It’s a steep learning curve becoming a Dad for the first time. Every new Dad could do with some helpful books on all things fatherhood, even Snoop Doggy Dogg! Though this article is aimed at dads, these books would make great gifts for mums too.
Here are some of the books I have found very useful in the build up to becoming a dad, and my first year of parenthood. They are also great ideas as Christmas gifts for fathers. Hopefully you will find these suggestions helpful – amongst these you may find the best book on becoming a father.
The Blokes Guide to Pregnancy – though this book is a little, well, blokey – personally I’m not even a fan of football, it’s still a fun read. The author swings between serious and irreverent quite seamlessly (you can imagine his wife peering over his shoulder as he writes from time to time) but overall it’s a light-hearted read and a gentle introduction to what should be the beginning of the most exciting time of your life. Ideal gift for fathers to be who are still getting use to the idea of becoming Dad!
Your Pregnancy Week by Week
The New Father: A Dad’s Guide to the First Year – this book is great because it is organised into chapters for each month of the first year. Other books try to do this but tend to cram random topics into each chapter to pad it out. Each chapter is a list of development stages your child may have reached (which my wife also enjoyed reading) and topics on various things that might be going on with baby, mother and father. One good example is a section about when Dad’s tend to re-assess their career – which was uncanny in the way it popped up just as it was going through my own career review!
Any large, epic novel – because let’s face it, once the little one arrives you will not be sitting down to read for hours at a stretch! Not to mention the end of those holidays with nothing to do but sit in that sun lounger to read all morning – it’s off to the kids club for you!
