[jobu]

My kids are my side projects. I used to be worried about how they affected my career, but three years ago a bicycle accident put me in the hospital for a week and I completely reevaluated my life. It's a little sad (and a bit of a cliché) that it took nearly dying to realize their importance, but now I just smile and think about my kids when someone talks about their amazing project.

[mrexroad]

agree x10. tragically, it took losing one of my children to realize that the extra hours and time management i put into balancing parenting w/ startup-life should have just been put into spending more time w/ my kids.

i'm currently back at a far less exciting enterprise job, and made it to every baseball game this year even though they started at 5pm. you only get one short chance at being their hero, so better make the most of it.

i haven't coded on the side in a long time, but look forward to doing so soon w/ my oldest now going into 1st grade. whatever i code will be for/with them.

[xutopia]

A friend of mine died in the last year from cancer. He was in his 30s. I too replaced a lot of the time I spent hacking to spend with my family. I like side projects but I love my family.

[andy_adams]

I have 2 little ones. When my oldest was growing from 0-2, I can remember nearly every moment. I was at an unexciting 9-5 job.

As my youngest goes from 0-1, I've been working lots of projects via my own consultancy. I look at him and can't believe how much I've missed. I'm currently shifting gears to get back to focusing on my family. I'm still new at this, but it's pretty clear programming/career is so far below family in importance, I need to adjust my life accordingly.

[3pt14159]

When I was a kid (6 to 10 years old) my mom helped me program computers (QBASIC games and attempts at C++, haha). :) Some people get to have it all.

[austinz]

As a kid, my mom helped me do simple chemistry experiments and build electromagnets. I still ended up as a software developer, though.

[niuzeta]

this is exactly how i picture my kids' growth. With books and some nerdy hacks.