This stimulating book explores many fascinating new understandings of the importance of a father in a child's development. Richard Fletcher, a pioneer researcher in the area of men's health and family issues, examines how a father's close bond with his baby is vital for the development of the child's healthy brain structure and their cognitive and emotional development.

The Dad Factor presents explanations of why a father's involvement with his child, right from birth, is vitally important to the development of a child's brain and emotional stability. In this book Richard Fletcher considers the following new findings:

• In the first hours after birth a baby is primed to react to the father's voice he or she heard when in the womb.
• Father-baby bonding matters for the child's emotional, physical and cognitive development.
• The way that a father interacts with his baby can shape the structure of the baby's brain. The effect of a dad simply 'playing around' with his child can alter the pathways formed by the neurons in the brain of that growing infant. (So fathers playing 'peek-a-boo' are not wasting time but doing the real stuff of parenting!)

Additionally, Richard Fletcher addresses some contentious issues of child development, examines the evolution of a father's role, and uses feedback from men in his parenting classes to answer many questions a new father-to-be might have.

'Clearly written, user-friendly, and based on the latest science, this book is groundbreaking in what it offers to young dads. It will lead to closer and happier families for years to come. An incredibly important book.'

- Steve Biddulph, author of Raising Boys