Experience is the Best Teacher

Recently, I had a man come up to me and begin talking to me about how he would become a father later this year. This was interesting to me because this man has never been around babies throughout his life. I asked if he was excited and what he was doing to prepare for the arrival of his child. He proceeded to tell me of how he bought a book and began to read it. The first thought that popped into my head was "oh no."
The book he had been reading had told him that he and the baby's mother and everyone who would be around the baby had to do everything the same. The book was talking about everything from picking the baby up to changing it to anything you can think of that would have anything to do with the baby. If things were not done the same with the baby, it would cause the baby to have emotional distress (according to the book). At this, I laughed. I applaud his effort in choosing to learn how to care for his child but to me, this book was absurd.
I, on the other hand, have been around children and babies my entire life. To me experience in caring for infants and children is the best teacher. You can't learn any of that from a book. You can get ideas and helpful hints but something that may work for one person probably isn't going to work for everyone.
Don't get me wrong, I think that books can be helpful in many ways but don't take them as the only truth. There are many other thoughts and ideas that should be taken into account. When having and raising a child, find what works for you.