You're the Dad Now

Being a New, Modern Dad

New fathers tend to want to know their child better than their fathers knew them, according to Philip Cowan, author of Change and Consistency: Pregnancy to 18 Months Postpartum. “The experience men had with their own fathers directly impacts the way they plan to build their relationship with their own children,” he explains.

Today’s generation of new fathers is quite different than the last one. It wasn’t too long ago when a dad stayed in a waiting room for his wife to give birth, with his primary responsibility consisting of passing out the cigars when the child was born. Most new dads today are right there in the delivery room and know so much more than their fathers did upon their birth.

“It’s important to be involved from the very beginning,” says Dr. Ron Klinger, founder of The Center for Successful Fathering. “Children who have active and involved dads are more successful in school, more ambitious, self-reliant and less likely to get in trouble with the law,” according to a 2000 study done by the Center.

Once the baby is brought home from the hospital, the modern man takes on much more responsibility as well. Most modern fathers are expected to go on working while at the same time learning to become fully trained, hands-on members of the nappy, changing, bottle-feeding, up-all-night parenthood team.