Impending Dadness
As we put our first trimester behind us, Linda and I are starting to recognize the increasingly probability that we will, indeed, become parents. We have begun facing all implied prospects, both exciting and terrifying. As in everything else I do, I have started the process of preparation. How do I become a good father? Lots of books... Many of which start with the word "Idiot".
So, let me quote a little bit from "The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Being a New Dad". Yup... a guide I can carry in my pocket...
A little wisdom from p. 24...
The odds that a child will grow up healthier and more resilient improve when dad is integral to his upbringing. If a dad actively raises his child during her first six months, she will achieve higher physical and intellectual progress. Social science research suggests that a kid with an actively involved father is also more likely to:
- Learn to read sooner and better
- Be more comfortable with physicality and physical risk
- Be more sociable
- Develop a higher preschool IQ
- Have a stronger sense of humor
- Cope better with stress and frustration
- If female, have higher preschool math competence and be more willing to try new things
- If female, reach puberty at a later age
- Be better at problem solving
- Act out less
- Be more comfortable with and accepting of people who disagree with her
- Graduate high school and attend college
Several studies indicate that when their fathers read to their children, the kids develop higher verbal skills than when their mothers alone read to them. Particularly during the first year of life, avid father participation in childrearing strengthens the infant's cognitive function.
That's all part of the lengthy chapter on why being a good father matters early in the child's development. All of which can be a little terrifying when you look at just how much responsibility a dad has in the first months of a child's life. It makes sense that that is when the bonds are made (and is much cheaper than spending the rest of your life trying to re-make them).
And it makes me feel good that, if I do a good job in the first year, I can then coast for the next 60! 8)
-Ed
So, let me quote a little bit from "The Pocket Idiot's Guide to Being a New Dad". Yup... a guide I can carry in my pocket...
A little wisdom from p. 24...
The odds that a child will grow up healthier and more resilient improve when dad is integral to his upbringing. If a dad actively raises his child during her first six months, she will achieve higher physical and intellectual progress. Social science research suggests that a kid with an actively involved father is also more likely to:
- Learn to read sooner and better
- Be more comfortable with physicality and physical risk
- Be more sociable
- Develop a higher preschool IQ
- Have a stronger sense of humor
- Cope better with stress and frustration
- If female, have higher preschool math competence and be more willing to try new things
- If female, reach puberty at a later age
- Be better at problem solving
- Act out less
- Be more comfortable with and accepting of people who disagree with her
- Graduate high school and attend college
Several studies indicate that when their fathers read to their children, the kids develop higher verbal skills than when their mothers alone read to them. Particularly during the first year of life, avid father participation in childrearing strengthens the infant's cognitive function.
That's all part of the lengthy chapter on why being a good father matters early in the child's development. All of which can be a little terrifying when you look at just how much responsibility a dad has in the first months of a child's life. It makes sense that that is when the bonds are made (and is much cheaper than spending the rest of your life trying to re-make them).
And it makes me feel good that, if I do a good job in the first year, I can then coast for the next 60! 8)
-Ed
posted by Ed at 11:21 AM
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