Parenting With Balls

Ian Newbold was a young father when his wife died from a sudden heart attack in 2005. Overnight he became a single parent with a seven-month old baby boy to care for. Ian was on his first holiday with wife Samantha and their seven-month-old son Max when she had a heart attack and died. In a split second his world was turned upside down. Samantha was just 28 when she passed away in 2005. Ian, 34, from Stafford, gave up his job at an electrical firm to look after his son, now seven. In Parenting with Balls, Ian shares what he learned after being thrown in the parenting 'deep-end'. Dealing with the ups and downs of raising a child, Ian has collected different life experiences, parenting principles and common sense advice for this book. Told with humour and pathos, Ian's story is an inspiration to any parent - single or not. The book is an account of one man's struggle to deal with the sudden and dramatic loss of his wife, at the same time giving up his job as young successful business executive to take care of his seven-month-old son. An abrupt and remarkable career and life change. As well as covering the pain, shock and devastation of being widowed at just 28-year-old Parenting with Balls also gives an account of what it's like to be suddenly thrust into a world dominated by women. By becoming my son's main - and only - carer, I discuss if people are really ready to accept men as full-time parents, and do we get the same respect that women do in the same position. I emphasise that while it felt like the most natural thing in the world - for me to look after my child - it wasn't instantly accepted by other people, nor by other parents in general. The book includes examples of some incidents to fuel my theory, and will hopefully start to engage the reader into perhaps thinking differently about men as parents in the future. The book covers many highs and lows, and I hope includes some wisdom on parenting and dealing with bereavement. I also hope it helps other men become more confident parents, and for women - mother perhaps - to think more about encouraging their men to take more active roles with their children, and at the same time challenge people who instantly dismiss men as not possibly being good parents.