Parenthood Bytes

In this episode, we chat with Manish Pandit, a Senior Engineering Leader in the Bay Area and proud father of a 21-year-old daughter. Manish reflects on his journey of raising his daughter while managing the demands of a high-pressure career. He shares the challenges he faced and the lessons he learned about achieving a balance between work and family life. Manish highlights the importance of carvi...

In this episode, we reconnect with JD and Len, previous guests from episodes 40 and 48 , to dive into their journeys as parents to three adult children each. JD’s kids are now 32, 27, and 25, while Len’s are 27, 25, and 22. They share how they’ve supported their kids in discovering and pursuing their passions—whether it’s navigating high school challenges, choosing a college, or exploring new oppo...

In this episode, we reconnect with Abdul, whom we first spoke with in episode 2 . Abdul, an IT manager based in Ireland, gives us an update on life with his kids, who are now 6 and 4 (they were 3 and 5 the last time we spoke). Abdul shares his strategies for managing winter break with minimal screen time by engaging his kids in puzzles, coloring sheets, routines, reading, and creative activities....

In this episode, I am joined by my three boys—Darian, Xander, and Lucas—for a fun-filled game show! We’ll be testing their knowledge with a mix of tech trivia and 90s/2000s pop culture questions. The game kicks off with Lucas and Xander going head to head, with the winner advancing to challenge Darian. Then, the ultimate winner of the final round will take on the two who lost in the earlier rounds...

In this episode, we sit down with Ha Tran, a former tech executive turned coach, and a mother of three young children ages 6, 2, and 13 months. Ha shares her journey from the tech world to launching her coaching business, The Inner Fire , which helps individuals gain clarity, overcome challenges, and thrive in both work and life. She opens up about how she balances a flourishing career with the de...

In this episode, we sit down with Maryann Vellanikaran, an Engineering Leader based in the Bay Area, who shares her experience balancing a demanding career in tech with raising two children, ages 8 and 11. Maryann reflects on her journey navigating the challenges of motherhood, offering insights into the various parental leave options she encountered, the accommodations made for mother's rooms, an...

In this episode, we chat with Hannah Morgan, a working mom who has managed to blend career, family, and entrepreneurship in a way that’s both inspiring and practical. Hannah is not only a project manager in the fintech space but also the founder of Heron House Management , a virtual house management service designed to help busy parents lighten their mental load. With three young children—ages 4,...

In this episode, I’m joined by my kids, Darian and Lucas, as we dive into some practical parenting hacks. We’ve broken them down into three categories: tips for parents with younger kids, those with older kids, and just general parenting advice. We share some of the strategies that have worked for us and hope they’ll be helpful for you too! As always, we’d love to hear any other parenting hacks yo...

In this episode, we sit down with Lizz Harrell, founder of Sell Success , a company that helps startups grow by prioritizing customer success. Lizz has two kids, ages 3 and 15 months. She shares her unique perspective on navigating the challenges of being a tech executive while balancing the demands of motherhood. She discusses managing a large organization through a CEO transition during her firs...

In this episode, we have a special co-host, Lucas, who reflects on key topics and insights from the past year with me. We discuss various aspects of work-life balance, including approaches to parental leave, postpartum care, child care, and the growing role of electronics in kids' lives. We also preview potential ideas and plans for the upcoming year. Thank you for the support from listeners and g...

In this episode, we chat with Robert Voyer, a Senior Engineering Manager at Tyler Technologies and a father of two kids aged 10 and 12. Robert shares his experiences raising children in today’s fast-paced world, discussing his approach to navigating the pandemic and the decision to give his kids cell phones. He highlights the importance of focus in our distraction-filled lives, recommending Deep W...

In this episode, we chat with Ivan Stankovic, a Technical Program Manager at a major cloud provider. Ivan offers valuable insights into parenting in a tech-driven world, sharing how he manages screen time for his two kids, aged 16.5 and 13.5. He discusses the unique challenges of raising a middle schooler and a teenager taking college courses, emphasizing the balance of setting boundaries while al...

