The Real Dad Rules: The Everyday Steps, Secrets, and Satisfactions of Being a Real Dad, Every Day

by Dan Pearce

What is the difference between a dad and a real dad? A big one! Dan Pearce, author of the world's most popular dad blog (Single Dad Laughing), discusses the path that real dads take, the personal strength every father has, and the poignant realities of fatherhood.Pearce shares his own story of unexpectedly becoming a single dad (for the second time), as well as his own list of "Real Dad Rules" which he wrote to make sure that while he was going through his toughest moments, single fatherhood never turned into bad fatherhood.The Real Dad Rules is full of simple, powerful, and effective parenting discussion that can be read cover to cover or pulled off the shelf for that occasional burst of motivation when it's needed most. From a real dad's healthy touch, to powerful labeling, to the way a man treats the women in his life, this book covers it in a way that makes sense.Every child deserves a real dad. And every dad has the power and ability to be one. It just takes dedication, hard work, the occasional bout of humility, practice, a lot of laughing, and time.It doesn't matter where a dad starts in his journey. It doesn't matter what kind of past he has had or what mistakes have been made along the way. It doesn't matter what he is struggling with most. What matters is that he starts. What matters is that he is working on it. What matters is that he gives it his all.The Real Dad Rules is a must read by every father, no matter how far along he is in his own parenting journey. With special bonus chapters dedicated to single dads and stepdads, every father will find extremely useful and logical tools that he can use all along the way.Being a dad should be exciting. It should be fun. It should keep you on your toes. And, it should be the most fulfilling of all life's accomplishments. Real dads do it all, and they have a blast while they do.

Genres: Parenting

294 pages, Paperback

First published May 9, 2011

About the author

Dan Pearce is an American-born author, photographer, and artist, most widely known for his world-popular blog Single Dad Laughing, where he wrote and shared content for millions of daily subscribers for more than a decade.

Dan Pearce's book "The All-Important Well-Fed Giant White Man" is a beloved memoir full of life stories and lessons.

He is also the author of the book The Real Dad Rules which has hit #1 in Fatherhood on Amazon.com multiple times.

He has been featured in large publications and editorial pieces and has appeared on national and morning television programs and national radio shows.

His most notable blog entries include:

16 Ways I Blew My Marriage

I'm Christian Unless You're Gay

The Disease Called "Perfection"

You just broke your child. Congratulations.

Dan Pearce writes on topics that span from fatherhood, to relationships, to life, to the people and dynamics of society.

Reviews

[Nicole Shelby · Rating 2 out of 5]

My friend shared with me Dan Pearce's blog: Single Dad Laughing. I've found it heartfelt, humorous, sweet, honest, intelligent...and often what I want to read, and what I need to hear. It is not often that I read a blog where I want to share every article I read with everyone I know...with this one that is true.

When I realized that he'd written a book...I immediately went to Amazon and bought it for my Kindle. Now, I'm "currently reading" it...


"Real dads also understand that time cannot be contained. They understand that minutes turn into hours, hours turn into days, and days turn into years. They understand that they're only given so much time to give their child a real chance at a spectacular and fulfilling life, and they don't squander that time looking for missed opportunity.
I've yet to meet the parent of a grown child who didn't recount the speed at which their child came, grew-up, and was gone. They all tell me the same thing. "Those 18 years pass by in the blink of an eye." ...Where it ends up is nowhere near as important as how it ends up. Real dads don't work on the "when". Real dads work on the "hows". Imagine how beautiful the lives are of those fathers, and their children, who are able to truly comprehend and live by that single directive.
Believe me. It's not always a simple directive to live. It's the single most powerful mandate to real parenting that ironically take the least amount of effort to achieve. It's worry that takes effort. It's perfectly plotting out the future you think you'll have that takes effort.
Letting life happen takes no effort at all. So quit wasting it on the uncontrollable and really enjoy those eighteen or so years that you have with your child...
Maybe, in fact, life will find your son's or your daughter's natural, hidden, and secret talents, aptitudes, and capacities, and it will put beautiful things in place for both of you that you couldn't have planned if you tried.
The greatest gift you'll give to the world is your child. The greatest gift you'll give to your child is the opportunity to let life shape the best parts of him. The greatest gift you'll give to yourself is freedom from what you can't control. And the greatest gift your child will give you is a life free from resentment and full of gratitude for your ability to do it.
Those eighteen years are ours for the making just as much as they are ours for the breaking."

[Thomas Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the simplest books written on such a complicated subject. It doesn't dive off the deep end of how to parent or drown the reader in statistics but gives simple no nonsense guides to improve fatherhood.

I'm reading it for the second time and the worst thing I can say about the book is it ends. Not how it ends but that it doesn't magically go on forever.

[Tiare · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was trying to finish this book on time to give to my kids Dad for Father's Day but I only got halfway through it. I may pick it up later again to finish. This book is definitely geared towards Fathers, unlike his blog posts to which I feel anyone can relate to.