Articles, advice and tips on fatherhood

Welcome to Reluctantdad.com. This site is for the guy (or girl, I suppose) who is destined to parenthood somewhat unwillingly. Or altogether unwillingly. Here you will find useful tips, anecdotes, and disturbing but necessary information about parenthood. It has been my experience that there are many guides available for the willingly and gleeful parent-to-be. While useful for there targeted audience they tended to make me sick. What I needed was information for someone who had envisioned a life free of parental responsibilities, sometimes wondered whether being in a coma or having children would be less fun, and had no knowledge of how babies worked having avoided them at all costs. That is, until now.

Depending upon the geographical location where you live, attitudes toward spawning that are similar to mine may be rare or unheard of (i.e. Midwest America ), so hopefully this guide will help the few closest non-breeders out there. I believe, however, that as the world becomes smaller and busier there will be more people in relationships where conflict arises over the question of having children.

I should say that, while children are a whole lot of work... all the time... every night and day of the year... forever... there are moments that suck less than others. If you were to ask me whether I would like to have never had children, and go back to being able to sleep, eat, think, read, watch TV, dress, and not step on sharp pointy toys in the middle of the night, I would be inclined to say "maybe". But not "definitely", which I think is a sign of hope for you and me, considering the defiant stance and clarity of vision I had prior to producing offspring (of which I now have two!).

So I think this would be an excellent guide for guys who know they aren't cut out to be dads, but who have found themselves destined to parenthood nonetheless. And please be aware that if your wife or partner has floated the idea of having a child because, "well, it might be fun," even in passing, you're going to end up with at least one kid.

Many of the other tips I have are universal and pertinent to anyone, even those blessed not to have any doubts or hesitations about spawning. So check in often as everyday is a learning experience in my life as a Reluctant Dad and I'll relay those to as soon as I recover.

Feel free to contact me with questions, comments or advice of your own. People like us need as much support as we can get. This educational website has a great selection of parental involvement tips and resources.

Why have babies? I don’t know. I suppose if you had some sort of incredibly important and top secret information that you feel could only be trusted to someone you had helped to create, then you might have a kid. Other than that, I still have no idea. It’s not like the world is dangerously under populated. And there’s a fairly slim chance that your offspring will cure the world’s ills, but a very good chance that your kid will grow up to contribute to them, being human and all. more... Drool Babies drool a lot. Like a river. It’s not so bad when they’re small and immobile, but once they’re crawling or walking the drool gets spread all over the house. When I’m walking through the house and my feet are sticking to the floor I’m always reminded of the creatures in the movie, Aliens. more...