I'm Dr. Mike Ayers—welcome to Father Friend, a podcast to help you become the kind of dad your kids trust, respect, and want to be around. With 30+ years as a father, educator, and speaker, I bring research-rooted, faith-based wisdom on fatherhood, masculinity, and raising strong, emotionally healthy kids. We tackle real questions—discipline, sex talks, faith, leadership, etc. You'll get help with kids from crib to college to lean in, lead well and love big. New each Monday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify or anywhere you get your podcasts. Find more at fatherfriend.net or on social @thinkingdads.
Publisher
Dr. Mike Ayers - Parenting Expert, Educator, Father
Breaking the Cycle: Your Healing Becomes Their Inheritance
Every dad brings something from his past into fatherhood—old wounds, hidden fears, unhealthy patterns, and internal scripts that quietly shape how he responds to his children. In this episode of the Father Friend Podcast, Mike Ayers explores how the experiences that once helped us survive can become patterns that hurt the people we love most. He shares his own journey of confronting childhood wounds and discovering an unexpected truth: God wasn’t just using him to shape his children. He was using his children to shape him. You’ll learn how to identify the patterns you carry, confront the dark side, examine the experiences that shaped you, and anchor your identity in Christ. You don’t have to pass your wounds on to your children. You can interrupt the cycle, give them a different story, and discover that your healing can become their inheritance.
28 Sept 2026
The Power of Authentic Affirmation
Most dads love their kids deeply. But loving your children and knowing how to intentionally communicate that love aren’t always the same thing. In this episode of the Father Friend Podcast, Mike Ayers explores the power of authentic affirmation and how fathers can help their children develop a secure sense of worth. Using the words spoken by God the Father at Jesus’ baptism, Mike identifies three things every child needs from Dad: belonging, affection, and delight. Mike also shares the personal “I’d Choose You” routine he used with his own children and offers a simple, practical way to make affirmation more specific and meaningful: "say what you saw, say what it tells you about them, and say why it matters to you." Because affirmation isn’t empty praise. It’s intentionally helping your children know they are loved, valued, and worth knowing—long before their performance or accomplishments enter the picture.
21 Sept 2026
Real Men, Better Dads: An Interview with Anthony Curnutt
What does it mean to be a strong man—and how does that shape the kind of father you become? In this episode of the Father Friend podcast, Dr. Mike Ayers sits down with Anthony Curnutt, founder of Real Men Ministries, host of the "Real Men Talk" podcast, and author of "Framework for Biblical Masculinity". Anthony shares openly about his own journey as a man and father, including how being a rebellious teenager and the influence of his own father shaped the dad he would eventually become. Mike and Anthony explore the connection between biblical masculinity and fatherhood, what healthy leadership in the home actually looks like, and how raising children has a way of revealing the areas where dads still need to grow. They also tackle some of the battles men often fight privately—shame, isolation, pornography, failure, and the reluctance to be vulnerable—and how those struggles can affect our relationships with our children even when we think we’re keeping them hidden. This is a candid conversation about becoming the kind of man your children need and recognizing that becoming a better father often begins with becoming a healthier, more self-aware man.
Who has been a guest on Father Friend
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Brandon Ayers
Darwin Pennye
Marc Cameron
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 45 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
90
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
0
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Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Questions about Father Friend
Who hosts Father Friend?
Dr Mike Ayers and Mike host the show. Published by Dr. Mike Ayers - Parenting Expert, Educator, Father.
How often do new episodes come out?
The show publishes daily, based on its RSS feed.
Does Father Friend take guests?
Yes. Guests have been identified in episode analyses.
Host of Father Friend?
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