Image: PANGAIAN WILDS by Daniel Mirante. Thanks Daniel!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Books for Urban Vegan Activist Fathers
Any recommendations? I started reading The Expectant Father (thanks Ethan!) and though it may have information pertinent to some guys, for me it seemed steeped it irrational fears, antiquated notions of pregnancy as some form of illness, and slightly manipulative recommendations on how to "deal" with your wife. I know I'm living a rather unique lifestyle but there has to be a fact based book written from the perspective of a sane healthy relationship. And yes, I believe there are such things as sane healthy relationships. We actively work to create one every day. :)
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3 comments:
Hi Gregg! Nate also had the same frustration with "dad books". Unfortunately we don't know of any good books specifically geared toward fatherhood, but the book that Nate enjoyed most during my first pregnancy was "Our Babies, Ourselves: How Biology and Culture Shape the Way we Parent" by Meredith Small. Also, if you have not already, you might want to check out Mothering magazine, they often have good articles written by thoughtful, modern fathers...and there is a Dads forum on Motheringdotcommune (mothering.com/discussions).
Ok, let me just say that when you ask for book recommendations from a fellow librarian (go team radical librarian!), you are just asking for trouble! I didn't stay totally true to the topic, but I can't stand the thought of not recommending the following resources. :D
This is a recommendation for both of you, and not necessarily parenting related, but sort of post-baby related: Confessions of a Naughty Mommy: How I Found My Lost Labido. I know it sounds weird, but really, it very much normalizes the post-baby experience in terms of sexuality, which is a really unspoken about topic in our society. Because some things change, and you might feel like a total alien, the only one going through this, etc. But your not. It's just that no one talks about it. Every mom that I know that's read this loved it and recommends it to others. I reallllly wish I had read it a lot earlier (I read it when Silas was 2). So that one definitely get, it's a quick read.
I know there's a zine out there called Rad Dad, you may want to check that out, too.
In terms of general child development, I highly recommend Becoming the Parent You Want to Be. It is excellent, and very attachment parenting friendly. We checked it out of the library but liked it so much that we are definitely buying it.
We also really love the approach of Unconditional Parenting and Playful Parenting, which are both written by dads. Not vegan urban activist dads, but still really good info.
You really are right, there isn't a ton of great info out there for fathers that isn't patronizing or sexist. I usually get great info when I post a query at the Mothering forums - there's a LOT of great info there on a ton of subjects, and I don't know if you're familiar with Mothering Magazine but it is GREAT. It's very natural birth/attachment parenting/breastfeeding/co-sleeping/vegetarian friendly (though by no means totally vegetarian). The forums tend to draw the same demographic who subscribe to these ideals, so I would definitely mine that resource for some more recommendations!
Hey Gregg - The book I passed along to Angela The "Baby Book" by Dr and Mrs. Sears is good for both parents.
I don't know that there is a book for Fathers specifically, but I have another one for both of you, as well!
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