Oh Boy, You're Having a Girl: A Dad's Survival Guide to Raising Daughters

by Brian A. Klems

It's easy to imagine how you'd raise a boy--all the golf outings, lawnmower lessons, and Little League championships you'd attend--but playing dad to a little princess may take some education. In "Oh Boy, You're Having a Girl," Brian, a father of three girls, shares his tactics for surviving this new and glittery world. From baby dolls and bedtime rituals to potty training and dance recitals, he leads you through all the trials and tribulations you'll face as you're raising your daughter. He'll also show you how to navigate your way through tough situations, like making sure that she doesn't start dating until she's fifty.

Complete with commandments for restroom trips and properly participating in a tea party, "Oh Boy, You're Having a Girl" will brace you for all those hours playing house--and psych you up for the awesomeness of raising a daughter who has you lovingly wrapped around her little finger.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Humor

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 18, 2013

About the author

Brian A. Klems (TheLifeofDad.com) is a writer, husband, perennial fantasy sports underachiever, and father of three lovely little girls. He is the online editor of Writer's Digest magazine and is a proud graduate of the E.W. Scripps journalism school at Ohio University.

Brian's first parenting humor book, OH BOY, YOU'RE HAVING A GIRL: A DAD'S SURVIVAL GUIDE TO RAISING DAUGHTERS (Adams Media) is now available.

PRAISE FOR "OH BOY"
"As the father of a daughter, I wish I'd read this very funny book sooner, if only to know that it's OK for a grown man to wear a tutu." --Dave Barry, bestselling humorist

"Somehow, Brian Klems has taken one of the most traumatic situations known to a father--having a daughter--and made it into something so completely hilarious you'll laugh until you've got oxygen deprivation!" --W. Bruce Cameron, author of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter

"Required reading for any parent who doesn't know pants from leggings." --Dan Zevin, author of Dan Gets a Minivan: Life at the Intersection of Dude and Dad

Reviews

[Craig]

Another poor sports metaphor and I think I'll puke. Oh, and stop assuming your entire audience is a group of clueless meat-heads that has nothing but single friends with whom you used to participate in various forms of debauchery with.

[Shannon Lynne]

didn't know if I was laughing, crying or just nodding my head the whole way through this. Much more than accurate!

[Michelle]

Funny! Engaging! Written by a man, but wow, can I as a mom relate to all that he is saying about raising three girls!

[Melissa Storm]

I ordered this book for my husband the day the ultrasound tech told us to expect a girl. While sitting together reading, he kept bursting out laughing and reading lines aloud. Since I knew I wouldn't be making any more progress in my book for a while, I asked him to read the whole thing to me. And so we devoured this book, reading much of it as part of our first Father's Day celebration. A few days later we were done, and oh how we enjoyed, "Oh, boy. You're having a girl!"

The book was both entertaining and informative. It also afforded us many opportunities to discuss parenting ideas and plans. The only reason this nifty guide gets 4 stars instead of 5 is that it scared my husband--particularly the chapters on Dora and going potty. It also turned him against ballet, which I've been daydreaming about ever since seeing our baby's lady parts. Still a very worthy read, and definitely one you should read together!

[Mrs. Smith]

I was so excited to read this recently-released book, which was written by a college friend. I found myself laughing out loud on nearly every page, not only because I could visualize Brian and his family in each situation that he describes (having personally seen the bottomless bin of princess dresses at his house), but because in each chapter I also pictured my husband and his adventures in raising a daughter. It's a book to which all parents of young girls can relate. I can confidently say that I loved it more than bacon, and as Brian would agree, that's something that rarely happens outside of the world of daughters and baseball.

[Dan]

I don't have any issues with what the author says about raising girls. The issue I have is the way men are portrayed as fathers. Stereotypes are funny to an extent, but this book is excessive in how it stereotypes men as perpetual adolescents (reminiscent of Kimmel's 'Guyland'). If you're a white middle-class married man in the suburbs, perhaps more of these stereotypes are true. But beyond this demographic, these stereotypes detract from an otherwise funny and heartwarming book on fathering daughters.

[Andrew King]

The target audience of this book seemed to be frat boys that never emotionally grew up and only care about beer and sports. So, if that's you, I'm sure this book is great for you. If that's not you, don't waste your time. He forced way too many sports references and jokes. Spend your time reading a book that is actually based off of research instead of this prolonged blog article from a man that clearly wishes his daughters were boys instead.

[Jason Pawlak]

Amazingly funny! I loved every single page. The humor and witty conversations had me going back to read passages out loud to the wife. I can not think of another book that made me laugh out loud so much. As a Dad of a 2 yo daughter and another daughter on the way ... I highly recommend!

[Paul]

A must read for any dad expecting a daughter. Full of funny and true scenarios that I could imagine myself having. I found myself bookmarking several pages to refer back to when my daughter gets here.

[James Barbour]

Heavy on the jokes. Good but not great.

