The New Father Book: What Every Man Needs to Know to Be a Good Dad

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Summary: Real World Advice and Anecdotes
Review: After the surprise announcement by my wife of "I'm pregnant" a couple of weeks ago, I knew I needed to get some accurate info fast. Especially since this was our first and our wife is in the "high risk" catagory. After reading reviews on Amazon, I chose this book and am very happy with my selection.

At work, had I mentioned that my wife was pregnant with our first child and a male co-worker with 3 sons started laughing and giving me advice. His first was that Lamaze was a waste...his wife was in labor and Lamaze coaching lasted for about 2 minutes until she screamed at him, "Stop telling me to breathe and just rub my back!" He then proceeded to tell me several items they had purchased and had only used once or twice.

This book arrived a week later and I brought it to work. The same co-worker grabbed it and said, nothing in this book will tell how it really is like. Then he read an anectdotal story of a wife telling her husband to stop with the Lamaze and just hold her hand. He kept reading and agreed that it gives real world advice and is a great book.

My wife is reading and enjoying it too. You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Finally....a helpful book for new fathers.
Review: As a clinical psychologist who works with children and families, and as a father myself, I applaud the authors' encouragement of fathers to actively participate in their children's lives. This book offers a wide variety of practical and useful tips and hints on how fathers can interact with their young children, how they can play a meaningful role in their children's lives, and how they can work together with their wives in day-to-day parenting. I enjoyed the developmental perspective, as the authors discuss fatherhood from the mother's pregnancy through the preschool years. I also appreciated the special chapter, "The Many Faces of Fatherhood", acknowledging fathers in circumstances that are different than those of married, biological fathers. The authors use good humor in their easy-to-understand, commonsense advice throughout the book, and cite research-related information when appropriate. I would highly recommend this easy-to-read book to any new father (and even perhaps to fathers who already have children) and I plan to recommend this book to families that I work with in my private practice.

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Summary: Dr. Horn gives some helpful tips to new fathers.
Review: I like the fact that Dr. Horn discusses the importance of including fathers in the birth, infant care and child raising process. This book will help fathers define themselves and expand traditional roles.

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Summary: Inspires Confidence! A book for every new dad!
Review: If you know anyone who has just found out their wife is pregnant....this is the book they absolutely will need. So many mom's have showers and receive gifts for the baby. Why not include this book for the dad! Not only does this book enlighten fathers, mothers will want to steal this book to refer to all the great sections on baby/toddler development. The charts on page 52 and 66 organize the developmental advances a baby goes through.

The first chart shows everything from how newborns communicate to when you can expect your baby to take their first steps. The Toddler chart spans the time from 15 months to 5 years and discloses when your child will enjoy rhyming games or when they will start to name everyday objects.

Many of the sections in this book are very thoughtful and encourage a dad to consider the child in his life and make this new life a high priority. This book is also filled with humor guys will really relate to.

Through the seven chapters, men will learn what it takes to be a dad, how to be a good prenatal dad, what to expect at the birth, what changes to expect in the first two weeks and then what to look for in the first year and toddler/preschool years. The "Many Faces of Fatherhood" is a modern look at fatherhood. Adoption, divorce, unwed fathers, stepfathers and widowed fathers are also given some great advice.

"The most important thing you can do to ensure your child develops good emotional health is to show your love for him or her. Do this, and your child will feel valued, loved, and respected." --page 68

The last chapter is "For Mom's Eyes Only." It explains the "Myths" of parenting and how to deal with them in a logical way. Mothers and fathers will also love the "10 ways to make time for your children" list on page 13. Turn the page over and you will see why a good marriage is so important to a child. The Index is great for the busy parent who wants to find answers fast. Look up everything from car seats to language skills.

This book gives real world tips from fathers on how to be a positive influence in the life of their child. It guides men through pregnancy and childbirth and has practical advice on how men can help care for an infant. Truly, this is moral support to encourage men to become the best fathers they can be.

