Myths and Lies about Dads

Myths and Lies About Dads: How They Hurt Us All is a groundbreaking book that destroys more than 100 of the most damaging beliefs about fathers. Using the most recent research, this pioneering work exposes these baseless beliefs and the toll they take on children’s relationships with their fathers, parents’ relationships with one another, and the physical and mental health of fathers and mothers. Tackling a wide range of topics from custody laws, to children’s toys, to the sexist behavior of counselors, pediatricians, and lawyers, Dr Linda Nielsen describes in vivid detail how these myths are linked to many of our most pressing issues:Creating more gender equity in childcare and houseworkReducing child abuse, post-partum depression, and fathers’ suicide ratesExpanding mothers’ and fathers’ options at home and at workReducing children’s academic, behavioral, and emotional problemsLessening the pressures of parenting for both parentsChanging sexist policies and practices that hurt parents and childrenImproving the economic situations for parents and their children.The book is not only a wake-up call for parents but also for students and professionals in medicine and family law, social work, child development, education, and in the publishing, advertising, media, and entertainment industries. Above all, the book empowers parents to free themselves from the myths and lies about fathers that bind them.

‘This pioneering work fills an important gap: For a long time we have been waiting for guidance based on verified data in order to be able to deal with parental-child relationships objectively, especially in cases of family breakdown.’-Jose Torres, Professor at University of Malaga"This is an extraordinary compendium of key research gathered into one place. It will be a critical resource for a wide variety of readers from college students to graduate school students to clinicians, to those involved in the courts with families." -Patricia Papernow, psychologist, author, teacher, consultant, Director of Institute for Stepfamily Education"Grounded in a wide range of research and draws implications that interest a general audience on current topics. The book’s material has direct implications for public policy regarding family law, divorce, and child custody. Nielsen frames these issues in a clever and catchy manner that make the book an ideal choice for academic courses, with appeal to a much wider general audience." Richard Warshak, clinical and research psychologist and author

Dr Linda Nielsen is a Professor of Education at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. An international authority on father-daughter relationships and shared parenting for separated parents, her work has been featured in a PBS documentary and in the media, including the BBC, NPR, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Time, and Oprah.