Tell us a little about yourself and what you do.
I'm a computer engineer by training, but have meandered over the course of my career to dabble in management consulting and operating tech businesses. Currently I'm building a business in the e-commerce space.
How old are your kid(s)?
My daughters are 7 & 4 , and my son is 1.
Who is the primary caregiver in the household, and what are you and your partner’s do parenting philosophy?
My wife takes on more of the caregiving load for sure. Since we're outnumbered by the kids, we divide and conquer to make things work. I tend to handle the youngest one, which means more interrupted sleep, but works well with my ability to get back to sleep quickly. My wife tends to handle the 2 girls more, which works better with her ability to keep track of the various things needed at school / pre-school.
What's your favourite moment in the day with your kid(s)?
I have different moments with each of them. For the eldest, it's walking her to the bus stop and/or sending her to school in the morning (on rainy days) where we chit chat on random things. For the second one, fetching her at the gate and pretending to race her back to the house (she always just beats me). For the youngest, it's when he comes and yanks my hand, indicating to play (but less so when it turns out to be for a diaper change...).
How do you keep yourself sane?
I enjoy the outdoors/moving around, so I try to get the kids to enjoy similar stuff - swim, bike, playgrounds. With managing the kids, our helper and the extended family go a long way to give us parents some time off caregiving!
Best tech tip on parenting. This can be apps / hardware / gear you use, and how you use them
Not for everyone, but I find a smart speaker helpful in the living room. "Ok Google, why is the sky blue?" "Ok Google, how do you say dinosaur in Chinese" etc.
Most helpful advice you've received as a parent.
Make sure you're taking care of yourself - it's just like when they tell you what to do in flights when the oxygen masks come down, secure your mask first before assisting anyone else.
What lessons do you not want your kid(s) to learn?
Probably the generic societal norms/lessons around who you 'should' be or what you 'should' do to be successful / happy.
What was the best lesson you learned from your child?
Not a specific lesson, but watching them grow and learn always reminds me of the big picture. The days seem to pass slowly, but years pass quickly. Reminds me to enjoy the moment, and do things that I'll look back on fondly in the future.
What is your proudest dad moment?
I'm usually most proud when they do something that I can't do or took me a far longer time to learn. It's happening a lot more over time! Most recently, the eldest one solved the rubik's cube in under a minute, learning mainly from YouTube.
If you could ask anyone, dead or alive, for their best parenting tip, who and what would that be?
I'm curious about how creative/contrarian leaders were parented growing up. So parents' of people like Elon Musk, etc. How do you get them to learn that rules are made by people and can/should be challenged, but yet not go crazy with them challenging you on everything?
How do you manage technology exposure for your child/children. For eg, thoughts on screen time etc.
My wife is the strict one on screen time. I'm the one who buys them the Nintendo Switch. As with many things, it's about moderation I suppose. I think it's worth exposure to a variety of technology - draw in VR with the Oculus, read an ebook, etc , but a limit on any one device/screen.
What hobbies do you and your children share?
Currently Lego building is back in vogue in the household. It was hot for a while, then died down, and now back again with the Lego Friends series.
Finally, your best dad joke!
Knock knock...
Who's there ?
Boo
Boo who?
It's just a joke, don't cry!