Customer Reviews

Teen Dads: Rights, Responsibilities and Joys

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This book is part of a series by Jeanne Warren Lindsay. The other books in the series are: "Your Pregnancy and Newborn Journey: A Guide for Pregnant Teens"; "Nurturing Your Newborn: Young Parents' Guide to Baby's First Month"; "Your Baby's First Year: A Guide for Teenage Parents"; "The Challenge of Toddlers: Parenting Your Child from One to Three"; and "Discipline from Birth to Three: How Teen Parents Can Prevent and Deal with Discipline Problems with Babies and Toddlers".

Lindsay has worked with teens for many years, and writes out of her experiences using simple language and short sentences for a book that is approachable even by those without great reading skills. This book contains quotes from more than 52 teen-aged fathers, who share their thoughts and feelings on the topics covered.

Information presented covers the areas of: establishing paternity; having a relationship with your child even if the mom and dad aren't together anymore; how the mom feels during pregnancy; schooling options; adoption rights; the mom's health during pregnancy; the baby's development in the womb; the labor and delivery of the baby; caring for the needs of a newborn infant including feeding holding, and diapering; taking care of a baby that can crawl; nutrition for babies and toddlers; health and safety issues for babies; the development and behaviors of one-year-olds and two-year-olds; disciplining your child; gang involvement; living arrangements; marriage; planning another baby; and planning for the future.

There is an annotated bibliography of further resources, and an index of the covered topics for quick reference.

This book provides a gentle, broad introduction for teen dads but is missing one major component: religion. Many (not all, but many) teen parents will want to participate in the religious ceremonies surrounding the birth of a child. Lindsay does not mention religion in any way. Thus she leaves out a major talking point and planning point that many teens do care about. She also fails to remind teens that they might want to consult with their religious leader when talking about contraceptives in their sexual relationship. She also does teens a disservice by claiming that condoms will prevent AIDS...there are several studies showing that this is a dangerous assumption.

Great book written for the teenage dad that covers all aspects of pregnancy from the question "Is she pregnant?" and establishing paternity, to the early developmental stages of childhood and childhood safety. I highly recommend this book for high school libraries.