earned a Pokemon game pack.
How do you manage technology exposure for your child/children. For eg, thoughts on screen time etc.
My wife and I give points when our children do good things on their own. They can exchange these points for game time or toys. For this, we make several rules every time and try to make the rules fair. To manage these points, we use an app called ClassDojo. With this app, we can manage our children's points in the cloud. Also, it is convenient to know when and how it was consumed. My wife and I have tried variety methods for our children, but this is the most effective motivator.
What hobbies do you and your children share?
We often go to the library. In particular, I like to go to the libraries of various regions with my children. Since our children are still young, we do not have many common hobbies. My dream is to play basketball with them. I just hope I'm not too old then.
Finally, your best dad joke!
If your child doesn't listen to you and you think the behavior resembles someone, that someone is probably you. It's all karma.