The good dad guide: Car firm Haynes writes the manual on fatherhood

Now the people at Haynes are giving tips on the mechanics of good fatherhood.

Their publication The Dad Manual shows men how to turn their children away from computer games and instead embrace traditional hobbies and pastimes.

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The £14.99 book is flying off the shelves and is tipped to be a Christmas bestseller.

The manual tells fathers how to build traditional play equipment such as go-karts and Wendy houses.

It also shows how they can help their children construct camouflage periscopes, create planes from pizza boxes and make bows and arrows.

There are also instructions on building see-saws, model railways, playhouses and rope ladders.

Fathers are also told how to teach their children to ride bicycles, make skateboard ramps and tie knots.

The manual outlines the rules for a variety of sports including cricket, rugby, football, tennis and rounders.

There are sections on cookery, gardening, bird-watching and traditional games including chess, battleships and marbles.

The book does doff its cap to Haynes's traditional subject matter by including a section on how car engines work.

The introduction reads: "The activities included are interesting and fun. Underneath there's quite serious, very valuable stuff.

"For example, sports and other games will help build your child's confidence. Making things together will develop their talking and interpretive skills, as well as their dexterity."

Editor Mark Hughes said: "It's selling very well. As soon as people flick through it they are hooked.

"Good parents spend time with their children doing things - and this is what the book encourages them to do.

"It's not just for dads, there are plenty of things for mums too.

"Haynes is famous for making car repairs easy to understand and carry out, and the same principle applies here.

"The activities included are possibly things that remind parents of their childhoods.

"Some parents now were brought up during the TV and computer game era, so it will be able to show them what they missed so they can show their children."