Fathers Who Dare Win

by Ian Grant

Everything you need to know to be the best father you can be. Ian Grant is a parenting and relationship guru who focuses on bringing families together. He has written about bringing up girls, boys, working out problems in families, and even how to get the best out of your marriage. But the subject of fathers and children is something dear to his heart. Today's fathers have much to deal with. When is taking an interest in your child's life too much? How do you deal with social networking such as Twitter and Facebook? How do you be the best father to your child when you don't live in the family home? How do you navigate a relationship with your daughter and/or your son, and stay close and loving to their mother? In Ian Grant's characteristic straight-talking way he offers advice, tips and strategies that are easy to follow and that make sense. From being a hero to your kids to communication to discipline, this is the one book you'll ever need to be a great dad.

Genres: Parenting, Fatherhood

376 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 18, 2012

Reviews

[P.J. Bayliss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite being a bit of a self-improvement book fan, I was initially reluctant to read this book without feeling self critical. However, once I got into it I simply could not stop and it really helped to remind myself about what Fatherhood is really about.

This booked helped me to reinforce those natural Dad skills at this critical tween-to-teen phase of their lives. There are plenty of great story examples contained in the contents to place context to your particular situation. Even if you find yourself naturally doing the 30 things Grant mentions, it still serves as a reminder on how to act and behave in the role of being a Father.

This book came at a time when I felt I was loosing touch with my kids and the "Grumpy Dad" was starting to creep in. Grant's words helped me to refocus and regroup my thoughts and alter my attitude toward them. The greatest takeaway was to "provide dreams, not set expectations", which really makes sense when I consider myself at their age.

Almost certainly a great book for anyone to fall back to in those times of doubt. I can't ever see myself to be the perfect Father, but then again, those judging me at that game will always be the hardest of critics.

[Mindbait]

This is essentially a self-help book, and how you take those depends on how you feel towards the writing or philosophies of the author as to whether you want to take their advice.

I mean there's some decent advice in here, but then I'm already doing most of it which I guess is a good sign.

Beyond that, I wasn't really a fan of the book in general, there's a lot of repetition, a lot of shilling his other books and digital resources. He rounds off each chapter with a words-of-wisdom type quote and for 2 or 3 of them he quotes himself which is a tad cringey.

While there are some elements here that are universal, there are also parts that seem to relate to Grant's specific idea of what a man should/shouldn't be, what a father should/shouldn't be that I don't necessarily agree with, so I guess as with most self-helpers: take what you find helpful and leave the rest.

[Rob Markley · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disappointing and cliched.

[Jacob Petrossian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good tips here, but other bits of advice which are quite strict to the expectation of a western cultured father. Take it as a grain of salt.