Michael Bloomberg Believes In Knocking Down Walls

For Michael Bloomberg, family is a top priority.

As part of The Huffington Post's parent-child interview series Talk To Me , the business leader and former New York City mayor opened up about fatherhood, family traditions and the importance of knocking down walls in an honest conversation with his eldest daughter Emma.

Recalling his earliest days of parenthood, Bloomberg said, "I always took changing over feeding. Because feeding goes on and on -- 'open your mouth, around and around the airplane hangar.'" By contrast, with diaper-changing, "'Bum bum' and you're done, no matter how messy it is," he added.

As his daughters were growing up, Bloomberg believed it was incredibly important to have dinner together as a family each night -- as his family did when he was young. 

"I think you've got to stay close to your parents," he said. "There's a time that will come when your parents won't be there and you'll look back and say 'I wish I had...'"

The former mayor instilled in his daughters a passion for family traditions, like hosting Thanksgiving dinner and watching caroling at New York's 21 Club every Christmas Eve. His dedication to family togetherness meant he pulled out all the stops, even cutting a hole in a wall one Thanksgiving to make more room so everyone could eat together.

Knocking down walls is a principle Bloomberg applies to workspace, too, as his office has an open floor plan.

"There's nothing that I know of that keeps people form working together as much as private offices," he explained. "There's a wall between you and me. I can't see you. I don't know what you're doing, so we don't communicate."

Working together in an open space is "more exciting," he said, adding, "When you're in a big room, everyone feels part of it."

Watch the full video above for more of Bloomberg's thoughts on living in New York and the "enormous problem" of climate change.

We’d love for you to be part of Talk To Me , and have your own conversation with your child or parent featured on HuffPost. Creating a video is simple and fun; see our tips here , or watch a compilation of great #TalkToMe moments below.

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• How to make your own #TalkToMe video