The Dora and Disney chapters look like good prep for the fateful day. The last 2 chapters were hilarious also but there was a lot of hit and miss with his jokes.

[Claire Collord]

Absolutely hilarious. This is a great read for dads, moms, aunts, uncles and anyone looking for a good laugh. This book is both light-hearted and heart-felt. I highly recommend it.

[Paul]

A very funny must-read for any dad or mom with a daughter. Several times while reading this book, I found myself laughing out loud. Well done! I'm hoping there is a follow-up book.

[Katy]

Cute

[Nicole]

Humorous and sweet. Really enjoyable.

[Carleigh]

This is the funniest book I've ever read!

[Adam Pietrucki]

All i can do is laugh! I could probably write a similar book, with subjects more closely related to my interests. However, watching television shows with my wife turned into long affairs of hitting the pause button while I recited lines that had me reduced to tears of laughter.

I will definitely revisit the dad tips!

[Alberto Loredo]

I just wanted a book to learn a few things about raising daughters. I was not expecting that this book were a funny and interesting one, but even with all of that, this's a very handy book.

[Pat]

As a parent to be please don't waste your time. This book probably better served as a blog on a website format but does not translate over well into a book. There is nothing informative about raising a girl. I am sure the guy is a great Dad but I question the publishing of this book. I'm glad I just got it at the library.

[Jennie Bickel]

An extremely funny book that had me laughing out loud lots! As the mother of two boys, this book helped me understand what ring a father of girls would be like. Highly recommend!

[Gaurav Gupta]

A fun and informative read for a Girl's dad.

[Lael Braday]

Disclaimer: Brian Klems let me interview him for my blog (laelbraday.com), so I wanted to give an honest review of his book. I don't have children, so I don't normally read parenting books, not even humorous ones.

Brian lays out thematic chapters on Disney, Dora, the color PINK, and so forth. Almost everything becomes somehow related to sports in convoluted, sometimes sexist, but generally humorous and inventive ways. There are silly quizzes, because why not? There are rules upon rules, because, well, apparently, girls.

I expected gender stereotyping based on the title, but it seemed to be tongue in cheek, so not so bad for a dad. I was a bit dismayed at the routine references to protecting his baby girls from boys, as I felt it wasn't really sincere, but rather low-hanging comedic fruit.

This book didn't resonate with me, because, as stated, I don't have children, and also because neither my sister or I were "girly-girls." We hated being called tomboys for choosing cars over dolls, horses over tea parties, and westerns over Disney. I do know that Brian Klems' daughters play various sports, so that must make him incredibly happy.

Having said all that, this is a damn funny book. I found myself laughing out loud and sharing passages with my husband, who joined me in snort laughing. There were a few dad jokes, and even then, he acknowledged the dad jokiness of them, which struck me as funny as well. His descriptions of things that go wrong, including bodily function messes, and dialogues with daughters were written so well I could see it and hear it.

I'm glad I met Brian Klems and asked him for an interview, because, as much as I appreciate his online writing, I wouldn't have read his book. My takeaway is that Brian Klems is a tongue-in-cheek master, who shares how much he loves his children and the ways that he shows that love. I'm also pretty sure Mr. Klems is the king of dad jokes.

Readers who love kids, if they have their own, daughters or sons, or not, will appreciate this book. Though the humor originates with a bit of gender stereotyping, and Klems sometimes comes across as a big child himself, when he borders on serious, it’s clear where he stands, and often, he cannot help but state it outright, that girls are awesome. We know we are, Brian, thanks!

[Stephanie]

I love the premise of this book. Brian makes parenting daughter look fun and one of his most cherished life experiences. I'm sure his daughters feel the same way about him. Know that "Oh Boy, You're Having a Girl," is a bit sophomoric, done in a tongue in cheek fashion. That being said, I laughed and chuckled throughout.

[Terry Armstrong]

Enjoyed this book! Saw (and heard) the author at a writer’s conference last year and the book did not disappoint. The writer’s storytelling about Dora the Explorer was like many parts in the book: hilarious. Love his writing!

[Micko]

The exaggerated and predictable jokes may be funny to some when they start reading this, but the jokes are repeated again and again, which make them feel very old and strained by the end of the book.

[Mark]

More 3.5 than 4 stars. Surprisingly fun read...Actually made me laugh out loud several times.

[Sean]

Jokes were funny at first but felt forced towards the end

[Gordon Sinclair]

An amusing read (though a little too American for my liking), but if you are looking for any actual practical advice or information you are looking in the wrong place.

[Mr. Steve]

There was some useful stuff in this book, but it mostly was just silliness and jokes. I laughed a good amount of the time, to be fair.

[Michael Melone]

Mostly sports jokes, not a lot of useful info. As I'm not a sports fan it didn't resonate with me and felt kinda repetitive.

[David Lister]

Funny but a bit cliche and no practical advice