Father's Day Gift Giving Guide -- Be a Better Dad Today! by Gregory W. Slayton (Review)

Be a Better Dad Today by Gregory Slayton - an American professor, diplomat and father of four is supported by a lineup of prominent endorsements such as Senator Joe Lieberman, Senator John McCain and former Florida governor Jeb Bush with a foreword by the late Chuck Colson.

The last time Gregory spoke with his father, Gregory was in the hospital and close to death. His dad cut short the conversation, promising to call back shortly. For 25 years, he never did. His father died in 2007, alone and in great pain. As Gregory writes “he was the saddest man I have ever known.”

With deployed fathers returning to their families, Gregory can advise on how to reconnect as a father, the impact of their absence and how to deal with post-war anxiety as a father. Gregory has initiated a program that provides complimentary copies of Be a Better Dad Today to active military dads. 

Here are a few chilling statistics:


* Boys reared without their fathers are 70% more likely to end up in prison

* 35% percent of adolescent girls whose fathers left before the age of six become pregnant, compared to just 5 percent of girls whose fathers stayed with the family.

* Children raised by failing fathers (absent or essentially absent from the home) are at least twice as likely to become drug addicts, drop out of school, and/or commit teen suicide.

Be a Better Dad Today speaks to all fathers, no matter their unique situation, and even speaks to fathers who haven’t really played much of a role in their children’s lives at all. 100% of the royalty profits from the book will be donated to various fatherhood charities.

 

Synopsis:

Be a Better Dad Today! is a book for every one of us who want to be a better Fathers for our family. Written in an encouraging, fun to read style by bestselling author Gregory W. Slayton, Be a Better Dad Today! is designed to help each of us become better Fathers, better Husbands and better Men. It is bound to be an instant classic on the subject of Fatherhood. Background for Be a Better Dad Today!: Professor Slayton has studied the art and practice of Fatherhood on six different continents over the past 25 years. He grew up in a difficult family environment even before his father abandoned his family. The last time he spoke with his father, Gregory was in the hospital and close to death. His dad cut short the conversation, promising to call back shortly. For 25 years, he never did. His father died in 2007, alone and in great pain. As Professor Slayton writes “he was the saddest man I have ever known.” This book seeks to help each of its readers to be the best Fathers they can be…and overcome whatever issues they may have inherited or grown up with.


Professor Slayton has been married to his wife Marina for 22+ years. They have four great kids, the eldest two of whom are attending Ivy League universities. As a family they have weathered many storms – as all families must. But by God’s grace and with His help, all things are possible. Like its author, Be a Better Dad Today! is a work in process.


The Ten Basic Fatherhood Tools are highlighted in Be A Better Dad Today!! Like anyone trying to do a difficult job, Dads need the right tools to get the Fatherhood job done right. Be a Better Dad Today! I devoted an entire chapter to each of the Ten Tools Check out excerpts from each of the chapters .

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My Thoughts:

I enlisted my husband to help with this book review, as he is now a dad to two daughters.  Even though Arabella (6 months) and Savannah (23 months) are young, these are crucial times in their lives, where they begin to absorb and associate things with Daddy.  My husband makes a point to spend time with them before he lives for work in the AM, by having breakfast with them, and then when he returns home at night, he has one-on-one time with each of the girls, as well as read them a book at bedtime.  This father-daughter bonding is crucial in how they view their dad and men in the future.  

As a child, my father worked a lot as a police officer to provide for my two brothers and I, and allow my mother to be a stay-at-home mom.  Unfortunately, this meant details that lasted all night, and working holidays, including Christmas.  Times when he should have been around, he wasn't.  To fill this void, my mother acted as both a mother and father figure.  My brothers taught me how to throw a baseball, about sports, etc., as my dad was always working.  It wasn't until I was heading off to college, that he began to spend more time at home, as he was nearing retirement.  I remember sitting down with him once, and him telling me his wished he could have been around more when I was growing up, and how he wished he was a better parent.  All that he, which he learned from his father, was that you had to work, in order to provide for your family.  Mothers would stay home and raise the children, while fathers went off to work and bring home the bacon.  But, little did people know then and now how crucial the role of a father is in a child's life (no matter what their age).  As my father and I finished our conversation that day, I told him that his parenting job is not done, even though I was heading off to school.  I still looked up to him, and would turn to him for guidance and support.  This hasn't changed, now that I am married and have a family of my own.  I still see my father as an important figure in my life, and continue to seek guidance from him.

So, when I gave this book to my husband to read, he was reluctant to read it at first, as he thought it didn't matter right now, as the girls were so young.  I told him to read it, and to keep an open mind.  He ended up putting the book on the nightstand, and would glance at it here and there.  It wasn't until he finished reading the forward and the first chapter, that he was hooked and wanted to continue to read it.  He liked how the author shared personal stories as a way to share practical steps on becoming a better father.  Upon finishing the book, my husband thanked me for giving him this book to read.  He ended up highlighting many of the tools in the book, and said he would be reading this book for year's to come, as a refresher and way to improve his parenting and role as a father.  As far as being included in my Father's Day Gift Giving Guide, he said this is the one must- read/must-have book for fathers.  They will learn so much and become better fathers, husband and men, as a result of it. With that being said, why not pick up a copy of this book for your dad today?  It is not too late to become a better father!

---BUY NOW---

Click here to order a copy of this book today, to receive in time for Father's Day, from Amazon for only $16.11.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gregory Winston Slayton is an Adjunct Professor of Business Administration at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and continues to work as a venture capitalist. He is also a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership at UIBE Business School in Beijing.

Gregory Slayton was appointed by President George W. Bush as the United States Consul General and Chief of Mission to Bermuda, a position he held for four years from his swearing in by Secretary of State Rice on August 15, 2005 until August, 2009. Slayton and his wife, Marina, founded the Slayton Family Foundation in 1999.

Disclosure:  I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher in order to write up an honest review.  The views above are mine and mine alone.