An indispensable handbook on all aspects of fatherhood during the first 12 months, by the author of The Expectant Father.

Incorporating the author's and other fathers' personal experiences, as well as the advice of top researchers in the parenting field, The New Father offers invaluable information and practical tips on such issues as:

* Charting the baby's physical, intellectual, verbal, and social development

* Understanding your own emotional and psychological development

* Analyzing the baby's temperament

* Choosing the right life insurance policy

* Dealing with changes in your relationship with your partner

* Becoming an involved father when you see your baby for only a short time after work every day

* Juggling your work and family roles

* Introducing the baby to music, reading, and yes, even computers

Illustrated with delightful cartoons that underscore the joys and challenges of parenting, The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year is an essential sourcebook for every dad. It's sure to give every mom a lot of fresh insights as well.

Other Details: 30 black-and-white illustrations 240 pages 6 x 6" Published 1997

they are six or seven," says pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton. Brazelton adds that with the father's involvement "the child is also more likely to have a sense of humor, to develop a sort of inner excitement, to believe in himself or herself, to be more motivated to learn."

In contrast, a father's emotional distance can have a profound negative impact. "Research clearly demonstrates the direct correlation between father absence and higher rates of aggressive behavior in sons, sexually precocious behavior in daughters and more rigid sex stereotypes in children of both sexes," writes Dr. Louise B. Silverstein of New York University.

Second, it's good for you