Customer Reviews

In The Beginning...There Were No Diapers: Laughing and Learning In The First Years Of Fatherhood

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This book is funny; I mean REALLY funny. Tim Bete is the Dave Barry for parents of young kids, so if you like to laugh, then you'll love reading this one.

In fact, my family could tell whenever I was reading it because they'd hear my annoying, "HA! HA! HA!" from every room of the house. I couldn't put it down because it felt so good to laugh. I've decided it's a much easier route to six-pack abs than sit-ups. Just read this book and you'll get a major abdominal workout!

IN THE BEGINNING...THERE WERE NO DIAPERS is divided into 19 short chapters that each focus on one area of parenting young children. With titles such as, "The Miraculous World of Potty Training," "Five Loaves, Two Fish -- What, No Tarter Sauce?" and "Daddy's NOT going to Buy You a Mockingbird," you can get an idea of how funny Bete is.

Laughter is important for stressed-out parents. We may feel like we're the only one dealing with certain behavior issues -- single parents, especially, may have no one who can share the burden. But a book like this one helps fill in the gaps.

This would make a great gift for any Dad - but I know moms will love it too. Bete lets you peek into his house and show you how he turns those moments of "Uh-oh" (the tooth fairy forgot to visit...) into moments of "Ah-ha! Close your eyes and she'll leave you a surprise" (It may even be money...or other unknown contents from a rapidly emptied pocket!)

I can't tell you how hard I laughed when Tim described what it's like to change a baby's diaper in an airplane bathroom. Yes, I've done it! Most parents can relate to the strange places you're forced to do such a chore.

And how insane we feel when we have to read the same book over and over (AND OVER) again. "I tried sliding it under a chair cushion," he writes about his son wanting to hear The Lion King every time his wife had a prenatal visit. "But no matter where I hid it, it always appeared at the top of the book pile at our next visit." To this day, "Hakuna Matata" sends shivers up his spine "as if I heard the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard."

If you're a group leader for any kind of parent organization, this book would be great to have for a break-the-ice reading or gift for new members. You'll unite every listener who has been there, done that...or is in the midst of being there, doing that.

Although each chapter focuses on a modern parenting miracle, the biggest miracle of all will be how you can put this book down!

--Reviewed by Heather Lynn Ivester for Mind & Media

I am the owner of Http://www.ArmyWifeTalkRadio.com. I found Mr. Bete through my parenting expert Jodie Lynn. His publisher sent me this book, though after reading it I have purchased five more copies for my family and friends. My husband is away in Iraq, for OIF III. I will be sending him a copy too. I don't get much time for myself so doing research on having someone on the show is sometimes tedious. This research however, was not. I laughed out loud! I had to call my mom and share some of his writing. I am looking forward to tonight when I get to pick up and read from Chapter 5! I can't thank you enough Tim! I needed that laugh, and so do my listeners. I cannot WAIT to have you on the show!

Tim Bete brings humor and insight to the job of fatherhood, capturing the many miracles of parenthood in this wonderful first book. His weekly column already charms people from coast to coast. "In the Beginning..." will be the first of many successful efforts for this up-and-coming humorist. I've only read one chapter and can't wait to read the rest. This book will be a "must get" for couple's showers, Father's Day, or any occasion when a gift is needed for a dad of any age. Witty and wry, Tim's style will keep dads -- and moms -- laughing for long time.

Bete, a husband, father of three, and author of popular humor columns on parenting, takes on a variety of topics from his own life including It's a Miracle My Wife and I Are Sane, and Daddy's NOT Going to Buy You a Mockingbird, which addresses consumerism. In that chapter he refers to the common advice about limiting TV time and placing the set in a public area of the house. Bete suggests the exact opposite: allowing unlimited private watching with the station unalterably tuned to the weather channel and the set in a closet. "Wait until your kids go in," he writes, "slam the door shut, and lock it."

Anyone who isn't sure what's funny about that, and there are those parents, might want to turn first to the final chapter, "A Miracle Filled Future," in which Bete imagines having a casual conversation with his little girl when she is 16. It's filled with memories, some of which make up earlier chapters, and sprinkled with a Dad's reflections on God, such as, "God could do anything better and quicker without us. But he wants to do things with us," and "Someday you'll be a mother and you'll discover that God created parenthood so we could get a glimpse of what his job is like."

