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Be Prepared: A Practical Handbook for New Dads
An indispensable survival manual for guys entering the trenches of fatherhood, Be Prepared is loaded with one-of-a-kind insights, MacGyver-esque tips and tricks, and no-nonsense advice for mastering the first year as a dad.
Finally, a book that teaches men all the things they really need to know about fatherhood...including how to:
- change a baby at a packed sports stadium
- create a decoy drawer full of old wallets, remote controls, and cell phones to throw baby off the scent of your real gear
- stay awake (or at least upright) at work
- babyproof a hotel room in four minutes flat
- construct an emergency diaper out of a towel, a sock, and duct tape
Packed with helpful diagrams and detailed instructions, and delivered with a wry sense of humor, Be Prepared is the ultimate guide for sleep-deprived, applesauce-covered fathers everywhere.
Finally, a book that teaches men all the things they really need to know about fatherhood...including how to:
- change a baby at a packed sports stadium
- create a decoy drawer full of old wallets, remote controls, and cell phones to throw baby off the scent of your real gear
- stay awake (or at least upright) at work
- babyproof a hotel room in four minutes flat
- construct an emergency diaper out of a towel, a sock, and duct tape
Packed with helpful diagrams and detailed instructions, and delivered with a wry sense of humor, Be Prepared is the ultimate guide for sleep-deprived, applesauce-covered fathers everywhere.
240 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2004
About the author
Gary Greenberg
6 books1 followerLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the goodreads data base.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews
January 17, 2012
Read this and Cormac McCarthy's The Road, and you're set.
August 14, 2011
I got a lot of these pregnancy/new dad books as gifts as we prepared for our first child. I found most of these books to be very condescending. The humor to keep us turning the pages would revolve around booze, strippers, and bodily functions. As if this was the only way to keep our attention. (While one or two such jokes are funny, like an Adam Sandler movie, after so-many in a short time, it just is not funny anymore.) Be Prepared, however, is set up and presented differently. There is some of this type of humor, but for the most part it is light-hearted humor. It is set up like a Boy Scout handbook - with sketch drawings vs. pictures and illustrates practicality and function with a twist of fun. Some of the advice is a little over the top - but it knows that as a guy you would just love to try some of them if only your wife would let you. (Dirty diaper pails outside the window to practice your hook shots out the window comes to mind.) This book focuses primarily around birth and beyond, focusing on differing times based on development of your baby. I have caught my wife using this book, laughing and saying "We have to try this!"
October 26, 2019
Ask me in a year how useful it actually is. For now: got super tired of it's highly gendered presumptions about me and my wife.
June 1, 2022
Funny, non-condescending, engaging, practical. A really fun, quick, and wholesome read that made me excited (and braced me) for the days ahead. This seemed to be the least-negatively reviewed book in this genre (books targeted at new dads).
Published in 2004, some of the tips were hilariously out of date: how you should have lots of batteries for your camcorder, how to babyproof a VHS player. These were more endearing and funny than annoying.
Published in 2004, some of the tips were hilariously out of date: how you should have lots of batteries for your camcorder, how to babyproof a VHS player. These were more endearing and funny than annoying.
May 13, 2018
The book is somewhat out of date, and doesn’t really cover topics in enough depth to be used as a standalone. It’s humor makes it readable.
It would make a good gift for someone who is thinking of becoming a parent, or just found out they will be one. But honestly they may appreciate a more in-depth book that covers topics in a more precise manner.
Topics are quite out of date. For example, how to clean out a VCR. Who uses VCRs nowadays? Last I used them was as a kid myself, not when I’m having my own kids... They should update the information with slightly more relevant information, at the very least DVD players.
The book also assumes that every dad is the typical “70’s idealistic male”: sports obsessed, loves camping (and likely to come in contact with bears) and so forth. As for the camping suggestions on how to avoid bears... it would be more prudent to explain how to deal with potentially eaten poisonous berries/leaves or bitten by poisonous animals.
It would make a good gift for someone who is thinking of becoming a parent, or just found out they will be one. But honestly they may appreciate a more in-depth book that covers topics in a more precise manner.
