Author: Armin A. Brott
I know this guy has written a series of parenting books just for fathers, which is nice, but this guy comes off as a hack. The research-backed suggestions were alright, the ideas for taking care of business beyond fathering was a bit novel yet disorganized. The real problem area were the suggestions the author made on his own, which ranged from silly (If it isn't too cold out, strip down to your underwear with your child and go out in the yard and paint each other head to toe; if it is too cold out, go puddle jumping or drive through puddles in the car. Seriously? ever thought about neighbors, hypothermia, or hydroplaning?) to what I consider to be dangerous (Teach your one-and-a-half-year-old to shave you without the razor on the handle, and when they get that down, let them shave you for real. This is dangerous for you, and it also draws unnecessary attention to razors. Even with razors hidden, a 4-year-old boy in my daughter's preschool managed to slip into the bathroom one night after he was presumed asleep and shave himself, drawing blood and scaring the daylights out of his parents, even when the razor was hidden.). Not what I like to see. The parts that told about what to expect at each age was sparse and overly colored with his own children's experiences instead of real research into what is normal. To top it all off, he ended the book with a section on how to get through a divorce and come out as much on top as possible. Not very encouraging, and not really appropriate. He also tried to champion being non-sexist, but then he was a bit sexist himself at times.
That said, I know there's a draw to having a book written just for dads, and I think it's nice to get something for a new dad, but this book is not it. Stick with the "What to Expect" series, which is very good, support the dad, and the rest should fall into place.
Overall Rating: 2 of 5 Stars
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