I generally cringe whenever I come across a new book offering guidance to dads, because they are almost inevitably SUPPOSED to be funny but AREN'T funny. It only took about ten minutes of reading Tim Bete's great collection of essays to realize that it was that rare thing: a dads' book that really is laugh-out-loud funny. I enjoyed every one of the 19 essays; every dad will find common ground with Tim's experiences, from childbirth to family outings to (my personal favorite chapter) how to handle being on call for your kids during the night. Highly recommended reading.

For the men in your life...IN THE BEGINNING is the perfect Dad Manual, with testerone-based POV on the tragedies and triumphs of parenting, with humor -- and inspiration, too.

Tim Bete is a multi-talented wonder (and I'm a big fan): Tim is a renowned humor columnist and the Director of The Erma Bombeck Writer's Workshop at the University of Dayton (Ohio). He publishes a monthly newsletter for humor writers, moderates a lively online writer's group, and coordinates the bi-annual Erma Bombeck Writer's Conference in Dayton, Ohio. There are many lessons and examples in this book, not limited to fatherhood.

-- Sherri Caldwell, Humor Columnist & Reviewer,
Co-Author, The Rebel Housewife Rules: To Heck With Domestic Bliss!

In The Beginning ... There Were No Diapers was written by author Tim Bete. It chronicles the first years of fatherhood with humor and an eye for the smaller miracles of life that we all take for granted. To say that Tim Bete is creative and funny is a true understatement. The man is beyond talented and his writing will literally make you laugh out loud.

There were quite a few times that a passage got me so tickled that my husband took the book away from me just to read what was so funny. You really have to be a parent to understand where Tim is coming from. His muse is obviously life, especially the life he cares for. Anyone who has children knows how funny they can be. Tim has a unique way of taking those funny things and combining them with scripture to create totally hilarious moments.

"If you imagine yourself on the hillside when Jesus multiplied the five loaves and two fish to feed more than 5,000, I think you'll see my point. There must have been a thousand children present. By my calculation, immediately after the miracle, 400 kids would have said they "didn't like fish." Three hundred and fifty children would have complained that their "bread was touching their fish," and therefore they couldn't eat it. One hundred and fifty kids would have whined that the fish was "inedible without tartar sauce." Seventy-five would have asked for "fish sticks instead of the whole fish." Finally, twenty-five children must have dropped their fish on the ground and cried because it was dirty, even though they never would have eaten it in the first place."

This book is definitely worthy of your attention. It will not only make you laugh but it will lift your spirits as well. Tim Bete will help you take those funny moments and not-so-funny moments and put them in a new perspective. I definitely believe you will enjoy the fruits of his wife's labor and his talent.

You may also be interested in his website. Check it out. The laughter doesn't begin or end with his book. There is plenty more to be had. (...)

The Birth to Five Book: Confident Childrearing Right from the Start


Tim Bete's "In The Beginning..." is heavy on humor and light on lessons. This dad writes with the comic genius of Erma Bombeck and weaves in a slight lesson about parenting. Anyone who has kids can relate and understand. I think it'd be the perfect gift for a new dad or an entertaining Father's Day gift.

Tim Bete has managed to combine a light and refreshing perception of parenting with the daunting task of child rearing. How he could envision his brood's reaction to Jesus' multiplying the fish(es) is one of the many chucklers in his first book.
He's made a believer out of me, and I'll seek out his parenting column from now on.

For years now, I've been a huge fan of Tim Bete's writing through the format of his weekly column and now I'm thrilled to own my personal copy of Tim's new book! Tim has a sense of humor I can enjoy as a parent, and also share with my growing sons. Nothing gets past this guy...the details of day to day life are examined from a perspective of fun, enjoyment and sometimes downright silliness, which is as it should be!

Tim's brand of humor is infectious - pick up his book and you'll find your mood improved and your perspective on parenthood and family life refreshed! This is a great gift book, but purchase it for yourself as well and you'll see what I mean. I know Tim Bete will have many more books to come, so be sure to start your collection with this classic.

Great work Tim, and thanks for the smiles!