In this episode, we reconnect with Mallika Rao, an engineering manager at Netflix, who previously joined us on Episode 30 . At that time, she was pregnant with her second child and had a toddler at home. Her kids are now 5 months and 3 years old. Mallika shares her transformative experiences since the birth of her second child, discussing shifts in her mindset and daily life. She reflects on her e...

A special thanks to Lenny for his willingness to re-record this episode after the first attempt didn’t go through! In this episode, we chat with Leonardo "Lenny" Garcia Crespo, a Software Engineer at Automattic based in London. He shares his experiences as a parent of two young children, aged 2.5 and 7. He discusses the differences between his two different parental leaves and how he managed them...

In this episode, we chat with Rayman Wong, a Software Engineering Manager based in Southern California. Rayman shares his experiences raising his 8-year-old son, discussing the unique joys and challenges of parenting an only child. He reflects on navigating the pandemic with an extroverted son, highlighting the difficulties of lockdown and the special dynamics of their relationship. Tune in for va...

Today is a special milestone as I’m joined by my three amazing kids—Darian, Xander, and Lucas. In this episode, they turn the tables and interview me about my experiences as a working mom. We dive into the challenges of balancing work and family life, my journey through three pregnancies, and how I navigated parental leave. Get ready for some goofy moments and heartfelt insights as we explore my s...

In this episode, we sit down with Michael, a seasoned security professional, with years of experience running security at tech companies. Michael has two kids, ages 12 and 10. He shares valuable insights on teaching kids to stay true to themselves while also learning to protect their privacy. He provides practical tips for personal security and emphasizes the importance of strong communication wit...

In this episode, we sit down with Len Scalero, a Senior Manager at Walmart Connect and cohost of the podcast GenX Guys (we previously met his cohost, James Williams Jr, on Episode 40 ). Len, who has three children aged 27, 24, and 21, delves into the intricacies of parenting older kids compared to younger ones. He shares his experiences and the distinct challenges he has faced as his children tran...

In this episode, we welcome back Julie Hollek and Max Lee, who previously joined us in Episode 3 and Episode 44 . This time, we're focusing on their experiences with parental leave and the strategies they've used. Julie and Max share their personal stories about what their parental leaves were like, discuss the right timing and approach for sharing leave plans with their employers, and rev...

In this episode, we chat with my son, Darian, who is a 14-year-old high school student. He offers a fresh perspective on growing up with parents in tech. Darian discusses how he juggles school, after-school care, and his role as the oldest sibling while his parents navigate demanding tech careers. He also reflects on the impact of the pandemic on his education, relationships, and technology use.

In this episode, we catch up with Andrew Tio, who was first featured in Episode 19 . Back then, Andrew was expecting his second child; now, he has a lively 2-year-old and a 7-month-old. He discusses the evolving challenges of parenting two young kids, including the significant shift from managing one child to two. Andrew also delves into his reasons for expanding his family, how he balances work a...

In this episode, we chat with Max Lee, a Senior Software Engineer from the Bay Area, about his journey navigating parenthood while working in tech. Max, who has a 4-year-old and a 6-year-old, shares his insights on managing the challenges of having a newborn and a toddler during the pandemic. He reflects on the complexities of transitioning back to work and balancing responsibilities between engin...

In this episode, we chat with Erin Eng, a Product Designer from the Bay Area. She offers insights into balancing a career and family life with a significant age gap between her two kids, ages 13 and 3. Erin shares her diverse experiences across various work setups—contract, full-time, stay-at-home, and part-time roles. She provides valuable advice for parents on adapting to life’s changes by plann...

In this episode, we sit down with Tali Gutman, a staff software engineer at Datadog based in Colorado. Tali, who has two young children, ages 2 and 4, opens up about the unique challenges of having a baby during the pandemic, her career journey into tech, and how she manages to balance work with parental leave and family life. She shares her experiences with parental leave, emphasizing its signifi...

In this podcast episode, James Williams Jr., a Principal Product Manager at Walmart and co-host of the Gen X Guys podcast, shares insights from his life and experiences. Based in Las Vegas, James and his best friend Len discuss what it means to be a Gen Xer in today's world, reflecting on their past and navigating life at their current age. James, a father of three adult children aged 32, 26,...