Because Men Can Always Use More Tools

When I was pregnant with Myles, I didn't do any reading about parenting. I read everything I could find about natural childbirth, but I figured I'd get to the parenting stuff when I had the actual baby.

In the last 4 1/2 months since his birth, I've read The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding and Your Child's First Year cover to cover several times. I've done more internet searches than you can count on everything from infant reflux to making organic baby food and I have several bookmarked sites that I refer to again and again when I'm having trouble getting Myles to eat or sleep.

Want to take a guess how much reading or research Jeff has done? I think it's pretty typical and much more common for men to wing it when it comes to parenting than women, which is why I was really interested in reviewing Toolbox For New Dads, the DVD by Armin Brott, author of several parenting books geared specifically toward men.

Armin's theory is that the earlier men get involved in the parenting process, the more engaged they'll be throughout the baby's life. The DVD, which runs a little over an hour, covers a broad range of topics from basic child care to work-life balance.

According to Jeff, Armin presents the information in an accessible manner. Jeff calls him a "guy's guy who isn't too cheesy, given the subject matter". I found the presentation to be fun and easy to digest in a quick viewing.

Much of the material focuses on the more organic aspect of parenting that Jeff and I have been choosing to use such as prenatal communication, pre-verbal communication/baby signing and baby massage. Armin also touches on some of the realities of parenting that are often overlooked, like the frustation and bad thoughts we all have from time to time and the difficulties of breastfeeding in the beginning.

In general, I felt that this DVD could be helpful for new fathers who, like Jeff, haven't spent much time reading about parenting. Two small criticisms:

1. There is a LOT of material covered in one short DVD. I realize that this was originally meant to be a companion to Armin's books, which cover material for expectant fathers all the way through fathering school age children. It might have been better to break this down into two or more DVDs and spend more time on each topic.
2. Along the same lines, because he's covering so much material, he tends to skip around a lot. I felt it could have been arranged a little more chronologically.

As Jeff pointed out, this is a great tool for new dads who don't have the time or inclination to read a book about parenting because it does hit many of the major issues. All in all, I would recommend this as a jumping off point to exploring other aspects of fatherhood, perhaps in conjunction with one of Armin Brott's books which might cover the material in more depth.

You can see other reviews of Toolbox For New Dads at The Parent Bloggers Network and purchase a copy on the website or at Amazon.