The 9 Best Parenting Books For Dads

For a dad-to-be who wants to know what's coming, The Expectant Father walks through pregnancy month by month. Each chapter covers the baby's growth, what your partner is going through and what you may be feeling, from money worries to feeling left out. Armin Brott and Jennifer Ash Rudick also handle birth plans and the first days home. The fifth edition adds adoption, multiples and military dads. It's long, and some insurance and leave advice is U.S.-only.

Written by a dad and parenting blogger, We're Pregnant! moves week by week in short, joking sections a tired reader can finish. Each week explains how big the baby is, how your partner may feel and a few things you can do, like packing the hospital bag. Adrian Kulp also covers the weeks right after the birth, often called the fourth trimester. It's light on medical detail, so lean on your doctor or midwife for the rest.

The New Father is Armin Brott's month-by-month guide to the first year, and it treats dads as full parents rather than helpers. Each chapter covers what the baby can do, how you may be feeling and ways to play and bond at that age. It also gets into sleep, child care, money and the strain a baby puts on a couple. The fourth edition updates the research. It's dense, so most dads read one chapter a month.

Think of Be Prepared as a scout-style field manual for the first year. Gary Greenberg and Jeannie Hayden use cartoon diagrams and dry jokes to show jobs like coaxing out a burp, putting together a breast pump and changing a diaper in a packed stadium. Each tip is short enough to read half asleep, and the 20th anniversary edition was updated throughout. It skips the research behind its advice, so it won't settle any arguments.

Ryan Holiday built The Daily Dad as one short reading for every day of the year, each pairing a quote with a page of reflection. The ideas lean on Stoic thinkers and on parents from history, sports and business, and they circle themes like patience, presence and setting an example. It works for any dad, whether the kids are babies or in college. It won't tell you how to swaddle or handle a fever, and some entries feel thin.

Pediatrician Meg Meeker wrote Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters to argue that a dad shapes how his girl sees herself and the men she later trusts. She draws on years in practice to cover self-image, dating, faith and the risks teens face, then turns that into habits a father can keep. It reads best once a daughter is past the toddler years. The tone is Christian and traditional on dating and sex, which won't suit every family.

We're Parents! is Adrian Kulp's month-by-month companion for the first year, broken into checklists and quick bits a busy dad can read during a feeding. Each month covers what the baby is learning, how your partner might be doing and simple ways to help, from night shifts to playtime. Cartoon chapter pages keep the mood light. It's short on detail, so questions about sleep or feeding belong with your pediatrician.

Former NFL tight end and Super Bowl champion Benjamin Watson wrote The New Dad's Playbook as a pep talk for men about to become fathers. He uses football lessons to talk about teamwork with your partner, owning mistakes and putting family first, with practical notes on getting ready for the birth. Pediatrician Meg Meeker wrote the foreword. It's faith-based throughout and has little medical detail.

Pastor Jon Tyson wrote The Intentional Father after setting out to plan how he would raise his own son, and it hands other dads the same method. You choose the virtues you want to pass on, then mark each stage of a boy's growth with planned rites of passage and shared experiences. Survey findings from the Barna research group back up the case. It's Christian throughout and written for fathers of sons.