Greg Bishop, Founder of Boot Camp for New Dads Helps New Fathers Deal with Economic Realities in Latest Book

Today’s economic realities create difficult circumstances. Many careers demand long working hours and a new baby adds to your financial requirements. Two income families may find they now have to rely on just one income which further puts a strain on the amount of time a working parent can spend with baby.

Bishop explains, “The first three years of a child’s life are the most vital in shaping who s/he will become later in life. A parent will never have other opportunities like those when a child is an infant, so a working parent must make sure that s/he does spend time – even if it is just a couple of hours a week – alone with baby now.”

Many veteran dads have faced such circumstances. Bishop shares strategies from Crash Course for New Dads for when a working parent’s time is short:

Hardly home? Make the time you do have count as much as possible. Change those diapers. Set the tone that despite work obligations, you are here to be a player and be involved.

Play with your baby before you leave in the morning and just after you get home. It has been found that babies sleep longer when a parent plays with them at night.

Strive for solutions that enable you to spend time with your child. Be creative. Figure out how to work from home; even once a week is better than nothing.

Play a strong role in providing emotional support for your partner who is home with your baby most of the time. Call, email or text each other to ask how s/he is doing and get the update on junior’s accomplishments of the day.

When home, spend time alone with your baby. Don’t let your limited experience as a care giver interfere. Send your partner out with friends so you can enjoy some one-on-one time with baby.

Don’t allow yourself to feel diminished because you can’t spend lots of time with your new child. Your work and income is your family’s lifeline.

Bishop continued, “Finding time to spend with baby is often an ongoing challenge for many working parents. Two-thirds of Boot Camp veteran dads reported that they would spend more time at home with their children if they were financially able to do so. Even though the time spent with your baby may be brief, it is well-spent and benefits both parent and child.”

Fatherhood Books Serve as a “Play by Play” Guides

Greg Bishop offers strategies from more than 200,000 new dads that have gone through the Boot Camp for New Dads program in both of his books, Crash Course for New Dads: Tools, Checklists and Cheat Sheets and his first book, Hit the Ground Crawling, which covers work balance, being a dad, caring for a new mom and much more. Both books are available online at DadsAdventure.com.

New Dads Learn What to Expect at Boot Camp Workshops

Dads-to-be will be better equipped to face the challenges and opportunities of fatherhood after attending a Boot Camp “hands on” educational workshop. Men attend the class when they are expecting their first baby, and are joined in the workshop by “veterans” who had previously attended and have returned with their two to four-month-old baby in tow. They are able to give the dads-to-be a realistic idea of what to do and what to expect when their first baby comes. For many men attending, it’s their first time holding a baby.

Boot Camp for New Dads

Now celebrating their 19th year, Boot Camp for New Dads is nationally acclaimed as the “Best Practice” for preparing men to be fathers and has been named a U.S. Navy Model Program. Boot Camp for New Dads has prepared more than 200,000 men for fatherhood over the years.

With more than 4.1 million births (National Center for Health Statistics), and approximately 1.5 million men becoming new dads every year, it’s more important than ever for fathers to realize that being a “good provider” is only part of the very central role they have in their children’s lives.

For more information about Boot Camp for New Dads, visit www.bcnd.org, or to visit Dads Adventure, go to www.Dadsadventure.com. To arrange an interview with Greg Bishop, please contact sdubin@prworkzone.com, (781) 582-1061.

National and International Locations

Boot Camp For New Dads locations include ALASKA (Anchorage); ARIZONA (Chandler, Flagstaff, Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sun City); ARKANSAS (Jonesboro, Paragould, Springdale); CALIFORNIA (Apple Valley, Bakersfield, , Fresno, Garden Grove, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Madera, Merced, Mission Hills, , Oakland, Orange, Pomona, Port Hueneme, San Diego, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, , S. Lake Tahoe, Travis, Valley Springs); COLORADO (Aurora, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins, Fort Carson, Greeley, Longmont, Thornton, Wheat Ridge); CONNECTICUT (Bristol, Danbury, New London); FLORIDA (Brandon, Clearwater, Hollywood, Jacksonville, North Palm Beach, Orlando, St. Petersburg, West Palm Beach, Sarasota, Tampa); GEORGIA (Atlanta, Elberton, Gainesville, Marietta, Savannah); HAWAII (Pearl Harbor, Schofield); ILLINOIS (Aurora, Carbondale, Champaign, Chicago, East St. Louis, Evanston, Freeport, Geneva, Great Lakes, Highland Park, Libertyville, Moline, Oak Park, Rockford, Springfield, Urbana, Winfield); INDIANA (Anderson, Bluffton, Hammond, Indianapolis, Jeffersonville, Kokomo); IOWA (Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Jefferson, Sioux City); KANSAS (Junction City, Topeka); KENTUCKY (Paducah); LOUISIANA (Covington); MAINE (Auburn, Augusta, Bangor, Brunswick, Ellsworth, Waterville); MARYLAND (Annapolis) MASSACHUSETTS (Beverly, Ipswich, Lowell, Nantucket, Plymouth, Weymouth, Springfield); MICHIGAN (, Ann Arbor, Bay City, Centreville, Iron Mountain, Ithaca, Kalamazoo, Niles, St Joseph, Ypsilanti); MINNESOTA (Brainerd, Duluth, Robbinsdale); MISSISSIPPI (Tupelo); MISSOURI (Jefferson City) MONTANA (Billings, Helena, Miles City); NEBRASKA (Kearney, Lincoln, Omaha); NEVADA (Las Vegas) NEW HAMPSHIRE (Manchester, Portsmouth); NEW JERSEY (Princeton) NEW YORK (Glens Falls, Little Falls, Mineola, Rome, Utica); NORTH CAROLINA (Burlington, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Concord, Ft. Bragg, Greensboro, Monroe, Raleigh, Shelby); NORTH DAKOTA (Grand Forks); OHIO (Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, East Cleveland, East Liverpool, Garfield Heights, Lima, Lorain, Mayfield Heights, Middleburg Heights, Orange Village, Portsmouth, Toledo, Warren, Westlake, Youngstown); OKLAHOMA (Claremore, Oklahoma City, Tulsa); OREGON (Corvalis, McMinnville, Salem, Silverton); SOUTH CAROLINA (Columbia, Pickens, Walhalla); TENNESSEE (Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis); TEXAS (Amarillo, Dallas, Fort Hood, Longview, Lubbock, Plano, San Antonio, Texarkana, Waco, Webster); VERMONT (Barre, Brattleboro, Middlebury); VIRGINIA (Charlottesville, Chesapeake, Hampton, Richmond) WASHINGTON (Everett, Fairchild AFB, Longview, Olympia, Puyallup, Yakima); WEST VIRGINIA (Wheeling); WISCONSIN (Florence, Green Bay, Madison, Oshkosh, Watertown, Wausau); JAPAN (Atsugi, Yokosuka), ITALY (Sicily); UNITED KINGDOM [a.k.a. Hit the Ground Crawling] (Birmingham, Liverpool)

