Fatherhood²: Contributors – Choose Your Weapons!

As I announced in my last post, I’m planning on putting together a book about fatherhood before the end of the year, and the working title is “An A to Z of Fatherhood”. After I put the post up, I received LOADS of really positive feedback from other fathers who are keen to contribute, which is brilliant news.

Without exception, everyone that replied asked me “But what should I write about?”. So, I’ve put together what I hope could be a good chapter list, following the A to Z format. I’m not entirely fixed on it yet – it may be easier to do a couple of topics for each letter rather than just one, as I’m a bit worried that I’m going to miss interesting topics out by tying myself to such a strict format. But I’m going to go with this for now and see where it takes me.

So, if you were one of the people that expressed an interest in contributing, take a look at the list and let me know THREE topics you think you could write about. That way, I’ve got some wiggle room if one particular topic appeals to a lot of you.

To answer another question I got asked, you are of course free to rework an existing piece of work you’ve written, or start from scratch. Provided you have the right permissions to contribute it, you can do so. Aim for between 1,500 and 2,500 words, though longer is fine too.

So without further “ado”, here’s the list as it stands. The words in brackets are simply me expanding on the topic with some suggested things you COULD cover – feel free to ignore it if you have better ideas of your own. Anyway, make your selections and let me know…

• Anti-natal Classes (and other pre-birth concerns)
• Birth (including the types of birth, issues, advice etc)
• Changes (how life is different as a new father)
• Divorce (or separation and the like)
• Eating (Fussy eaters, food, nutrition etc)
• Friends (Social life, going out etc)
• Gadgets (including pushchairs, car seats, electronics and equipment)
• Houses (moving, buying houses, baby-proofing)
• In-laws (and grandparents in general)
• Jobs (being a working parent, responsibility, money, being a house-husband)
• Keeping up with the Jones (competitiveness, pressures etc)
• Language (learning to speak, bad language, issues, writing)
• Mortality (dealing with death, other big questions)
• Names (choosing a name, nicknames etc)
• Old Age (being an older father, getting old, grandparents)
• Partners (wives, mothers, co-parenting, same-sex couples)
• Questions (dealing with tricky questions, inquisitive children)
• Routine (advantages, disadvantages, how to use them)
• Sex! (Romance, sex life, conceiving etc)
• Toys (pretty self explanatory!)
• Under the Weather (illness, injuries, disabilities)
• Vacations (holidays, trips out, travel with children)
• Worrying (things you worry about, stress)
• X-Rated (The birds and bees, bad language, more sex)
• Young People (teenagers, growing up, other children)
• Zzzzzzzz (Sleep – yours and theirs)