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Parenting: Fatherhood

A research topic guide covering aspects of parenting, including discipline, development, single parenthood, sex education, technology, and adoption.

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Research & Reference

Fatherhood

New research points to the role that a father plays in his child’s IQ development, social adaptation, and even the stability of that child’s eventual marriage. This video offers a fascinating look at today’s father, and what he can and does mean to his kids. (22 minutes)

Source: Films on Demand

Perspectives

The Connected Father

Parenting Expert Carl Pickhardt Shows How the Bonds Between Fathers and Teens Can Be Strengthened Many fathers feel unprepared for their child's adolescence, in their denial, often times preferring to believe that it will only happen to other people's children. In this sensitive and forthright book, Carl Pickhardt stresses that fathers need to become informed about changes and challenges that normally unfold. Helping caring fathers navigate the four crucial and often perplexing stages of adolescence,The Connected Father describes: * how fathers can learn to be better listeners * why they have trouble communicating and what to do about it * different emotional changes between mid- and late-adolescence * how to encourage independence while setting limits * how fathers can talk to teens about drugs, sex, the internet, relationships, and more

Finding Time for Fatherhood

According to therapist and father Bruce Linton, men are just beginning to recognize what an important part of their identity fatherhood is. In 21 concise chapters, he lays out the challenges involved in being a father and helps fathers balance their various needs and demands -- personal, family, work-related, and financial. Questions for further reflection and discussion follow each chapter, and quotations relating to fatherhood from many eras and cultures are interspersed throughout the book.

All In

Winner of the Nautilus Gold Award for "exceptional literary contributions." Previous winners include the Dalai Lama and Deepak Chopra. To advance businesses, societies, and families, it's time to treat dads as equal caregivers to their children.  Time for all of us, men and women, to correct our understandings of men. All In shatters myths about fathers. It shows that women can't get equal opportunities in the workplace if men can't get equal opportunities at home. It is being called a "rallying cry," the "anthem" of our time, igniting a revolution for gender equality. "Fantastic" - New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow "A must-read" - Washington Post's Brigid Schulte "Fascinating" - Chicago Tribune "One of the top books of the year" - NewsOne "Groundbreaking... Should be mandatory reading for every CEO" - Debra Isaacs Schafer, CEO of Education Navigation   See endorsements from Maria Shriver, Bob Saget, top officials at Change.org and Twitter, and more on the book jacket and at joshlevs.com. Josh Levs spent 20 years reporting for NPR and CNN, where he became a lead on-air fact checker. He then turned his attention to modern parenthood, stunning viewers with frank discussions among men. Then, Levs was denied fair parental leave to care for his preemie daughter and sick wife. He responded with legal action against CNN/Time Warner and a public campaign that landed him on the front page of the New York Times. His effort drew support from all sectors across the United States and worldwide. The company ultimately revolutionized its policy for the better -- and other numerous other corporations have followed suit. Topics covered in All In include: Why paternity leave is a crucial women's rights issue Why paid family leave is a baby's human right How Mad Men thinking still plagues businesses How men and women can work together to update our work structures The solutions that lift profits and expand the economy The toll this problem is taking on men's and women's mental and physical health The truth about parents and sex And much more.  

Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters

A critical read for all dads seeking to connect with their daughters and raise confident young women in today's increasingly complicated world. It's often difficult for parents to connect with their daughters-and especially so for fathers. In this unique and invaluable guide, Dr. Meg Meeker, a pediatrician with more than twenty years' experience counseling girls, reveals that a young woman's relationship with her father is far more important than we've ever realized. To become a strong, confident woman, a daughter needs her father's attention, protection, courage, and wisdom. Dr. Meeker shares the ten secrets every father needs to know in order to strengthen or rebuild bonds with his daughter and shape her life-and his own-for the better. Inside you'll discover: * the essential virtues of strong fathers-and how to develop them * the cues daughters take from their dads on everything from self-respect to drugs, alcohol, and sex * the truth about ground rules (girls do want them, despite their protests) * the importance of becoming a hero to your daughter * the biggest mistake a dad can make-and the ramifications * the fact that girls actually depend on their dads' guidance into adulthood * steps fathers can follow to help daughters avoid disastrous decisions and mistakes * ways in which a father's faith-or lack thereof-will influence his daughter * essential communication strategies for different stages of a girl's life * true stories of "prodigal daughters"-and how their fathers helped to bring them back Dads, you are far more powerful than you think-and if you follow Dr. Meeker' s advice, the rewards will be unmatched. "Reassuring and challenging . . . a helpful road map for concerned fathers [that] tackles difficult issues." -National Review "A touching, illuminating book that will prove valuable to all of us who are fortunate enough to have been blessed with daughters." -Michael Medved, nationally syndicated radio talk-show host, author of Right Turns "Dr. Meeker's conclusions are timely, relevant, and often deeply moving. No one interested in what girls experience growing up in our culture today-and the impact that parents, especially fathers, have on the experience-can afford to miss reading this book." -Armand M. Nicholi, Jr., M.D., professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Daddy Dates

