Great books for fathers and parents
I just had a thought today that I might need to go back to my fatherhood and parenting reading material… my son has really been exerting his independence lately, so gotta remind myself what to do in these situations! Today, for the first time, he was really keen on telling me and my wife to do: “Don’t change the bed sheets!” to me, and when my wife tried to feed our newborn, “Don’t feed her!” This of course, combined with lots of whining, kicking and screaming. Joy oh joy. Well, I think he was really tired and the feelings of slight jealousy towards his baby sister were starting to creep in. He is good most of the time though, and in the end we managed to get him to conclude that his baby sister can’t drink orange juice and can’t eat cookies, so she has to drink milk. It is always great to add a bit of sound logic to the situation to help smooth things over.
A happy child!
Nevertheless, it may be time to hit the books again. Here are two books that I found to be excellent and worth reading:
1) The Complete Secrets of Happy Children, by Steve Biddulph. This is actually two books in one… The Secrets of Happy Children, and its follow-up, the appropriately titled, More Secrets of Happy Children. This book gives lots of practical tips on parenthood, being a dad, the correct language to use when talking to your children, disciplining, soft love, firm love and special considerations for raising boys and raising girls. There are many good tips and ideas in its pages. We have used and applied many of his ideas with our kids, and he really gives you a lot to think about.
2) The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Families, by Stephen Covey. Need I say more than Stephen Covey. I mean, Stephen Covey, loving father of nine children plus highly successful entrepreneur. That says it all. If you haven’t heard of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, please get out of the hole you are under and google it right now and then buy it. Then get this follow-up, where he applies the Seven Habits specifically to family life and parenting. Especially since he is a father, who also managed a career, there are many great pieces of advice for fathers here on how to cope and be a terrific father that your kids will love. He has so many great ideas and thoughts. There are lots and lots of great stories in this book from his own experience (he had enough of them, with nine kids and all). This includes the classic “green and clean” story, which is worth the price of the book alone in my opinion.
So I think I may re-read these books, cuz the time seems right to do so. If any of you out there have ideas for good books for me to read, please leave a comment and let me know. And if you have read the above books and have an opinion about them, feel free to leave it here!
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Hey Blogg Daddy-
Thanks for sharing the books. I reference back to Steve C. periodically. 7 Habits is a classic.
If you are looking for a mother’s view on the highs and lows of transitioning into parenthood, my wife published a book several months ago that is getting great reviews. You or your wife may be interested. Below is a free digital download link as part of the dad blogger crowd!
Enjoy. Compliments of my wife – Andrew
http://www.adozeninvisiblepieces.com/dadblogger.html
Thanks very much for that Andrew, I appreciate it and it is really nice of your wife to offer it free to us blogging dads! I have downloaded it and will have a look at it. At first glance it looks very nice and is nicely laid out. Say a big thanks to your wife for me too. Cheers, thebloggdaddy
I’m glad to have the opportunity to share this collection of my family’s stories with moms AND dads around the country and beyond. I hope you enjoy it, and I look forward to hearing your feedback on the book.
Best, Kimmelin
Hey Blogg Daddy!
So I’ve got 4 daughters and I’m a health nut (both by profession & obsession…don’t ask me which came first), so I recommend “Raising Your Athletic Daughters” by Jean Zimmerman. It talks about how sports can positively affect the self-esteem of girls later in life and the importance of group interaction in a girls life. It’s a must read if you’ve got a little girl.
On the lighter side, “Goodnight Moon” is a favorite at bedtime in our house.
I think I’ve read “7 Habits” 7 times, so I think that’s definitely a must read!
Thanks for the Jam, I’ll check back frequently.
Sincerely,
Chris Lopez
http://www.FitAndBusyDad.blogspot.com
Hey Chris, thanks for the recommendation and for joining the Jam! Appreciate your valuable comments! “Raising Your Athletic Daughters” sounds very interesting, and I think sports can be a really good way to positively impact girls’ self-esteem. As I have a newborn daughter myself, I will definitely check it out! I also like Goodnight Moon very much!
Look forward to hearing from you again,
Vincent
Hi Blogg Daddy,
These books are interesting. Maybe you could also add in a couple more books that I blogged about in “My Dad Rocks” and let me know what you feel about them.
http://www.my-dad-rocks.com/tips/great-books-for-dads
My Dad Rocks’s last blog post..Great Books For Dads
@My Dad Rocks – sure, I will take a look! Thanks.