Stay-At-Home Dads: The Essential Guide to Creating the New Family [Paperback]

Libby Gill (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 2001

Over two and a half million men in the U.S. are full-time stay-at- home dads, and it's a number on the rise. In this groundbreaking book, media executive and working mother Libby Gill provides a step-by-step blueprint for transitioning into a stay-at-home-dad family. She takes readers into the homes of families who have successfully created this child-centered lifestyle, to show how they, too, could benefit from such a change. Stay-at-Home Dads reveals how to:

* Create a business plan-from budget and mission statement to job description and performance evaluation
* Make the most out of one income
* Overcome gender stereotypes
* Maintain a healthy work-family balance
* Return to the workforce when (and if) the time is right

Whether you are a couple already struggling with the challenges of a two-career existence, or just starting a family, this indispensable handbook is for you. Complete with a comprehensive resource guide and invaluable tips from the trenches, Stay-at-Home Dads will significantly enhance the quality of life for millions of stressed-out couples across the country.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

More and more couples, former broadcast media executive Gill reports, are making a decision that is changing child-raising patterns in America. While women are opting to be bread winners, men are tending the home fires and the children. Once earners, these stay-at-home-dads (SAHDs) need help making the transition. Although this guide might help men decide to become SAHDs, it's too uneven to use as a comprehensive planner; the treatment of topics (stereotypes, career planning, etc.) tends to be cursory. Gill also dilutes her work by excluding research references, as when she points to "hard scientific data on daycare" without providing any figures or citations. While a chapter on maintaining sexual sparks is constructive, it's not enough to compensate for other lackluster material, such as the chapter on money and budgeting. At a mere 16 pages, this chapter includes dealing with emotions concerning money and cheesy tips on stretching a buck, effectively reducing the chapter to six pages. Most men will get more out of a generic parenting book. Not recommended. Douglas C. Lord, Connecticut State Lib., Hartford
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Libby Gill is a veteran of development, production, and corporate communications for Studios USA, Universal Television, Sony Pictures Entertainment Television Group, and Turner Broadcasting West Coast. During much of that time, her husband has been a stay-at-home dad to their two young sons.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Plume (August 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452282748
• ISBN-13: 978-0452282742
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #756,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

An entertainment industry veteran, Libby Gill spent fifteen years heading public relations and corporate communications at Universal Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Turner Broadcasting. She was also the branding brain behind the launch of the Dr. Phil Show.

Libby is now an internationally respected executive coach, brand strategist, speaker and bestselling author. She has shared her success strategies on the Today Show, The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch, CNN, NPR, Oprah & Friends Radio Network, Fox News, CBS Early Show, and in Time Magazine, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, O Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Self and many more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bullseye, November 26, 2001

By 

William R. Laut (Fairfield, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stay-At-Home Dads: The Essential Guide to Creating the New Family (Paperback)

I found this to be a wonderful book for both stay at home dads and also their wives. I have been staying home with my three children for five years now while my wife has been pursuing her career. As I read this book I found myself marking pages for my wife to read. Libby Gill was able to identify and clarify so many of the unique issues my wife and I have lived. It gave us both a better understanding of each other, and as a result our communication and support for each other has improved ten fold. There are so many unspoken challenges any family with a stay at home parent will experience. This book looks at these challenges and presents effective ways to look at them, and deal with them. I believe that whether you are a man or a woman, if you are at home with the kids now or simply thinking about your choices, you should read this book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful & Inspiring Look Into the At-Home Dad Lifestyle, August 28, 2001

By 

Hogan Hilling (Irvine, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stay-At-Home Dads: The Essential Guide to Creating the New Family (Paperback)

Libby Gill did a superb job writing a book on a parenting topic that has been misunderstood for quite some time -Stay-At-Home Dads. In her book "Stay-At-Home Dads: The Essential Guide To Creating The New Family," Gill provides an honest and in-depth look at the stay-at-home dad lifestyle. She presents the practical reasons behind the choice these dads and their spouses made, the issues and daily challenges they faced together, how they resolved them, and how they managed to make the stay-at-home dad lifestyle work for their families. What is most impressive about Gill's book is that she does not impose a self-prescribed one-size-fits-all philosophy to parenting. That's because much of the information Gill provides comes from the interviews she conducted with the stay-at-home dads and their spouses. She eloquently addresses both sides of the coin in a well-balanced format. One that presents a TEAM (Together Everybody Achieves More) approach in which parenting is viewed and treated as an equal partnership. Gill's book, however, is about more than just the stay-at-home dad lifestyle. It is about the love, commitment, and passion that drives these parents to put the needs of their children first. In today`s world "putting children first" is easier said than done. But Gill, along with the parents, in this book, demonstrate how any parenting couple can make the stay-at-home lifestyle a successful and rewarding endeavor. Gills book is not just a book for parents who want to consider the stay-at-home dad lifestyle to read. It is a book every parent should read. How invigorating it was to finally read a book that offers an insight into parenting that any parent can relate to and benefit from. Hogan Hilling, Proud Stay-at-home dad

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Right on Target, October 25, 2001

By 

Rod Patterson (Atlanta, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stay-At-Home Dads: The Essential Guide to Creating the New Family (Paperback)

I have read Libby Gill's guide for Stay_At-Home-Dads, and I think she hits the nail right on the head. I am a stay at home dad, and in addition to taking care of two very active toddlers, my wife and I are renovating a seventy-seven year old farmhouse in Atlanta. I think Libby Gill's case studies are very sensible and her whole approach to a somewhat sensitive issue is genuine and humane. I loved the book.--Rod