Topics are quite out of date. For example, how to clean out a VCR. Who uses VCRs nowadays? Last I used them was as a kid myself, not when I’m having my own kids... They should update the information with slightly more relevant information, at the very least DVD players.
The book also assumes that every dad is the typical “70’s idealistic male”: sports obsessed, loves camping (and likely to come in contact with bears) and so forth. As for the camping suggestions on how to avoid bears... it would be more prudent to explain how to deal with potentially eaten poisonous berries/leaves or bitten by poisonous animals.
April 21, 2024
A little dated, but definitely a fun and helpful read!
January 23, 2020
Even though us males have a part in creating a new life (whether planned or not), and even though the vast majority of current fathers or expecting ones want to be the best dads they can be, it’s pretty hard to ignore that being a parent is mostly focused and geared towards the mom’s side of things.
I can wholly attest to this observation since, as an expecting father (August 2020 if all things go according to plan), I feel totally helpless, out of the loop and Damn near terrified that I’ll have zero idea of what to do once my squirming bundle of joy is placed in my arms. There just doesn’t seem to be enough literature and halfway entertaining facets of info about fatherhood for my male brain to absorb. My wife must have seen the terror in my mind when she told me she was pregnant, and must know I didn’t have it In me to stomach 600+ pages of What To Expect When Your Expecting, and got me this book as Christmas gift, both as a slight joke and as a guiding hand to make sure I’m “prepared” in only 7 months or so.
I’ll give her props in her research, because Be Prepared is a great parenting book, as it’s by a dad (and his wife too), for dads. It’s humorous enough, as well as self-depreciating enough to entertain our immature male brains, while, at the same time, giving advice that not only seems legit, but is ridiculously simple and, honestly, pretty obvious, even for dumb minds like men’s.
This was written in 2004, however, so there are moments that it quickly dates itself; VCR? Walkman? Digital Camcorders and CDs? In 2020, those various forms of entertainment are basically antiques. I also wanted a bit more on expected growth milestones, but I can find those in the Expecting book if I really care to find them.
That being said, Be Prepared is Well written, mildly funny, easy to read, full of a lot of great tips and tricks (sleeping advice, emergency diapers, ways to entertain your child), and retro style artwork clearly inspired by old Boy Scout training manuals of yore. I have no doubt it will definitely be sitting on my shelf for easy access when it comes time to quickly take care of the infamous blow-out, or figure out a way to get my child to stop crying, even if it makes me look like a total moron.
I can wholly attest to this observation since, as an expecting father (August 2020 if all things go according to plan), I feel totally helpless, out of the loop and Damn near terrified that I’ll have zero idea of what to do once my squirming bundle of joy is placed in my arms. There just doesn’t seem to be enough literature and halfway entertaining facets of info about fatherhood for my male brain to absorb. My wife must have seen the terror in my mind when she told me she was pregnant, and must know I didn’t have it In me to stomach 600+ pages of What To Expect When Your Expecting, and got me this book as Christmas gift, both as a slight joke and as a guiding hand to make sure I’m “prepared” in only 7 months or so.
I’ll give her props in her research, because Be Prepared is a great parenting book, as it’s by a dad (and his wife too), for dads. It’s humorous enough, as well as self-depreciating enough to entertain our immature male brains, while, at the same time, giving advice that not only seems legit, but is ridiculously simple and, honestly, pretty obvious, even for dumb minds like men’s.
This was written in 2004, however, so there are moments that it quickly dates itself; VCR? Walkman? Digital Camcorders and CDs? In 2020, those various forms of entertainment are basically antiques. I also wanted a bit more on expected growth milestones, but I can find those in the Expecting book if I really care to find them.
That being said, Be Prepared is Well written, mildly funny, easy to read, full of a lot of great tips and tricks (sleeping advice, emergency diapers, ways to entertain your child), and retro style artwork clearly inspired by old Boy Scout training manuals of yore. I have no doubt it will definitely be sitting on my shelf for easy access when it comes time to quickly take care of the infamous blow-out, or figure out a way to get my child to stop crying, even if it makes me look like a total moron.
