Customer Reviews
Laugh, Cry and Reflect......Not Necessarily In That Order! - By: Get Tae Falkirk, 12 Aug 2008 
As a proud & devoted father of three wonderful children IMHO (....read the book & you'll understand the brackets!) this outstanding book validated what I found in my own journey, giving it a perspective & structure for the first time.
The rules are told with razor sharp wit & self deprecating humour (which I absolutely adored, probably because I identified with it so much). It also provides a candid appreciation of how relationships change when you have a family - alll told with a stark & telling honesty.
I don't think I've ever read a book where the author is so obviously self aware & comfortable with what he or she finds.
Read this book, as the title of my review says; I cried, laughed & reflected on how important my three kids are to me. It alllowed me to validate these feelings in a context & totality I'd never enjoyed or experienced before.
The hard part is now putting it into practice........perhaps a sequel will be needed. Come on Andrew!!!
I was surprised by the pace, and the cartoons, and the cleverness - By: Sexy Mum, 15 Jul 2008 One of the funniest, most truthful pieces I ever read was an Andrew Clover Sunday Times column about the sport of Baby Dump - about how parents dump the baby on each other. So I bought Dad Rules for my husband as a Father's Day present. He's a very slow reader. I thought he'd like a series of funny stories, that he could dip into every night. Once he'd started, I figured I could borrow the book back & read it myself. My first surprise was that he read it in one sitting. The second was that he became convulsed with laughter, which I've never seen before. The third was that he cried, twice. The fourth was that he told me he loved me - which he never normallly does. The fifth was that he suggested we had more children - which is unthinkable. So then I read the book myself. My first surprise was that the book didn't read like a collection of short funny stories. It's got a speedy narrative to it, & has also got some very charming cartoons. My second surprise was realising how brilliantly clever it is. Every chapter gives you a different Dad Rule: they tell you something Clover has learned, about how to be happy. As you read the book, you feel you're changing with him, becoming wiser, & happier, & more loving. I've now bought five more copies. I'm going to give them to any parent who's recently had a child, & to any men who are scared of having children (I know several), & to anyone who would like to have a laugh. My third surprise, which I only realised a week or so later, was that Dad Rules doesn't contain the Baby Dump piece. I'm hoping Clover is saving it for a sequal. I hope he's getting on with it. I want it as soon as possible.
If you only buy one book on parenting - buy this one. - By: Teresa Hamilton, 18 Jun 2008 Whether you have children or not you will adore this book. Andrew Clover's genius soars out from every page. Hilarious, honest & humbling, Clover portrays parenting as it should be - fun, frolics & fantasy. I just wish I'd read it before having my three, it puts parenting into perspective. A best seller if ever I saw one - spread the word.
For all Dads or Dads to be this will make an excellent gift! - By: RP Malone, 18 Jun 2008 Loved Clover's mischievous, launch into the priceless joys & perils of fatherhood. He shows you that anything can happen & how you may have to chuck out most of the Dad Rules you grew up with, if parenting is to be the often outrageous, irreverent adventure he suggests. Brazenly honest & often hilarious, you'll love this book.
I've bought two copies already & I predict this will be a bestseller through the grape vine. I'm praying he'll write another - it's also a kick up the arse for the nanny state.
Laugh out loud and true - By: Swerlybird, 09 Jun 2008 Loved this book.
Not only did it make me laugh out loud, a lot, but also reminded me about the truths of good parenting - to be happy (...have faith that...in the long run...your kids will learn from how you behave, rather than how you tell them to behave) & spend time 'doing nothing' with your kids. Even my husband put aside his books on Globalisation & Economics to read it from cover to cover, laughing alll the while.
