Donald Lykes of Developing Into Dads sits down to talk with Dr. James Erkard about what it takes to be a dad. Erkard, a retired foot and ankle doctor, talks about what it took to raise his two sons. He was raised in Youngstown, Ohio, and he says the support of a strong family helped build him into the man he is today, along with helping him develop his concepts on being a successful father.
Erkard believes that becoming a father starts at the conception of the child. It’s his theory that when a child is developing in the womb, the child will be nurtured by the mother but will also be responding to audio cues from the father. His two sons responded differently to sound; the oldest would respond to this father reading, and the younger of the two would respond to his father playing classical music. Today, Erkard’s oldest son is a U.S. Air Force pilot and the younger is a classical pianist.
Erkard’s approach to parenting is a straightforward idea of communication, listening and nurturing your children from conception on. His approach to parenting does work and he has proof in his two successful sons.
