(** Article first published as Book Review: How To Be A Great Dad: It's In Your Hands by Carmen Elefante on Blogcritics.)
Although I am a mum of 2 kids and kinda concerned with the title of this book (How to be a great dad), I told myself maybe I should read this and then give some pointers to my hubby hehehe... so here goes my humble read of this book:
Title: How To Be A Great Dad: It's In Your Hands
Author: Carmen Elefante
Publisher: Carmen Sense Inc.; 1st edition (2012)
ISBN-13/-10: 978-0987984104 / 0987984101
Paperback: 128 pages
Description from the product page:
"It's much easier to become a father than to be one. How to Be A Great Dad is a revolutionary new book on fatherhood and what it means to be a loving and giving parent. With this fascinating collection of stories, suggestions, and gentle tips on active parenting, author and inspirational speaker Carmen Elefante has created a blueprint that will help fathers realize how important it is to be truly present in their children's lives. How To Be A Great Dad is a call to action and a book for fathers of all ages. It's never too late to work on being a great dad, and children are never too old to have a better father."
You know what caught my interest to review this book? It's the sentence "Do good and forget about it." at the end of Carmen's email to me. Btw, Carmen is the author of this book. I got his email in the middle of September this year and was about to be caught up really really busy with reviewing the Nissan LEAF (fully electric car) for 6 weeks and replied to him that if he doesn't mind waiting for 1-8 weeks for my review, I'd be happy to read his book.
Now back to his "Do good and forget about it." statement. Yeah, it totally reminded me of what my dad would be like. Just do something, don't questions so much, don't be calculative, just do it and make sure you finish it. No half-ar$e job. Do it and be done with it.
Back to the book. This book is not thick at all, about 128 pages in total with hardcover and glossy papers which I like. It is about 6 inch by 8 inch in dimension. There are a total of 9 chapters in this book, touching from stepping up to fatherhood, what to do to earn respect and trust and building everlasting memories with your family and children, the importance of commitment and being involve in your family and childrens' lives and activities you can do with your kids.
I like the way this book is written, there are inspiring quotes with accompanying pictures in each chapter, tips and advice to other men and hey, even a couple of recipes which you can try out with your kids!
Look at the picture below taken from one of the pages in the book which I totally love! I even highlighted the important points for you to read!
I've mentioned to my hubby before that he must not scold or reprimand my actions right in front of our kids no matter how wrong I was or how silly a decision I made or not made. Yes, I understood my actions and its consequences and no matter what, he should never ever react in front of our kids. No matter what heat of the moment or his flare of anger might caused him to behave that way, it is never a right thing to do in front of our kids. I do hope he takes note of this.
In summary, this is really an awesome book that you should have. Whether you plan to buy it for your hubby, a male relative or family member or friend, just get it. Heck, even if they are not male, just get one. Totally recommended it!
You can get this book from Amazon.
I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine. And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"
