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

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Panel

KWu
Allison McMillan
Chris Sexton
JC Avena
Chris Arcand
Adarsh Pandit