April 29, 2018
At times hilarious and, I must assume, imminently useful (my baby’s due in August). This book’s comprehensive, chronological rundown of what to expect from your first-year baby soothes and empowers. Also to like: its waterproof cover.
March 27, 2018
This was a great balance between humor and real information. Now I know I shouldn't hold a baby by palming their had like a basketball!
March 24, 2019
I feel totally ready to be a dad now that I’ve read this book. Entertaining the whole way through, I kept bringing it out anytime the family was around to show them the awesome/funny stuff in it. Full of awesome life hacks for the first 12 months of your baby’s life, from birth to first birthday.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
July 8, 2019
Was meant as a gag gift, but it actually turned out to be quite helpful. Only time will tell, but this book teaches you, in a humorous way, all that you might need to know from the moment you take your first baby home and on throughout the first year.
Definitely recommend for those new dads out there who want a lighthearted but helpful read on how to take care of a newborn.
Definitely recommend for those new dads out there who want a lighthearted but helpful read on how to take care of a newborn.
December 7, 2021
Had some decent tips and ideas but I’m really tired of the played out tropes like dad loves sports, he’s the only one who has the ability to use tools, and all that really generic stuff that makes all dads seem like stale buffoons.
September 17, 2018
My favorite handbook for new dads. You won't get insight into the latest expert opinion of raising kids, but it does teach you how to change diapers at a major sporting event. Knowledge is power.
August 30, 2019
Some interesting tips littered here and there, but fitted alongside some bizarrely misogynistic musings and one too many failed jokes. And not the good dad joke kind.
March 25, 2021
How crazy, scary and confusing it is to think soon I'll have a "miniature" human who'll depend on me for her development, what a responsibility!
I'm also very excited, happy and of course emotional about my baby's arrival 💓
I appreciate the approach the book has, I love irony, but it also makes you understand it's not a piece of cake to be a father.
Reading a book on how to be a father is probably like reading how to drive a car, you can get an idea of what it is, but surely you won't know how it really is without experiencing it.
I'm sure I'll not remember everything I read, and I think/expect I'll consult it once in a while to refresh some useful tips from the book, but the most important thing I got from it now was preparing my mindset for my baby's arrival.
A light and fun read, I'd surely recommend the book to my friends
I'm also very excited, happy and of course emotional about my baby's arrival 💓
I appreciate the approach the book has, I love irony, but it also makes you understand it's not a piece of cake to be a father.
Reading a book on how to be a father is probably like reading how to drive a car, you can get an idea of what it is, but surely you won't know how it really is without experiencing it.
I'm sure I'll not remember everything I read, and I think/expect I'll consult it once in a while to refresh some useful tips from the book, but the most important thing I got from it now was preparing my mindset for my baby's arrival.
A light and fun read, I'd surely recommend the book to my friends
July 5, 2019
I received this book as a gift from my boss, and it was exactly the type of parenting book I was trying to find. It’s basically a how-to guide for how to take care of your baby. (And people say they don’t come with instructions!) It’s geared toward men, but I found it super helpful. It goes through so many different situations with your baby and gives your steps or tips on how to take care of them. For example, it has step by step instructions with pictures on how to change a diaper, pictures of positions to burp your baby, how to baby-proof your home, etc. And it’s all written in an easy-to-read enjoyable format. The only downside is that I realize when I’m in the midst of trying to figure something out, I forget to go see what the book says, but it has a lot of good tips if I would refer to it.
April 22, 2023
Pretty funny and probably a bit helpful. It’s nice to get a chuckle about the start of this intense stage of life.
February 19, 2021
From the impact this had on my husband both while I was pregnant and after the birth of our son I can only give this my highest recommendation for expecting parents.
October 9, 2017
This offers more levity, irreverence and pragmatism than a typical "what to expect, the miracle of childbirth" type of book. Wish I had discovered this before hosting a family reunion with a 10 month old niece-- who knew she would have only just exited "treat your 0-6 month old like a vampire" phase and could only just start wearing "baby-safe" sunscreen? The 1950's wholesomely satirical images and asides conjure the Fallout franchise and left me appreciating how apocalyptic a journey infancy can be for formerly childless friends and family members.