One day motivational leader Greg Wright realized that the four set of pretty young eyes under his own roof were looking to Dad to be strong, fearless, and wise. The reality was, the lone male in an all-girl household ("heck, even the dog was female") was only thirty years old and felt like he had been shoved into the deep end of the estrogen pool without swimming lessons. That's when the love-struck father of four gorgeous pre-teens started searching for a plan for how to be a successful Dad, and did what any sensible guy would do. He bailed. Not only on his family, but into the woods, to seek a "solution." Daddy Dates is an entertaining and practical look at how one American father found his sea legs and is navigating through the tricky waters of parenting girls. In this game-changing book, Greg shares his easy-to-follow secrets for how married and single dads can go beyond high-fiving to bridge the gender gap and become the clued-in man who knows his daughter best. Dads have more influence on their girls than anyone.  Learn what makes your daughter tick, how to talk to her effectively and connect more profoundly, at any age. If being their hero is your mission, it's not impossible. Daddy Dates is your road map to get there. "Hi honey.  It's Daddy. I'm calling to see if you'd like to go on a date with me tonight."   "Um, yes, Daddy I think I would." It's a phone call Greg Wright has made over and over again. By age thirty, Greg was the overwhelmed father of four beautiful little girls, with one thought running through his mind over and over again: Don't Screw Up. Daddy Dates is about a guy taking his best shot at being a successful dad by trying to know his girls'really know their fears, dreams, and opinions'and how he stumbled across an incredible strategy to do that with daughters of any age or stage.  This funny, insightful, and relatable book poses the wildly original concept that should be a "duh" for most dads'but isn't.  In order to raise a confident woman-to-be, show your daughter what it feels like to be treated with love, respect, and true interest by a man who loves her. Daddy Dates is not another "how to" book from a parenting expert.  It's a personal, eye-opening, often humorous look at an Average Joe's intentional pursuit of his daughter's hearts and minds, and the love-inspired steps he is taking to solidify Dad's place in each of their lives, forever. Whether married or single, Daddy Dates can help you better connect with virtually all of the females in your life. Using Greg's communication cues, you'll be blown away by what you'll learn about your child, and how you can make a powerful, lasting difference'especially during her rocky teenage years. Daddy Dates is about one thing'becoming her hero'one date at a time. Endorsements: -Matt Crossman, Senior Writer for SPORTING NEWS magazine (and father of 2 daughters)  

Project Fatherhood

A group of former gang members come together to help one another answer the question "How can I be a good father when I've never had one?" In 2010, former gang leader turned community activist Big Mike Cummings asked UCLA gang expert Jorja Leap to co-lead a group of men struggling to be better fathers in Watts, South Los Angeles, a neighborhood long burdened with a legacy of racialized poverty, violence, and incarceration. These men, black and brown, from late adolescence to middle age, are trying to heal themselves and their community, and above all to build their identities as fathers. Each week, they come together to help one another answer the question "How can I be a good father when I've never had one?" Project Fatherhood follows the lives of the men as they struggle with the pain of their own losses, the chronic pressures of poverty and unemployment, and the unquenchable desire to do better and provide more for the next generation. Although the group begins as a forum for them to discuss issues relating to their roles as parents, it slowly grows to mean much more- it becomes a place where they can share jokes and traumatic experiences, joys and sorrows. As the men repair their own lives and gain confidence, the group also becomes a place for them to plan and carry out activities to help the Watts community grow as well as thrive. By immersing herself in the lived experiences of those working to overcome their circumstances, Leap not only dramatically illustrates the realities of fathers trying to do the right thing, but she also paints a larger sociological portrait of how institutional injustices become manifest in the lives of ordinary people. At a time in which racial justice seems more elusive than ever-stymied by the generational cycles of mass incarceration and the cradle-to-prison pipeline-the group's development over time demonstrates real-life movement toward solutions as the men help one another make their families and their community stronger.