![]() ![]() ![]() I immediately emailed the conference to make sure she was "allowed" to be there. That feeling of intrigue was enough for me to book her on my flight and decide that I should try it (at least once). Since we do PR work in baby and kids tech industry, I thought maybe I could rationalize spending the day with my littlest and bringing her to Techcrunch Disrupt as a baby ambassador of sorts. As of late, when seeing babies and kids at tradeshows with their working parents I've gone through a confusing range of emotions.įirst is shock and judgement, “A conference is not the place for a baby/kid, what are they thinking?” Then it’s rationalization, “is that person actually able to work/network with her baby around?” And last is jealousy, “I sure miss my kids and wish I could bring them too.” I miss them often and love my weekends with them. In fact, many people are quite surprised when learning that I have three small kids (<1, 2 and 5) and wonder when I have time to do it all. I work a lot and don't spend as much time with my children as I'd like, it's a guilt that I know plagues many hard working parents. That brings me to Techcrunch Disrupt 2019. That doesn't change the fact that we all work too much (but that's a different post). I have found that in the last 2.5 years, people while more connected, are becoming more human in that way. An effort that has definitely reduced stress and guilt, after all, many people have families and similar challenges. As of late (the last 2.5 years), I've stopped apologizing for being a mom and having kid challenges and been more open in communicating what's "really" happening. A feeling that came especially from men in the (tech) industry. As the new digital world tends to blend work and life together so seemlessly, it seems in the last five years I hear more personal news on business calls like, "I'm going to my kid's school play" or even "I have a doctor's appointment".īeing a woman, it has always seemed like showing signs of having a family (more often than not) has been a sign of weakness. People are focused on work/life balance, authenticity and quality of life. No-one knew until someone mentioned, "aren't you due any day now?" at which point they hurried me off the phone and encourged me to head to hospital.but not before me sending them some files they needed. For example, while in (early) labour with my second child, I took a client conference call while waiting to go to the hospital. My perspective was that if I need to get something personal done it needs to be in "off" time or the client doesn't really need to know to keep clear focus on meeting expectations. Being a business owner, I've felt a sense of responsibility to keep it professional and do what needs to be done no matter what my personal hurdles were. I have always chosen to keep my personal and work life very separate.
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