Fatherhood Reinvented

The parent–child book market has suddenly taken on a more masculine vibe. Books by authors ­Chang Ta-­chuen ­and Yang Zhao about their children were followed by My Little Boys, a collection of Facebook entries by Luo Yi­jun, and On Fatherhood: Shock and Surprise by Dennis ­Huang. A new approach to fatherhood is rising that offers something quite distinct from the typical women’s take on childrearing.

Li Wei-wen, the founder of the Society of Wilderness, who is also the author of parenting books, explains that because the previous generation of fathers didn’t involve themselves much in their children’s lives, or were too reserved to express their feelings on such matters, there was a dearth of books about parenting from a father’s perspective. In recent years, as the role of fathers has changed and with the increasing popularity of blogs and social networks, many more men have become willing to share their take on childrearing.

When Li took responsibility for Society of Wilderness publications, he also entered the ranks of parenting book authors. For the society’s periodicals, he began to write articles that combined his interests in exploration of nature and in children’s growth. To his surprise, these pieces ­really resonated with readers, and attracted new readers who were also grappling with their own roles as parents.

Media figure Dennis Huang’s On Fatherhood is packed with small details about his two sons’ lives, as well as loving memories of his own mother.

Li describes fathers in their forties and fifties as “the confused generation.” Unhappy with the pressures that their own parents put them under as children, they are subconsciously resistant to taking the same approach. But what should they do instead? “Because there are no set models for them to follow, they are a confused generation of fathers,” he says.

Without ready definitions to guide them, this generation of fathers write essays that are quite varied in character. Take Brian Wu, author of The Child Who Refused to Take the Joint Entrance Exams. His Frightened in Japan: A Journey of a Father, Mother and Son by Train and A Trip Together Through China: A Graduation Present from a Taiwanese Father to His Son are descriptions of trips he took his child on and meditations about the nature of life itself. Meanwhile, ­Chang Ta-­chuen’s Learn a Few Characters and Characters to Give a Child use discussion of the written word to convey important messages to his children. And Chen Hao’s Father, Daughter and Yang Zhao’s I Want to Be a Part of Your Life: Writings of Love for My Daughter are descriptions of daily life spent with daughters, suffused with a warm and sincere paternal love.

Li Wei-wen explains that these fathers all have their own areas of professional expertise, and those special skills often serve as entry points to unique stories about parenthood. And because fathers tend to form strong bonds with their children at a later stage than breastfeeding mothers, their books offer a different tone and approach from the typical parenthood books written by mothers.

As a new age of fatherhood is emerging, men’s voices are beginning to be heard in discussions of parenting, an area in which women used to predominate.

In addition to the many works that describe what men learn as parents, there is another popular type of book about the parent–child relationship written by fathers—reminiscences about their own childhoods and youths that are prompted by their lives as fathers. For instance, in I Call Him Grandpa, senior media figure Wang ­Chien-­chuang pieces together memories of his father and family as he writes about his father’s transformation upon becoming a grandfather. Luo Yi­jun’s Moon Clan and ­Chang Ta-­chuen’s Listen to Father are books of a similar ilk.

Li explains that people have much different parenting experiences and values from the previous generation, so when raising children, people born in the 1950 and 1960s inevitably reflect on their relationships with their own parents. For instance, in several best-selling memoirs ­Hsiao Yeh has described his love–hate relationship with his father, who took a stern and high-pressure approach to parenting. Readers of his books can see how ­Hsiao Yeh takes an entirely different tack, giving his children great freedom.

Parenthood is no longer a solo act for mothers. Drawing from their own unique experiences, this generation of men are rewriting what it means to be a father.