This book examines the tensions and ambivalences which men encounter as they negotiate contemporary expectations of fatherhood and fulfill their own expectations of what it means to be a ‘good’ father. There is little doubt that today’s fathers are responding to new expectations about fatherhood and fathering practices. The remote, detached, breadwinning father of the past, once lauded as a masculine ideal, has faded, and men are now expected to be ‘involved’, ‘intimate’, ‘caring’ and ‘domesticated’ fathers. Using a family practices lens and a case study of sport, Fletcher elucidates the changes and continuities in family and fathering practices in different historical periods and contexts. Negotiating Fatherhood will be of interest to students and scholars with an interest in family and fathering practices, sport, leisure, and gender.

It is a very impressive book. Its coverage of contemporary discourses of fatherhood is comprehensive. The theoretical stance is one that allows for complexity and fluidity. The authors write well, making even esoteric sociological and cultural theory accessible. I recommend it' - "British Journal of Social Work " Constructing Fatherhood provides an analysis of the social, cultural and symbolic meanings of fatherhood in contemporary western societies. The authors draw on poststructuralist theory to analyze the representation of fatherhood in the expert' literature of psychology, sociology and the health sciences, and in popular sources such as television, film, advertisements and child-care and parenting manuals and magazines. Men's own accounts of first-time fatherhood are also drawn upon, including four individual case studies.

Drawing on both sociological and anthropological perspectives, this volume explores cross-national trends and everyday experiences of ‘parenting’. Parenting in Global Perspective examines the significance of ‘parenting’ as a subject of professional expertise, and activity in which adults are increasingly expected to be emotionally absorbed and become personally fulfilled. By focusing the significance of parenting as a form of relationship and as mediated by family relationships across time and space, the book explores the points of accommodation and points of tension between parenting as defined by professionals, and those experienced by parents themselves. Specific themes include: the ways in which the moral context for parenting is negotiated and sustained the structural constraints to ‘good’ parenting (particularly in cases of immigration or reproductive technologies) the relationship between intimate family life and broader cultural trends, parenting culture, policy making and nationhood parenting and/as adult ‘identity-work’. Including contributions on parenting from a range of ethnographic locales – from Europe, Canada and the US, to non-Euro-American settings such as Turkey, Chile and Brazil, this volume presents a uniquely critical and international perspective, which positions parenting as a global ideology that intersects in a variety of ways with the political, social, cultural, and economic positions of parents and families.

This aim of this open access book is to launch an international, cross-disciplinary conversation on fatherhood engagement. By integrating perspective from three sectors -- Health, Social Policy, and Work in Organizations -- the book offers a novel perspective on the benefits of engaged fatherhood for men, for families, and for gender equality. The chapters are crafted to engaged broad audiences, including policy makers and organizational leaders, healthcare practitioners and fellow scholars, as well as families and their loved ones.

Teaches seven essential skills to aid in negotiating with children, ending conflict and bringing more joy into the family.

If you could improve one area in your dad journey...what would it be? What would it be like if you mastered not one, but several aspects of your dad journey all at once? What would life be like if you improved your level of patience, had better and deeper connections with your wife and kids, improved your relationships outside the immediate family, and all while mastering a good work/life balance? How would life be different if you did this?Hello, I'm Larry Hagner and I'm a dad. I love being a dad. And I believe that being a dad is one of the most rewarding aspects of a man's life. However, being a father can humble you like nothing else can. There really is no roadmap. With so few resources out there for dads like us, I decided to create The Dad Edge to help YOU as a dad to give you easy to implement techniques you can use to be your very best and enjoy your journey of fatherhood.The Dad's Edge will help you:* Master work/life balance* Discover three techniques to improve and maintain a great connection with your kids* Improve your connection & intimacy with your spouse, no matter how busy you are* Improve your relationships outside the immediately family* Uncover three easy ways to improve your patience short term and long term* Discover simple ways to show up big for your kids and be present in the moment* Thrive (Not Survive) your journey of fatherhoodIf you can identify with one or more of these issues, I understand first hand. Every one of us struggles with these issues on our dad journey and now I've empowered you with some great strategies and a solid roadmap in The Dad's Edge so you can relax and feel confident you are "good dad focused" and nothing will stand in your way!

A group of former gang members come together to help one another answer the question “How can I be a good father when I’ve never had one?” In 2010, former gang leader turned community activist Big Mike Cummings asked UCLA gang expert Jorja Leap to co-lead a group of men struggling to be better fathers in Watts, South Los Angeles, a neighborhood long burdened with a legacy of racialized poverty, violence, and incarceration. These men, black and brown, from late adolescence to middle age, are trying to heal themselves and their community, and above all to build their identities as fathers. Each week, they come together to help one another answer the question “How can I be a good father when I’ve never had one?” Project Fatherhood follows the lives of the men as they struggle with the pain of their own losses, the chronic pressures of poverty and unemployment, and the unquenchable desire to do better and provide more for the next generation. Although the group begins as a forum for them to discuss issues relating to their roles as parents, it slowly grows to mean much more: it becomes a place where they can share jokes and traumatic experiences, joys and sorrows. As the men repair their own lives and gain confidence, the group also becomes a place for them to plan and carry out activities to help the Watts community grow as well as thrive. By immersing herself in the lived experiences of those working to overcome their circumstances, Leap not only dramatically illustrates the realities of fathers trying to do the right thing, but she also paints a larger sociological portrait of how institutional injustices become manifest in the lives of ordinary people. At a time in which racial justice seems more elusive than ever—stymied by the generational cycles of mass incarceration and the cradle-to-prison pipeline—the group’s development over time demonstrates real-life movement toward solutions as the men help one another make their families and their community stronger.