My son is approaching the 1 year mark.

I have a sample size of 1, so I am going to steer clear of most parenting strategies since I am certainly not an expert.

Instead I will stick with the tactical and share some useful things from the last year.

Here are 10 useful resources/ideas for new dads:

1. Dolly Parton book club is a free resource where you can get 1 book a month delivered to your home. No brainer.
2. While were on the topic, here are my favorite kids books so far: Favorite Kids Books
3. Here are the parenting books my wife & I found most useful: Useful Parent Books
4. Get life insurance. (I didn’t think about this before…here is a video explaining the two main types)
5. Laugh a little: this Robin Williams skit gave my wife and I many laughs.
6. Exercise in the first couple of months is opportunistic. Harder to plan. You need to strike when the iron is hot (baby is asleep, mom is good, chores are done!). You might not have time to commute to the gym, so get yourself a pull-up bar, kettlebell and jump rope. Your child needs a strong dad, don’t skip your exercise!
7. Be specific with what stuff//help you need. If you are fortunate enough to have family who wants to help do them a favor and give direction. Otherwise you will end up with a lot of stuff you don’t need. As our pediatrician said, “I am a grandparent – I help either way – but sometimes I get in the way. Tell your parents exactly how they can help.”
8. Cover & Move. I broke my promise on parenting strategies…we like to do things together as a family: meals, walks, playground – but we also deliberately deploy cover & move. This means one person taking care of baby while the other sleeps, or makes art. Whatever it is. I hear some dads say they get up with their wife at night to keep her company. This never made sense to me. Why have two sleep deprived parents? Cover & move.
9. Buy a camera. That way you can still capture moments, and not be attached to your phone.
10. Have fun. Reflect. And embrace this season of life. Mundane things will become much more fun. At the end of every month I make a digital photo album of my favorites. It is mind blowing to see how much your baby changes in 30 days.

I wish you and your family all the best.

Subscribe 👇🏻📧

Drop your email in the box above to receive an update when I post my weekly blog.

P.S.

If you’ve gotten value from this site, there are ways to support – when you are ready.

1. Sharing something you read with a few friends is the best way to help.
2. I made a few digital products that you might like. You can find them here.