Customer Reviews

Beating Up Daddy: A Year in the Life of an Amateur Father

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Doucette captures fatherhood in its best-worst moments, those family events that will be forever burned into the memory of any father worth being called Dad.

This book is not a how-to guide. This book is not full of practical advice. This book is absolutely full of rib-splitting, gut-busting, coffee-spewing, it-hurts-so-funny snapshots of one man and his family. If you are a Dad, you've been there and done that.

The question is, can you laugh at yourself as well as Doucette laughs at himself, and then can you invite the rest of us too laugh too.

Hilarious. I had to stop several times to wipe my eyes I was laughing so hard.

I've read all of the reviews posted here, and I have to wonder whether the people who gave it only one star actually have a sense of humor. This book is funny, smart, and extremely entertaining. Fully 1/3 of the book is a wonderful account of a vacation gone terribly wrong that can't help but amuse anyone, whether they are a parent or not, yet evidently a number of reviewers seem to think they're qualified to write a review having not read the vacation piece, nor even having read more than three chapters. This book is perhaps mis-listed as a Parenting book rather than a Humor book, but that's the only bad thing I can say about it.

. . .into the world of fatherhood.

Some of you may recognize me from the opening intro of "Beating Up Daddy." I know my Mom does. I am the *Barbara* Gene thanks in his introduction "I Wanna Thank..." Biased? No. So what if I was the one who hired him to write his column on AOL. So what if I saw in that first column the talent of someone who could make the multitudes laugh out loud. Oh, alright . . . I'm a tad biased. He's a wonderful humorist, what can I do. With that said, let's move along.

While Doucette writes of his lively parenting experiences he also offers up an entertaining point of view from both his wife and children.

Readers will see how his children Becky and Tim react to his oft times feeble attempts at humoring them and himself through both home and vacation traumas. His wife Deb, and here I want to say "poor wife" but I feel she enjoys watching him work at Daddy-hood more than she lets on, is a true delight. One which I'm sure a great majority of mothers will relate.

I can highly recommend this work to anyone with or without children, and will recommend this to those who think going to DisneyWorld will be a drop in the bucket. The bucket gets heavy. Read this book or take it with you as an instruction manual. That or stock up on Motrin before you leave town.

Here's to being a fly on the wall for the Doucettes' next vacation. I promise to close my eyes at the appropriate times,

Barbara

Truly enjoyed the book. The episodes ring true and present much of the really "human" side of child rearing, especially to parents with young school age children. The humor helps break the humdrum of daily life. I enjoyed laughing with the author at his experiences and also found myself chuckling at my own! A great idea for a gift!

This book is just plain funny! I really like it and would recommend it to all parents -- the "amateurs" who are struggling now and the "pro's" who like to remember the good ol' days when our kids were young and we had a lot to laugh about. I only wish we had had a hamster!

A truly enjoyable book chronicaling the life and times of a family. I found this book to be funny and thoroughly entertaining! I sincerely recommend it to one and all

Absolutely hilarious. Every chapter has laugh-out-loud laughs. I suspect it's even funnier to people with kids (I don't have any).

Between laughs, there's a lot of insight into how kids think and how parents cope.

This is a very entertaining book. Doucette covers many aspects of family life, from birthdays to vacations. Along the way readers are treated to holiday stories, playground musings, and a humorous look at the day-to-day activities of the family. I highly recommend this book for anyone, with or without kids.

A perfect read for the times when you are so exhausted and exasperated you just don't know how you will EVER survive parenthood. Also good for sitting in front of the fire and relaxing with a laugh-out-loud book. Whether he is mopping up the aquarium water or rescuing the princess, the author keeps you smiling. And wondering what the kids will be up to next!

I started to read this book and at first found it somewhat amusing. The author started working my last nerve after the third chapter. His sense of humor was annoyingly monotonous. If this is a true account of his life I feel bad for his wife AND his kids.