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rfc3092today at 1:52 AM2 repliesview on HN

Please share “better father” books.


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sansworktoday at 2:04 AM

The self driven child was one I just finished 2 weeks ago that I really enjoyed and felt had a lot of good advice that ran counter to my natural tendencies.

The How to talk books(there are a few of them for different ages), no drama discipline.

Cal Newports books while not specifically about parenting have helped me with disconnecting more from my tech which has always been a challenge since it's my job and a part of a lot of my hobbies which has definitely led to being a better father.

AnimalMuppettoday at 1:58 AM

Here's the problem: You can be a bad father by being too strict, or you can be a bad father by being too lenient.

In Zion National Park there's a hike called Angel's Landing. You wind up on this ridge, with a 1000 foot cliff on one side and a 500 foot cliff on the other side. And the ridge is not very wide - only a couple of feet in some places.

Parenting is like that. You think, oh, I see people causing problems by being too strict, so I want to back away from that cliff. But there's a cliff behind you, so don't back too far...

And the problem with parenting books is that, if you're the kind of parent who needs the books warning you about being too strict, then the books that warn against being too lenient are probably the ones that resonate more with you. That is, you're drawn to the ones you don't need, not to the ones that you do need.

All that said, yes, get books and read them. Be sure to get a variety of them.

I can't give specifics off the cuff, as I'm well past that phase now.

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