The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year [Paperback]

Armin A. Brott (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1997

How can you become an effective, involved father when you see your baby for only half an hour after work every day? What is the best way to start saving for your child's college education? The answers to these questions and hundreds more are found on the pages of this easy-to-follow, information-packed volume. Author Armin Brott devotes a chapter to each month of the first year. In each chapter he charts the physical, intellectual, verbal, and emotional changes the child is going through, and examines the emotional and psychological developments the father may be experiencing. A section called "You and Your Child" discusses activities and issues appropriate to the given age. Topics include understanding the baby's reflexes (first month), teaching music (tenth month), and discipline techniques (twelfth month). General parenting issues are treated in a section called "Family Matters", which deals with such subjects as coping with crying, finding quality child care, and understanding changes in the relationship with one's partner.

Incorporating the author's and other father's personal experiences, as well as the advice of top researchers in the field, and illustrated throughout with delightful cartoons that underscore the universality of the joys and woes of parenting, The New Father is an essential sourcebook for every dad. It's sure to give every mom more than a few fresh insights as well.h

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Brott writes honestly and earnestly. His wry sense of humor will be a relief to hassled parents." - Time

From the Inside Flap

How can you become an effective, involved father when you see your baby only briefly after work? What is the best way to start saving for your child's college education? The answers to these questions and hundreds more are found on the pages of this easy-to-follow, information-packed volume. Author Armin Brott devotes a chapter to each moth of the first year. In each chapter he charts the physical, intellectual, verbal, and emotional changes the child is going through, and examines the emotional and psychological development the father may experience. He also covers such general parenting issues as coping with crying, finding quality child care, and understanding changes in the relationship with one's partner.

This new edition features the latest research on many topics, from what's going on at the hospital right after childbirth to what a dad can do when his partner is having trouble breastfeeding, to advice for dads in the military and others who are separated from their kids. More information on preemies, twins, and triplets has been added, along with advice for divorced and renewed dads. The resources section and bibliography are considerably expanded.

Illustrated throughout with New Yorker-style cartoons that underscore the joys and woes of parenting, The New Father is an essential sourcebook for every dad. It is sure to give moms fresh insights as well. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Abbeville Press; 1 edition (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0789202751
• ISBN-13: 978-0789202758
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Armin A. Brott, author of The Expectant Father, Fathering Your Toddler, Fathering Your School-Age Child, The Single Father, and Father for Life: A Journey of Joy, Challenge, and Change, as well as the audiobook of The Expectant Father, has written on fatherhood for such leading publications as The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, and Parenting. Host of 'Positive Parenting,' a weekly talk show, he lives with his family in Oakland, California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-written, concise, and entertaining., July 4, 2000

By 

H. Johnson "Hal Johnson" (Bella Vista, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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

Truth be told, when my sister-in-law gave me this book during the week prior to the birth of our son, my thought was, "Well, that's nice, but heck, I've already read the books my wife bought." Yet, I soon changed my mind after starting the book. Mind you, there are scores of excellent parenting books out there, but this is one of the few that relate the experience of becoming a new dad from a man's perspective. That's been of more value to me than I would have thought: Let's face it, we men tend to get self-conscious when we try to talk to each other about issues of the heart, and the result can be that a man too often feels isolated upon becoming a new parent. Armin Brott comes across in a sensitive, sincere manner, without crossing the line into an Alan Alda-ish "Gee I'm sorry I'm a man" tone. He covers the practical considerations of having a new baby in the house, but just as importantly, he discusses the emotional issues that arise with the birth of a child, such as the importance of recognizing the changes in the relationship between a man and his partner that seem to catch too many folks by surprise. "The New Father" is a great resource for new dads; it beats the heck out of drinking beer with your buddies and complaining about how bad baby poop smells.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a must have for dads, December 6, 1999

By 

Brian Charles (New Hampshire, USA) - See all my reviews

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

I have really appreciated this book over the past 18 months, as my wife and I anticipated the birth of our child, and as he grew into a happy, bubbly one year old.

I've passed on copies to other fathers and will continue to share this wisdom with others.

There have been plenty of times I've reread chapters in anticipation of what was to come, dreaming of the time I would again be able to sleep through the night, hear my son call me "da", dance for the first time.

All of these events have occurred and are treasured in my heart.

This book helped keep me comfortable and informed through times of great change, great responsibility and overwhelming circumstances.

Moved by the sensitivity and good humor in the pages of this book, I respond by saying buy this book

A mans perspective in a field overflowing with women's experience based books is rare indeed.

Read the book and be reminded that there are other men in the world who take the time to consider their actions, take responsibility when appropriate and believe that having a child is the greatest growth experience a person can have, but only when they remain involved and loving.

Buy it for yourself, buy it for a friend.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not for Men Only, October 5, 2002

By 

Virginia Lore "rumtussle" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year (Hardcover)

The New Father is a summary of information about parenthood during the first year of the baby's life. Unlike many books not geared specifically to men, it presents information in a concise, direct way without a great deal of context. For this reason it is much less annoying than a great number of other pregnancy/parenthood books.

I bought this book for my partner, but ended up using it a lot myself. Organized by month, the book presents a lot of information that some of my other books didn't. In the fourth month Armin A. Brott discusses temperament, presenting a table of nine temperamental traits that babies are born with and the indicators of those traits. The balance between work and family is given a lot more page space than in other books, and money issues as a possible stressor is discussed as well.

Brott could have expanded some of his topics. I'd like the book to have been longer and more complete. Some topics are barely introduced and then dropped before they are fully addressed. But like parents, no parenting book is perfect. I recommend this book for new parents of all genders.