Even though this is an easy read, it is unclear when a new dad (or parent) in the trenches would find time to study this or why he would do so above showering, sleeping, etc. Probably best to review before delivery.
Even though this is an easy read, it is unclear when a new dad (or parent) in the trenches would find time to study this or why he would do so above showering, sleeping, etc. Probably best to review before delivery.
April 27, 2012
If McGyver was a pediatrician this is the book he'd write.
'Be Prepared' is written like an instruction guide for clueless new dads, a demographic I just joined. It's written just an product manual. The book is loaded with creative ninja-like tips for managing your baby. Guys will appreciate the step-by-step procedures and problem solving format. I did a rapid skim in an evening and then revisited chapters in more detail as my baby has reached different milestones.
The author's cheesy humor and the silly illustrations quickly get old, but there's enough useful information to make this book a useful edition to any new dad's reading arsenal.
'Be Prepared' is written like an instruction guide for clueless new dads, a demographic I just joined. It's written just an product manual. The book is loaded with creative ninja-like tips for managing your baby. Guys will appreciate the step-by-step procedures and problem solving format. I did a rapid skim in an evening and then revisited chapters in more detail as my baby has reached different milestones.
The author's cheesy humor and the silly illustrations quickly get old, but there's enough useful information to make this book a useful edition to any new dad's reading arsenal.
March 16, 2008
This book was recommended to us by another set of first-time parents, and we were not disappointed.
It's written with a great sense of humor, while providing lots of useful information. It's easy and fun to read, versus some of the other more 'dry' parenting books.
Plus, it's got some great ideas of games parents can play with their babies. And, even some money saving tips, such making your own bath toys - versus spending money on ones from the store.
We're expecting our first child, and this book was definitely worth reading.
April 5, 2020
A delightful intro to dad-ing. Plenty of jokes and a good bit of practical suggestions, some which felt dated (due to technology) - since it was written in 2004. One suggestion in particular I read after-the-fact, but when traveling with a little one, put a chair between you and the pack-and-play with a towel over it. That way when he wakes up, he won't see you and cry continuously. That advice would have saved us a night a sleep and been worth the price of the book. Too bad I read it a few days after traveling. Hah! Such is life.
February 19, 2008
I gave this book to my husband when we were anticipating the adoption of our first child, and while he read parts of it (way more than he read of any other baby/parenting book), I read it front to back and found it actually quite helpful. If you have a new dad in your life who wants to read a baby book but doesn't know where to start, this is a man's man look at the arrival of Baby. Humorously written yet with sound advice.
June 2, 2021
A light, comedy-oriented handbook for new fathers that covers all of the basic questions one might have about raising a newborn. This book may prove useful to those wanting to feel fully prepared for the daunting experience ahead of them, and does include several useful tips, but is ultimately second rate compared to the firsthand experience you will (presumably) pick up on your own. Additionally, the tone is fun and joking, but this may not be to everyone’s taste.
August 19, 2010
It is quite possible that this is THE BEST new dad book that I have come across for husbands... especially if they are handymen who watched MacGyver when they were little :) A lot of humor, information and really great pointers that I never thought of/considered.
May 9, 2013
I gave this book to my husband as a stocking stuffer--only partly as a joke. Turns out, this book is hilarious and informative. He read it cover to cover on a plane ride and still mentions things from it from time to time. Loved it!
November 28, 2015
A great book for dads to be. Funny, useful and smart. A big change from "Dude, you are going to be dad". This one is actualy for men who want to take care of their kid and not just avoid nagging.
Very recommended.
Very recommended.
January 4, 2013
Here goes nothin'. . .!
February 16, 2015
Cute book, although some of the advice was suspect. Actual rating 3.5 stars.
December 7, 2019
Lightly written, but very serious about the concepts itself. Very nice read, detailed tips. Would be nice to see an updated version for this day an age (2019/2020).
Displaying 1 - 30 of 257 reviews