On Being a Father...

What It Takes To Be A Dad:

For even more ideas, call the "National Fatherhood Initiative" at 1-800-790-DADS.

 

The Best Books about Being a Dad:

"Do I Look Like a Daddy to You? A Survival Guide for First-time Fathers" by Quinton Skinner (Dell, $14)

"Fatherneed: Why Father Care is as Essential as Mother Care For Your Child" by Kyle D. Pruett, M.D. (Broadway, $13)

"Father for Life: A Journey of Joy, Challenge, and Change" by Armin A. Brott (Abbeville Press, $25)

"Lessons for Dylan: From Father to Son" by Joel Siegel (Public Affairs, $23)

"Monkey Dancing: A Father, Two Kids, and a Journey to the Ends of the Earth" by Daniel Glick (Public Affairs, $26)

"Twenty Days with Julian & Little Bunny, by Papa" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, (New York Review of Books, $17)

The Pocket Parent by Gail Reichlin, Caroline Winkler  When was the last time someone acknowledged what a great job you were doing as a parent?

 

Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles: Winning for a Lifetime (Paperback)    --the inseparable triad of family life. What if you could avoid Machiavellian peacekeeping maneuverings and instead turn difficult situations with your child into jumping-off points to having a better and more productive relationship? Mary Sheedy Kurcinka's new book gives a concise, practical, and often humorous account of how to achieve this turnaround. Kurcinka doesn't promise miracle cures or overnight success, but she offers creative techniques for using power struggles as pathways to better understanding within any family. 

Man of the House (Hardcover)

I'm Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rogers(Hardcover) The title of this memoir derives from Tim Madigan's request to Mister Rogers: "Will you be proud of me?" Rogers said yes, of course, and thanked Madigan for "offering so much of yourself to me." Although I'm Proud of You could have fallen into Hallmark treacle, it instead compassionately recounts the spiritual friendship that developed between the two men and offers a portrait of Rogers's exemplary character. Especially poignant are Madigan's recounting of his personal visits with Rogers and his difficult relationship with his brother. "It's here that Madigan writes most powerfully, with raw, universal emotion," notes the New York Times Book Review. Even if the memoir's message is familiar (a few critics compared the book to Mitch Albom's Tuesdays With Morrie), it is an inspiration on many levels.

The Fatherstyle Advantage: Surefire techniques  : Surefire techniques Every Parent Can Use to Raise Confident and Caring Kids.The Fatherstyle Advantage is unique. Flying in the face of long-held assumptions about the relative merits of mothers' and fathers' parenting styles, it is the first how-to child-raising guide ever to focus on the positive qualities that men bring to parenting. It emphasizes men's special contributions to the family unit, including a strong sense of play and exacting standards, and sets up the core elements of "fatherstyle" as a desirable model to be emulated by men and women alike. At a time when increasing numbers of men are spending more and more time with their children, this refreshingly different book is ideal for both fathers and mothers who are interested in new techniques that will lead to smarter parenting, better-adjusted, more confident children, and stronger, healthier families. 

Great with Child: Letters to a Young Mother(Hardcover) Great with Child: Letters to a Young Mother (Hardcover) by Beth Ann Fennelly.  Fennelly loved to play school as a child, went on to teach, and originally addressed these letters to a former student. She found them so helpful that she shared them with another woman pregnant for the first time, who in turn sent them to another. These are no hastily written, lowercase, misspelled, emotional e-mails. Fennelly used, as she wrote in the first letter, "the weight of a pen and thick paper under my hand" to lead her "to a slower pace, slower thoughts, to handpicked words." The first recipient was computer-less, anyway, in Alaska, where her husband's fellowship landed her. In subsequent letters, Fennelly shares the experience of attending a Quaker wedding, her own odd dreams during pregnancy, the joy and the literal shittiness of motherhood, and the sweetness and ease of long-term friendships with people seen only occasionally: "We're able to move so quickly to deep levels of conversation. We don't need to fill each other in on backstory." A reflective, transformative book capable of enlightening beyond parenthood. Whitney Scott.

"Scout's Honor: A Father's Unlikely Foray into The Woods" by Peter Applebome, Class of '71, Duke University, Harcourt Inc., 2003. 330 pages, $24. "a generally upbeat, winningly witty, and self-deprecating narative of three years' worth of" scouting with his son.


Hit the Ground Crawling: Lessons from 150,000 New Fathers where dads get a place to ask questions, get answers, and learn from each other (even in the middle of a midnight feeding), just like thousands of fathers have already done at Boot Camp For New Dads, now celebrating its 15th year as the premier orientation program for new fathers--nationwide and around the world.

 

The 10 Commandments of Dad - How to be an even better father. 

