Boot Camp for New Dads Offers Tips

USA (SANEPR.com) September 11, 2008 -- Bishop, who founded Boot Camp for New Dads in 1990 and has helped to prepare more than 200,000 men for fatherhood over the years, offers important advice from his second book, Crash Course for New Dads: Tools, Checklists and Cheat Sheets on how to support a mom-to-be:

Communicate. Make it a point to talk to each other about your thoughts, concerns about the new baby and plans for the future. Even if mom seems to be handling pregnancy well, talking about what is happening now and in the future is the best way for you to prepare to be a family.

Get moving. Forego sitting around watching television. Take walks together. Not only will this physically benefit the both of you, it will also open the lines of communication.

Show her you care. Pregnancy is the time to take it up a notch and get even more creative in showing her how much you care about her and the baby. For example, if she has a craving for ice cream, call her from the ice cream store and read her the flavors. Paint the nursery with rainbows. You get the idea.

Help her cope. Moms-to-be will experience countless physical and emotional changes. You can help her through this by becoming more knowledgeable about her symptoms. Take the initiative and read some of her favorite pregnancy books. If she doesn’t have any books yet, be a hero and make the trip to the bookstore or library and ask the staff for recommendations.

Let her lean on you. The physical and emotional impacts of pregnancy may be intense and she is going to depend on you to help her get through the roughest times. From cravings to morning sickness, intense backaches and more, she’ll benefit from you comforting her and helping her to hold it all together.

Accompany her to the doctor. This is the single most important thing you can do during pregnancy, as visits with the obstetrician get you personally connected with what’s going on with mom and your baby. Keep the focus on mom and make sure she is getting all her questions answered.

“Every mom-to-be will experience a unique rollercoaster of physical and emotional changes. Dads have the important job of taking care of mom before, during and after the birth of their child,” explained Bishop. “During pregnancy, dads tend to serve as the ‘punching bag’ for all moms’ frustrations. Be patient and understanding. Don’t get drawn into arguments and try to show her the lighter side of things. Laughter can relieve a lot of stress.”

Bishop’s first book, Hit the Ground Crawling, is focused on work balance; being a dad and caring for mom. Both books are available online at www.DadsAdventure.com.

New Dads Learn What to Expect at Boot Camp Workshops
Dads-to-be will be better equipped to face the challenges and opportunities of fatherhood after attending a Boot Camp “hands on” educational workshop. Men attend the class when they are expecting their first baby, and are joined in the workshop by “veterans” who had previously attended and have returned with their two to four-month-old baby in tow. They are able to give the dads-to-be a realistic idea of what to do and what to expect when their first baby comes.

Boot Camp for New Dads
Now celebrating their 18th year, Boot Camp for New Dads is nationally acclaimed as the “Best Practice” for preparing men to be fathers and has been named a U.S. Navy Model Program. Boot Camp for New Dads has prepared more than 200,000 men for fatherhood over the years.

With more than 4.1 million births last year alone (National Center for Health Statistics), and approximately 1.5 million men becoming new dads every year, it’s more important than ever for fathers to realize that being a “good provider” is only part of the very central role they have in their children’s lives.

For more information about Boot Camp for New Dads, visit www.bcnd.org. To arrange an interview with Greg Bishop, please contact sdubin@prworkzone.com, (781) 582-1061.

National and International Locations
Boot Camp For New Dads locations include ALASKA (Anchorage); ARIZONA (Chandler, Flagstaff, Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sun City); ARKANSAS (Jonesboro, Paragould, Springdale); CALIFORNIA (Apple Valley, Bakersfield, , Fresno, Garden Grove, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Madera, Merced, Mission Hills, , Oakland, Orange, Pomona, Port Hueneme, San Diego, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, , S. Lake Tahoe, Travis, Valley Springs); COLORADO (Aurora, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins, Fort Carson, Greeley, Longmont, Thornton, Wheat Ridge); CONNECTICUT (Bristol, Danbury, New London); FLORIDA (Brandon, Clearwater, Hollywood, Jacksonville, North Palm Beach, Orlando, St. Petersburg, West Palm Beach, Sarasota, Tampa); GEORGIA (Atlanta, Elberton, Gainesville, Marietta, Savannah); HAWAII (Pearl Harbor, Schofield); ILLINOIS (Aurora, Carbondale, Champaign, Chicago, East St. Louis, Evanston, Freeport, Geneva, Great Lakes, Highland Park, Libertyville, Moline, Oak Park, Rockford, Springfield, Urbana, Winfield); INDIANA (Anderson, Bluffton, Hammond, Indianapolis, Jeffersonville, Kokomo); IOWA (Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Jefferson, Sioux City); KANSAS (Junction City, Topeka); KENTUCKY (Paducah); LOUISIANA (Covington); MAINE (Auburn, Augusta, Bangor, Brunswick, Ellsworth, Waterville); MARYLAND (Annapolis) MASSACHUSETTS (Beverly, Ipswich, Lowell, Nantucket, Plymouth, Weymouth, Springfield); MICHIGAN (, Ann Arbor, Bay City, Centreville, Iron Mountain, Ithaca, Kalamazoo, Niles, St Joseph, Ypsilanti); MINNESOTA (Brainerd, Duluth, Robbinsdale); MISSISSIPPI (Tupelo); MISSOURI (Jefferson City) MONTANA (Billings, Helena, Miles City); NEBRASKA (Kearney, Lincoln, Omaha); NEVADA (Las Vegas) NEW HAMPSHIRE (Manchester, Portsmouth); NEW JERSEY (Princeton) NEW YORK (Glens Falls, Little Falls, Mineola, Rome, Utica); NORTH CAROLINA (Burlington, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Concord, Ft. Bragg, Greensboro, Monroe, Raleigh, Shelby); NORTH DAKOTA (Grand Forks); OHIO (Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, East Cleveland, East Liverpool, Garfield Heights, Lima, Lorain, Mayfield Heights, Middleburg Heights, Orange Village, Portsmouth, Toledo, Warren, Westlake, Youngstown); OKLAHOMA (Claremore, Oklahoma City, Tulsa); OREGON (Corvalis, McMinnville, Salem, Silverton); SOUTH CAROLINA (Columbia, Pickens, Walhalla); TENNESSEE (Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis); TEXAS (Amarillo, Dallas, Fort Hood, Longview, Lubbock, Plano, San Antonio, Texarkana, Waco, Webster); VERMONT (Barre, Brattleboro, Middlebury); VIRGINIA (Charlottesville, Chesapeake, Hampton, Richmond) WASHINGTON (Everett, Fairchild AFB, Longview, Olympia, Puyallup, Yakima); WEST VIRGINIA (Wheeling); WISCONSIN (Florence, Green Bay, Madison, Oshkosh, Watertown, Wausau); JAPAN (Atsugi, Yokosuka), ITALY (Sicily); UNITED KINGDOM [a.k.a. Hit the Ground Crawling"> (Birmingham, Liverpool)