The other day I was in town and grabbed a few baby books. I’m not biased about what I buy; I’m giving as many of them a go as I can (while I can). One of the books was a nice short one “Baby Tips for Dads” by Simon Brett. It caught my eye and looked pretty funny from the cover and the blurb. Last night, I gave it a read on the sofa.

I wasn’t expecting a huge amount from the baby blue coloured book to be honest. I assumed it would do what it says on the tin – give some tips. The book is pretty easy to read and comes coupled with cartoon illustrations. It’s humorous in places but not particularly original. That’s where the merit ends unfortunately…

The blurb says that it contains “quirky” advice on bonding with your baby and pleasing your partner…unfortunately it all came across as majorly clichéd and quite patronizing too. Since starting to read baby books, I have found there are three main types: 1- fact books; 2 – genuine instruction; 3 – comedic books about useless men. “Baby Tips for Dads” falls into the latter category and reinforces negative stereotypes about men being clueless. I’m not one to jump on a high horse about stuff like this, but I don’t like the idea of belittling men when it comes to fatherhood. The book implies that men are superficially involved in parenting and that we are just there to pacify women. Rant over – promise.

If you’re getting this book as a bit of a laugh for a useless friend or a Secret Santa gift I’m sure it would be totally suitable. Trust me though it doesn’t contain anything that any sane human being doesn’t already know. Save the fiver for the baby.