  The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Being an Expectant Father (The Pocket Idiot's Guide)(Paperback)

Be Prepared: A Practical Handbook for New Dads(Paperback)

I Sleep at Red Lights: A True Story of Life After Triplets (Hardcover)

Stepdads: Stories of Love, Hope, and Repair (Hardcover)

The Bastard on the Couch: 27 Men Try Really Hard to Explain Their Feelings About Love, Loss, Fatherhood, and Freedom(Hardcover)

Pregnancy Sucks: What to Do When Your Miracle Makes You Miserable(Paperback) covers all the basics. It has a month by month sections discussing what you are probably experiencing at the time. It talks about emotional and physical changes a woman undergoes. It is cowritten with an obstetrician, so the scientific facts are on target. However, this book is not a specific medical guide. It's more of a sympathizer book, sort of like: here are difficult things that happen to you, happened to me too, happens to other women, life is unfair, let us all collectively complain and we'll make it through."

The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year(Paperback)

 

The Baby Owner's Manual: Operating Instructions, Trouble-Shooting Tips, and Advice on First-Year Maintenance

How Tough Could It Be?: The Trials and Errors of a Sportswriter Turned Stay-at-Home Dad (Hardcover)

The Gift of You: How to Tell Your Loved Ones Who You Really Are (Hardcover)  by Bill McCord.

The average dad's wallet is bursting with all kinds of cards--credit, debit, business, library--but not the one that could save his life: emergency ID. It's the card that, in the event of an accident, will answer all the medical questions you may not be able to, such as "What's your blood type?" "Are you taking medications?" and "Do you have any drug allergies?" Think of it as an EMT cheat sheet. "I've seen many situations in which emergency identification has saved lives," says Ben Abo, an emergency-medical-service specialist at the University of Pittsburgh. "Without it, treatment might be delayed." Just fill in the fields, hit "Print," cut along the dotted line, and laminate. Then treat your ID like an Amex and never leave home without it.  Print Your Own Medical I.D. Card and create the single most important medical record in a dad's life.

Power and Intimacy in Men's Development(Paperback) 

The Family Manager's Guide To Summer Survival: Make the Most of Summer Vacation with Fun Family Activities, Games, and More! (Paperback)   In The Family Manager's Guide to Summer Survival, best-selling author Kathy Peel shows you how to make the most of the summer months with activities, learning experiences, trips, and more. Plus, she'll show you the top ten ways to answer the cries of "I'm bored!" with creative activities that teach children skills and values.

Crouching Father, Hidden Toddler: A Zen Guide for New Dads (Hardcover)  contains the treasured wisdom that will help new dads master the Buddha-like patience required to be on the receiving end of projectile pureed spinach, sleep-deprived moms, and toys with Some Assembly Required.

The Wide-Eyed Wonder Years: A Mommy Guide to Preschool Daze (Paperback)   This gem by Lorilee Craker is a great book to pick up during nap time or while the kids run through the sprinkler. Her insights on little ones are right on. The inspiration offered to get through one more battle is wonderful.

The Right Price for Your Kid's Rite of Passage : Teen celebrations are getting expensive. Does showing the love always mean spending the cash, By Jean Chatzky August 17, 2006, is a good piece on planning for the significant milestones in your child's life.

Fathering Your Toddler: A Dad's Guide to the Second and Third Years 
 

The Read-Aloud Handbook: Third Revised Edition   is a very useful handbook for a wonderful fathering activity.

At Parents.com, A Guide to Great Sites on Fatherhood .

 

Touchpoints: Parenting Made Fun, by T. Berry Brazelton, MD 

 

The A to Z Guide to Raising Happy, Confident Kids(Paperback)

 

Fatherhood: poems about fathers (Everyman's Library Pocket Poets) (Hardcover) by Carmela Ciuraru (Editor)

 

 

Dad's Tip Jar  

Dad's Secret Weapon:

For Dad's with kids under age 10, here's one of the best tools you can use to calm any antsy children and keep them from destoying the restaurant/car/aunt's home/doctor's office. the best occupier isn't crayons and papaer; it's your wristwatch! Time the tykes. See how long they can say the alphabet, how long it takes them to name all the teams in the National League. Consider it digital tryptophan__keeps them occpied & calms them right down. Go towww.drt.easyjournal.com  and let us Dad's know how it works for you. I borrowed this tip Men's Health Magazine. 

 

Family Violence Prevention

Men, as fathers, brothers, coaches, teachers, uncles and mentors are in a unique position to prevent domestic violence through action and conversation. Over the past five years, the Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) has refined its public education strategy to focus on men and boys as a critical part of the national movement to end violence against women and girls. Coaching Boys Into Men (CBIM)   is the result of this shift - helping stop violence before it starts. The campaign's core goal is to inspire men to teach boys to respect women.

 

Marriage

This is a blog about marriage when one or both spouses has ADHD. What is it like? What are common themes in marriages with ADHD? What strategies can be used to improve these relationships? How can struggling couples get their marriages back on track so both partners can thrive?

Internet Safety

I.C.I.E. is a software applicationthat can be downloaded directly to each computer interfacing with the Internet. I.C.I.E. is a simple and effective method of reporting suspicious, dangerous, or illegal activity discovered on the Internet to the appropriate authority. I.C.I.E.’s reporting mechanism can provide law enforcement or other authorities enough information to determine what action, if any, needs to be taken. I.C.I.E. stands for In Case of Internet Emergency.