I purchased this book to give to my cousin's husband. They are having their first baby in December and I could not think of a better gift to give to a baby! Yes, this is truly a gift for the child. A dad who has this information is going to be one of the most enlightened dad's on the planet! For mothers, look for the New Baby Book, created by Mothers for Mothers. These books present parenting as an exciting journey. I can't imagine anyone not wanting to start reading this book as soon as they start to consider having children. If you just found out your wife is pregnant, or if you are the new mom who is buying this book for your husband, Congratulations! You are going to love this resource.

Rating:
Summary: Practical
Review: Most of the parenting books I've looked at take a lot more text to get across the same amount of content. I liked the friendly, relaxed approach. Most of all, I liked the specific ideas and suggestions for me as a father.

Rating:
Summary: Practical
Review: The value of fathers is once again being discovered by the rest of society. This book provides checklists and other devices to help guide new and young fathers in their critical role in family development. It provides solid advice that is based in well established research on the impact of fathers on their children. Many other books on fathers tell how to "parent" or to be another type of mother. This one recognizes the difference, and advises men to become fathers. While this perspective will undoubtedly upset some who take a strident feminine view of the world, this text recognizes children need both the masculine and feminine perspective to thrive.

Rating:
Summary: Finally, a hands on, how-to book for fathers
Review: The value of fathers is once again being discovered by the rest of society. This book provides checklists and other devices to help guide new and young fathers in their critical role in family development. It provides solid advice that is based in well established research on the impact of fathers on their children. Many other books on fathers tell how to "parent" or to be another type of mother. This one recognizes the difference, and advises men to become fathers. While this perspective will undoubtedly upset some who take a strident feminine view of the world, this text recognizes children need both the masculine and feminine perspective to thrive.

Rating:
Summary: Shallow and misguiding
Review: This book is shallow and misguiding, covering pregnancy through the toddler years in a mere 90 pages. Some of the medical information is incorrect - offering opinions instead of facts, but forgetting to state it's just an opinion. The 10 paragraphs on breastfeeding is a glaring example. The book states, "Breastfeeding is highly recommended, although far from necessary to raise a healthy baby." Any medical professional knows that breastmilk is essential to a baby's health - that formula fed babies have far more illnesses and allergies. Other "facts" state that many women can not breastfeed (the real number is actually less than 1%), that you can safely supplement with glucose water (this is detrimental to establishing supply), that many women do not make enough milk (extraodinarly rare and easily remedied).

Almost worse than the poor medical advice is the shallowness of this book. After reading, instead of knowing how to be a good dad, a father will know how to squeek by as an evening and weekend father (while mother stays home) much in the way fathers did in the 1950's. It very much draws on Mother/Father stereotypes instead of breaking them like 90's fathers do.

I highly recommend you stay away from this one. Get "The Baby Book" instead if you really want to be a great dad.

Rating:
Summary: Great overview and inviting layout
Review: This books cuts to the point. It's laid out with several insets and check-lists that are easily readable and actionable. If you're tired of reading 5 inch thick medical books that are typed in font 7 and have one-quarter inch margins, then this is the book for you. It's not extremely in-depth, but it addresses the important things for dads.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Helpful and User-Friendly "How-To" Guide for Dads
Review: We now know as a society that fathers are crucial to the development and well being of their children. This book provides dads with a "how-to" guide for being a good dad. It provides practical advice while outlining the importance and necessity of the father's role both with his wife, or the baby's mother, and with his child. Not only does the book provide advice on a new child, but it also provides words of wisdom on working on and growing your marriage at the same time-- an often overlooked concept but which is also very important for the child. This book is also quite helpful in terms of what to expect, what's normal, and what may not be normal. The short real-life anecdotal stories were cute and also provided useful pictures of other people's experiences. The quick reference charts help cut down on the potential "overwhelmedness" of information. The authors have created a user-friendly guide for fathers with helpful content and stimulating presentation. A sure bet for helping dads become more knowledgeable about the process and more involved! And it's a fun read too!