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What makes a good dad?
by Andrew Watson |
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As the author of several parenting books including the popular ‘Teach Yourself: Be A Great Dad’, Andrew can offer insight and advice on the many emotional and practical issues faced by the modern father or dad-to-be.
Birth and breastfeeding aside, there’s no reason why fathers can’t be just as involved and just as capable in caring for their children as mothers. And even during birth and breastfeeding, fathers have a vital and distinct role to play. So whether it’s advice about how to cope in those very early days or how to carve out family time, whether it’s about the unique pressures of being a stay-at-home dad or about coping with sleeplessness or bad behaviour – whatever the problem, I can help dads embrace the opportunity. Not only do they then get to share the fun, but they also give their children the best possible chance of a happy and healthy future.
Parenthood can be tough – while the urge to have children may be instinctive, the skills required thereafter are not! So by offering reassurance and advice and through sharing the techniques that work, I can offer clarity and control, and ensure that – whatever the difficulties – parenthood remains one of the most rewarding and enjoyable roles you’ll ever have.
My particular interest lies in helping dads get actively involved in their children’s lives as early as possible. Whatever the concern – how to bond with the bump or dish out the discipline, how to support mum or achieve the right work/life balance – I’d welcome the chance to talk it through.
As the main carer of our two young children, an author of numerous books and articles, and a regular commentator on fatherhood and parenting issues across the media, I offer the benefit of not just my own personal experience, but that of the hundreds of other parents I’ve worked with. And the chances are that at least one of them will have faced the very same problem that’s got you reading this.
With a raised awareness of the issues and the options, I can provide an informed and, where relevant, a male perspective on the many challenges of modern parenting. And with a GP wife on hand, I can be confident that all advice is offered in accordance with current best medical practice.
My most recent book, 'Teach Yourself: Be A Great Dad', is a practical guide covering the many emotional and practical issues faced by the modern father, while my next, 'Down to Earth With A Bump: The Diary of a First-Time Dad', is an entertaining and brutally honest account of how I found myself holding the baby while my wife returned to work, leaving me a man in what is still – unfortunately – considered a woman’s world.
Recent articles, appearances and contributions have varied from ITV's Daybreak and Channel 5's The Vanessa Show to the Daily Mail and BBC Radio, from Practical Parenting magazine to CityAM and The Times. I’m also a parenting spokesman for LEGO and a regular contributor to Hammersmith’s 101.4 OnFM.
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What makes a good dad?
By Andrew Watson
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