"Daddy Dates" - Book Review

So there is this great website I have found called Booksneeze. It is a site where bloggers can go to request a free book in exchange for a posted review about the book.  I enjoy reading(when I can find the time) and thought this would be a great...and inexpensive way to get to read some new books!

They offer a selection of different books under several categories and the first book that I chose to read was "Daddy Dates" by Greg Wright.

Now obviously I am not a daddy but even so this book was a fun read. Greg (aka Daddy) has a family of 4 daughters and realizes that he doesn't know how to "connect" with them. And he wants to figure how how - points for daddy here!! So he sets to record the process by which he started to "date" his daughters and gives great example of what works and what doesn't work. The start of his process...."Just don't screw up"! :)

So what I liked best about Daddy Dates is that he wanted to meet his daughters where they are. Yes he set up a "standard" for how he was going to ask them on dates, and he showed them how he felt they should expect to be treated by a man by opening car doors, asking questions about them and treating them with respect.

But where I often fail is meeting my kids where they are. Greg understood that if he wanted his daughters to share their lives with him that he needed to listen to them -even if his instinct was to tell them how to fix their "problem" or to become distracted when they talked of things he maybe wasn't really interested in.  What he found was that there were MANY things he didn't know about them and when he really listened they shared a lot!

I find this in my own life with my own teenager...when I try and impose my ideas onto him he tends to shut down, but when I just talk with him about what he is interested in he shares much more with me!

Greg also made a point to say that the "dating" isn't just for the daughters. That men needed to date their wives as well. This is something I have heard before and something we need to do more often if we really want to connect!!

Finally I leave you with this....he was talking about parenting and had an interesting "formula" that I want to share.

1) Rules - Relationship = Rebellion

2) Relationship - Rules = Destruction

3) Relationship + Rules = Connection

Where do you find yourself today in regards to your relationship with your kids? If you want an "easy" and quick read with some good ideas - pick up "Daddy Dates" by Greg Wright.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”