Episode 046: Mike McQuaid on paternity leave, Balancing Dad Podcast, and raising kids in different countries.

03:08 Welcome Mike McQuaid!

Mike McQuaid is a father of two and lives and works in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is a senior engineer at Github where he’s worked for the last six years. In his free time, Mike is the package leader for the Homebrew package manager. He also likes going to the gym, walking his dog and hosting the Balancing Dad Podcast for working fathers.

03:40 Paternity leave

• Split time paternity leave (aka, you can break up your paid leave)
• Utilizing quarantine time to potty train

07:52 Mike on Balancing Dad Podcast

• Gender roles can creep in easily during transitioning into new parents
• Women are asked more, “how do you do it all,” but men are not..
• Allison shares how society pushes relationships to not be equal

15:35 Mike shares a better future is possible!

• Listing both parents on kids forms, or switching who is listed as primary contact.

18:32 What has Mike learned for hosting Balancing Dad Podcast?

• No matter the country, finances, age, relationship, all parents share a universal bond at the foundation

20:18 Culture difference with raising kids in different countries

• Maternity and paternity leave
• Healthcare
• Language/slang
• Diaper vs. nappies
• Scotland is very friendly to kids
• Different ways of being a parent and share with other parents

27:30 Worldly talks with our kids

• Traveling around the world with kids
• Discussing computer friends from around the world helps expanding cultural knowledge
• Remote work flexibility and setting boundaries with work

31:20 How does Mike manage all he does?!

• Firm boundaries
• No work or open source emails on his phone
• Work days are carved out and scheduled for certain things
• Setting expectations for certain projects
• Making things good enough, not perfect

32:20 Genius / Fail moments

• Chris was in a bit of a hurry with his son in the car and he picked up Chris getting agitated with other drivers and kept repeating “move cars, stop going so slow”. #fail
• Allison rocks a #genius with her son Devin and showcases his “Devin’s agreements” above the fireplace
• Mike slowly becomes frustrated with his younger son, while his older one sits and waits for a fork to eat, only to have him notice way after the fact... #fail
• Mike uses the phrase “just this once” and realizes that it will never be just this once ;)

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Panel

Allison McMillan
Chris Arcand

Special Guest: Mike McQuaid.

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