Dad Rules: How My Children Taught Me To Be a Good Parent: What I Learned from My Girls: Amazon.co.uk: Andrew Clover: Books

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‘She takes my hand. ‘Andrew,’ she says, ‘let’s have children.’ I know this is a historic moment. I must respond like a man. So I ignore her…' This wise, intimate, and hilarious book is based on Andrew Clover’s much-loved Sunday Times columns. He tells stories about how he’s coped with all the big parenting issues: sibling rivalry, choosing a school, winning an argument about where you’re spending Christmas. He also wrestles with all the big questions: Why do I have no friends anymore? Am I turning into my dad? Will we ever have sex again? He describes the journey he made from reluctant father, to being the happiest man in North London, as he learns from his daughters that, if you want to have fun, you better start playing.

From the Inside Flap
This book is about the rules my daughters have taught me. Some of them are merely silly...When a train goes by, you must wave. When you've reached the bottom step, you must jump. When you're lucky enough to find a bathroom light with a string, you must pull that string, two or three hundred times. But some of them are more profound...Take your time. Rip up the schedule. If you really want to enjoy a day, it's best to paint your face like a tiger.

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8 Reviews

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4.9 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The timing for the arrival was perfect!!!, 1 Jun 2008

By	Anon..... (UK) - See all my reviews

If you only read the first line of reviews (like I do usually!) then please buy this book - you will LOVE it.
Andrew CLover writes the weekly column in the Sunday Times Style magazine - that makes me laugh out loud. That's why I bought the book.

It's arrival was perfect timing (i think!). It arrived on the same day that my partner and I found out that we are expecting our first child. I then spent the rest of the day in a state of mild panic, nausea and hungover (didnt realise i was pregnant when drinking cocktails the night before). I think that the author would not be too disapproving.....

I think that the book is written for anyone with a slightly wicked sense of humour. I love the emotional part "saying the word sorry is like getting out kicthen roll". And the absolute honesty that not everything will be perfect. 1). I am more likely to be a slummy mummy, rather than yummy mummy. 2). That parenthood will stretch our every patience and skill, that we should rememeber to have fun with our child, that is what why we have them.

Buy the book ...... my sales pitch is over. Wish me luck.....

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars behind the scenes at the bogey museum, 29 Nov 2008

By	William Rycroft "blogs @ Just William's Luck" (Hertfordshire, UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

As anyone who has become a parent recently will know there are a plethora of books available to help you get through those first few weeks, months, years. The sheer volume of titles is in itself unhelpful before we even start to consider how contradictory they all are. Driven through desperation to actually consult the health service with a question you will usually be greeted by the stock reply: 'Well, every baby is different' ('Yes, but is its vomit supposed to be green or do we have an exorcist-style situation going on here?').

Driven by a similar regard for the 200-plus page tomes he saw, Andrew Colver decided to write this book (you may have come across his musings in the Sunday Times Style magazine in the Dad Rules column) which he begins by condensing his parenting experience into three sentences

1. Don't be reading two-hundred page books. Try to sleep.
2. Don't let them suck too long, or mum's nip will really hurt.
3. Get out of the way when they puke.

That gives you a pretty good idea of the tone. Clover is a comedian and actor, so the book is filled with great one-liners. There have been plenty of jokes made about the emotional state of a woman in labour but nobody has put it quite so well as he does: 'You don't mess with a woman in labour. Even if she decides she wants to eat the baby, I'll back her up.'

He doesn't do much to dispel the myth that men are just big boys until they're forced to grow up by a woman (and even then they're just pretending to be grown up) but his innocence/ignorance makes him an entertaining guide into the world of parenting. What he really discovers is how to be happy. As we follow his stuttering acting career, his reliance on the weed to cope with comedy gigs, childcare, and just about anything really, he slowly learns to trust his instincts when looking after his daughters. If you're knackered, get creative:

'"You know what would be a really nasty trick?" I say. "If I fell asleep and, when I woke up, someone had painted all over my back."
I put my head on the table, and have a quiet doze. They paint my back. It's absolutely delicious. It feels like I'm being massaged by fairies.'

There are some refreshingly honest thoughts from a male perspective too.

'They say that women forget the pain of childbirth or they'd never do it again. Similarly, men must forget the pain of living with a pregnant woman, or the whole world would be like China. Families would have one child each. They'd also have fewer wardrobes.'

He does occasionally sound a little sentimental, as when he mentions that all his friends have become famous or disappeared but that's ok because he's bred two perfect companions. And as someone who can only dream of living in a place like Muswell Hill, the hard luck/no money story wore a little thin but where this book really succeeds is not with childcare philosophy or any kind of life lessons but with the relentless sense of humour which reminds you that as hard as it is, as tiring as it can be, it's still the best thing you'll ever do.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was surprised by the pace, and the cartoons, and the cleverness, 15 Jul 2008

By	Sexy Mum (UK) - See all my reviews

One of the funniest, most truthful pieces I ever read was an Andrew Clover Sunday Times column about the sport of Baby Dump - about how parents dump the baby on each other. So I bought Dad Rules for my husband as a Father's Day present. He's a very slow reader. I thought he'd like a series of funny stories, that he could dip into every night. Once he'd started, I figured I could borrow the book back and read it myself. My first surprise was that he read it in one sitting. The second was that he became convulsed with laughter, which I've never seen before. The third was that he cried, twice. The fourth was that he told me he loved me - which he never normally does. The fifth was that he suggested we had more children - which is unthinkable. So then I read the book myself. My first surprise was that the book didn't read like a collection of short funny stories. It's got a speedy narrative to it, and has also got some very charming cartoons. My second surprise was realising how brilliantly clever it is. Every chapter gives you a different Dad Rule: they tell you something Clover has learned, about how to be happy. As you read the book, you feel you're changing with him, becoming wiser, and happier, and more loving. I've now bought five more copies. I'm going to give them to any parent who's recently had a child, and to any men who are scared of having children (I know several), and to anyone who would like to have a laugh. My third surprise, which I only realised a week or so later, was that Dad Rules doesn't contain the Baby Dump piece. I'm hoping Clover is saving it for a sequal. I hope he's getting on with it. I want it as soon as possible.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent writer AND comedian
Well we bought this book a month ago and both my husband and I found it highly amusing, then went to see Andrew at the theatre last night - I have not laughed so much in my life... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Sarah Morley

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh, Cry and Reflect......Not Necessarily In That Order!
As a proud and devoted father of three wonderful children IMHO (....read the book and you'll understand the brackets! Read more

Published 11 months ago by Get Tae Falkirk

5.0 out of 5 stars If you only buy one book on parenting - buy this one.
Whether you have children or not you will adore this book. Andrew Clover's genius soars out from every page. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Teresa Hamilton

5.0 out of 5 stars For all Dads or Dads to be this will make an excellent gift!
Loved Clover's mischievous, launch into the priceless joys and perils of fatherhood. He shows you that anything can happen and how you may have to chuck out most of the Dad Rules... Read more

Published 12 months ago by RP Malone

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh out loud and true
Loved this book.
Not only did it make me laugh out loud, a lot, but also reminded me about the truths of good parenting - to be happy (...have faith that... Read more

Published 13 months ago by Swerlybird

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Dad Rules: How My Children Taught Me To Be a Good Parent: What I Learned from My Girls (Hardcover)

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