Review of The First Time Father
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Maliha Naveed
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Review of The First Time Father
[Following is a volunteer review of "The First Time Father" by Thomas Alfie.]
The First-Time Father by Alfie Thomas is an account of a man’s journey to become a father. In this beneficial book, the writer primarily addresses all the men, specifically the new fathers or fathers-to-be. He chronicles his growth from a happy-go-lucky young man to a caring and responsible husband and father and tries to convey the message to all the men out there that they can do it too. However, he emphasizes that being there for your family and changing your lifestyle from an unconcerned bachelor to a responsible father is not easy. It takes a lot to transform into one such person.
The book guides not only the men but also the young women in certain respects. For instance, the writer throws light on the fact that starting a family is a mutual decision that a couple should make when they are ready. Moreover, the financial and health (emotional, psychological and physical) concerns apply to both men and women. However, the book has mainly been written for new dads from a father’s point of view. The book’s tone is optimistic as the writer’s purpose is not to scare the parents-to-be but to tell them that it is okay to have a child and give up on your comfort temporarily.
There are several things that I liked about the book. First of all, being a mom of two myself and having been through everything that the writer has narrated, I could vouch for his trials and troubles for him. It accurately and honestly depicts what a new parent feels like. But what I liked most about the book was the writer’s approach to understanding the issues of today’s parents. He aptly describes the parenting style differences between the previous generation and the generation of millennials- our age. Incorporating and looking at parenting from the millennial perspective is a novel approach that I haven’t noticed in any other parenting book.
The writer also tries to read up on the statistical data relating to the types of parents and parenting styles. This is also something very commendable that most parents usually don’t do. I would also appreciate the author for shedding light on a sensitive issue relating to being new parents, i.e. The relationship between the father and mother of the baby. By showing this through his relationship with his wife, he urges the new parents not to forget their love and take care of each other by being patient. Male postpartum depression is something I had never heard of, and I only became familiar with this term after reading this book. It is very enlightening in that way too.
However, there are a few points that the writer could have worked on. Firstly, though he has included the related pictures, it could have been more interesting had he labelled them too. As readers, we haven’t seen his family, so we don’t know if the kids shown in various pictures are his. Secondly, for most of the book, his wife’s name is shown as Anna, but from page 135 onwards, it is Mirabelle. That wasn’t very clear. Finally, there are only four typos in the book. Other than that, the book is professionally edited. For this reason, I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
This book targets new fathers and fathers-to-be, but women can also benefit from it. Moreover, bachelors and those not in a relationship should also read this book to know how to handle the stress of being parents when the time comes.
******
The First Time Father
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The First-Time Father by Alfie Thomas is an account of a man’s journey to become a father. In this beneficial book, the writer primarily addresses all the men, specifically the new fathers or fathers-to-be. He chronicles his growth from a happy-go-lucky young man to a caring and responsible husband and father and tries to convey the message to all the men out there that they can do it too. However, he emphasizes that being there for your family and changing your lifestyle from an unconcerned bachelor to a responsible father is not easy. It takes a lot to transform into one such person.
The book guides not only the men but also the young women in certain respects. For instance, the writer throws light on the fact that starting a family is a mutual decision that a couple should make when they are ready. Moreover, the financial and health (emotional, psychological and physical) concerns apply to both men and women. However, the book has mainly been written for new dads from a father’s point of view. The book’s tone is optimistic as the writer’s purpose is not to scare the parents-to-be but to tell them that it is okay to have a child and give up on your comfort temporarily.
There are several things that I liked about the book. First of all, being a mom of two myself and having been through everything that the writer has narrated, I could vouch for his trials and troubles for him. It accurately and honestly depicts what a new parent feels like. But what I liked most about the book was the writer’s approach to understanding the issues of today’s parents. He aptly describes the parenting style differences between the previous generation and the generation of millennials- our age. Incorporating and looking at parenting from the millennial perspective is a novel approach that I haven’t noticed in any other parenting book.
The writer also tries to read up on the statistical data relating to the types of parents and parenting styles. This is also something very commendable that most parents usually don’t do. I would also appreciate the author for shedding light on a sensitive issue relating to being new parents, i.e. The relationship between the father and mother of the baby. By showing this through his relationship with his wife, he urges the new parents not to forget their love and take care of each other by being patient. Male postpartum depression is something I had never heard of, and I only became familiar with this term after reading this book. It is very enlightening in that way too.
However, there are a few points that the writer could have worked on. Firstly, though he has included the related pictures, it could have been more interesting had he labelled them too. As readers, we haven’t seen his family, so we don’t know if the kids shown in various pictures are his. Secondly, for most of the book, his wife’s name is shown as Anna, but from page 135 onwards, it is Mirabelle. That wasn’t very clear. Finally, there are only four typos in the book. Other than that, the book is professionally edited. For this reason, I would rate this book 5 out of 5 stars.
This book targets new fathers and fathers-to-be, but women can also benefit from it. Moreover, bachelors and those not in a relationship should also read this book to know how to handle the stress of being parents when the time comes.
******
The First Time Father
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
