Monday 4 June 2012

Stuff Every Dad should know - Review

When I was offered to review a couple of books aimed at new fathers, I called on the bloke aka Daddy Adventure to help me out.  Here are his reviews:

Fortunately this is not a test.  This is a book review on 2 little books we were sent called 'The Art Of Roughhousing' and 'Stuff Every Dad Should Know'.  The first book is great and the second is not to my taste.
The Art Of Roughhousing

I love everything about this book.  From its pleasantly curved edges, to its nicely illustrated diagrams.   The book starts with a bit of a warning on how to rough-house safely.  Common sense unfortunately needs to be reiterated.  Then it goes on to describe in some details about what rough-housing is (it's play) and why its so important.  I liked reading this part as this is something that Dylan and I do for large parts of our time together.  I recall the midwife that visited us a few days after Dylan being born mentioning that I am very comfortable holding my baby and moving him around with enough vigour that it is in contrast to most new parents who treat their babies as if they were as delicate as a spider web.  And ever since Dylan has been flown high and low around the living room.  Being flung in to the sky and not coming back down to earth for several minutes is one of Dylan's favourite things.
the art of roughhousing, daddy book,


The second half of the book gives you great examples of things you can with your children.  Many of these things remind me of my own childhood, with things such as sliding down the stairs on a mattress and pillow fighting.  The book is very creative and would help to give a dad who isn't much of a rough-houser a great few hints and tips to get more involved in the boisterous side of parenthood.  And for those dads more akin to playful brutality, it does a great job of reassuring you that your style of play is welcome, and will give you plenty more ideas so that rough-housing doesn't become so monotonous.

I personally recommend this book to all dads.  You can buy the book here - http://theartofroughhousing.com/

Stuff Every Dad Should Know

This book is a much broader and general book of handy little hints and tips.  There are some real gems in this book that any dad could benefit from reading.  However I feel the book itself is much more of a token present rather than an essential for any dad.  Its nice to flick through and read one or two pages every now and then, but for the most part, the book is too general to really be of interest.  A lot of the content is very mundane and takes away from the readability of the book.  Its a shame that it is bolstered out with notes on how to build a sand castle, and how to tell  5 (terrible) jokes.  It's a shame because there are some really good tips in there such as how to deal with a pet dying.
stuff every dad should know, daddy book, brett cohen


Overall I am not terribly pleased to own this book.  Its design is very small and made to look like its a bible.  If the book is to be informative then the book is so general and full of such mundane notions that it becomes a little offensive, in that it is how to be a dad for someone that literally knows nothing.  If it is to be taken a little less seriously then the book lacks creativity and wit.  

you can buy this book from Amazon I personally did not find this book particularly useful or interesting to read, but it is more fitting as a token present.

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