The Myths and Realities of Modern Day Russia

Say the word ‘Russia,’ and you’re bound to conjure a string of stereotypical images: A bearskin hat, onion domes, the Hammer & Sickle emblem, bread lines, bare grocery store shelves…and a drunk holding a bottle of vodka. You might even view the Russian people themselves as you do the weather there: Cold, gray, and gloomy. Like many cultural stereotypes, these Russian ones – however exaggerated they might be – have at least some basis in reality. But they certainly don’t tell the whole story. Russia, after all, is the largest country in the world. An 800 page book could scarcely begin to detail all the regional varieties of life in Russia, much less an 800 word article. So let’s examine the most prevalent of these myths, and present the realities of life in Russia.

Myth: Russia is a country full of drunks.

Reality: Accurate, worldwide statistics on alcohol consumption and alcoholism are hard to come by. Yes, a large percentage of the population drinks vodka, but the streets aren’t filled with inebriated men clinging to bottles of ‘Russki Standart.’ Instead, when you travel to Russia, you encounter hardworking, goal-oriented individuals who are as apt as you are to unwind after a long day at the office with a beer or cocktail.

Myth: Russia is a land of scarcity and shortages.

Reality: It certainly was that way, but times have long since changed. Pop in to the G.U.M. mall in Moscow, or one of the shops on Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg, or visit any of the upscale malls in any decent-sized Russian city and you’ll find all the Gucci, Armani and Prada you could ever want. In fact, be prepared for too much choice, especially if you travel to Moscow. That city, due to its oil-based economy, is one of the wealthiest and most expensive cities in the world…there’s no shortage of anything there!

Myth: Russia is a run-down, third world country.

Reality: While Russia is definitely NOT a third world country, its infrastructure admittedly leaves much to be desired. Roads between cities, for example, are often little more than potholes strung together with patches of pavement. And buildings, while structurally sound, look like immense, worn concrete blocks. Thanks to nearly a century of Soviet rule, the architecture emphasizes only function, never form. Toss in roving packs of stray dogs, too much litter and not enough trash cans, and the result is that Russia unfortunately has less visual appeal than its European counterparts.

Myth: Russia is a cold, gloomy place…

Reality: Like any northern country, Russia definitely endures long, cold winters. But let’s not forget that winter is merely one season out of four. The other seasons can bring glorious weather. And due to its immense size, Russia spans numerous climatic zones, so to label the country’s climate in a few words is impossible. Think of all the different climates that exist in the U.S. — Seattle, Phoenix, San Diego, Miami, Minnesota, etc – and then bear in mind that Russia has twice the landmass that the U.S. does! [A footnote: Since most people include all the countries of the former Soviet Union, countries like Ukraine and Moldova, in their mental image of Russia, then it must be pointed out that the weather in Ukraine's Crimean peninsula is pleasant year-round, especially in the Meditteranean-esque southern cities like Yalta and Sevastopol.]

Myth: …and Russia has cold, gloomy people.

Reality: That’s just wrong. It is true that Russian people smile less than Americans do in public, but that’s a deep rooted cultural norm in Slavic countries, and doesn’t reflect on any individual Russian’s outlook or disposition. Russian people are in fact fun loving, friendly and generous. In your dealings with Russian people, be prepared that they will display sincere concern for your comfort and well being, express intense interest in you as a person (and as a Westerner), and offer lasting friendship. And while the older generation might still dress in bleak, fashionless, Soviet-style garb, the younger generation – especially young women – dress in chic, sexy, modern outfits which catch the eye and turn the head.

So let’s try the experiment again: Say the word ‘Russia,’ but this time envision a land of mountains and lakes and seashores. Try to see well-dressed businessmen having a power lunch in a sidewalk café, and women in short skirts and high heels strolling through malls. It’s a bright, sunny day; a group of people are standing in a park, drinking beer and laughing. It’s warm… …it’s friendly… …it’s Russia.