Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care
Are you thinking about adopting or fostering a child? Confused about all the options and wondering where to begin? Or are you an adoptive or foster parent or kinship caregiver trying to be the best parent possible to this precious child? This is the podcast for you! Every week, we interview leading experts for an hour, discussing the topics you care about in deciding whether to adopt/foster or how to be a better parent. This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are the national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinship parents and...
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What Is Blocked Care? What Can I Do About It? - Weekend Wisdom
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p><b>Question:</b> I love my child so much, but lately I feel emotionally worn down and shut down in my parenting. Someone mentioned they recently learned about blocked care, and now I’m wondering if that's what’s happening. What is blocked care, and what can a parent do about it?</p><p><b>Resources:</b></p>Understanding and Overcoming Blocked CareWhat Is Blocked Care? How Do I Overcome It?Trauma-Informed TherapyBuilding Rhythms of Self-Care Into Our ParentingMaking Self-Care a Priority for the New Year<p>Support the show</p><p>Pl...
Raising Kids Impacted by Opioid Exposure to Thrive
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p>Are you raising a child with known or suspected prenatal opioid exposure? Understanding the impacts and how to parent them will help you set your child up to thrive! We are joined by Lenette Serlo, an adoptive mom of four children impacted by prenatal substance exposure and the founder of Generation O, a nonprofit focused on creating understanding and support for children with prenatal opioid exposure and their families.</p><p><b>In this episode, we talk about:</b></p>What are opioids, and what does it mean when a child...
Is My Teen Lazy, Depressed, or Stuck? - Weekend Wisdom
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p><b>Question: </b>Should I tell my nephew that by the time he turns 18, he has to be in school and passing his classes, or have a job, to continue living with us? He will turn 18 at the end of this school year and will inherit a small amount of money that could get him started. He is currently in school, and he doesn’t have a job or any interest in getting one. Anytime someone asks him about his goals or future plans, his answer is “I don’t know” or “I don...
How Can We Equip Foster & Kinship Youth for Adulthood?
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p>Helping young adults in foster or kinship care transition toward adulthood can feel overwhelming for foster parents and relative caregivers. Join us today for a conversation with Vernell Gore of Youth Villages and Nick Sgarlata of Bridge to Brighter, for practical ways to prepare and equip your foster or kin youth for adulthood.</p><p><b>In this episode, we discuss:</b></p>What makes this stage of life uniquely challenging for youth in foster or kinship care compared to their peers?What does a successful transition to adulthood actually look...
How to Make and Use an Adoption Lifebook - Weekend Wisdom
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p>A Lifebook is the story of how your child came to be yours and the story of his life before he came to you. Adoption is only one aspect of your child, and at some point, his life merges into your life. However, he had a life before he came to your family, and his Lifebook tells this part of his story.</p><p><b>Resources:</b></p>Adoption Lifebooks (Suggested Books)Welcoming an Older Child to Your Home (Resource Page)Transitioning a Child to Your Home (Resource Page)<p>Support...
Strategies for Maintaining a Healthy Marriage or Partnership (While Raising Adopted, Foster, or Relative Children)
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p>Raising kids impacted by adoption, foster care, or kinship care can do a number on your marriage or life partnership. Join us for a conversation with Jeremy & Jara Walden, authors of The Heart Work of Foster Care: A Hopeful and Honest Guide to Foster Parenting, about strategies to re-prioritize and strengthen your most significant relationship.</p><p><b>In this episode, we discuss:</b></p>How can raising kids together enhance a marriage or relationship? Why are kids in our community often harder to parent?Trauma, loss, neglectPrenatal substance exposureChallenging behaviors t...
Help! No One Is Sleeping In Our House! - Weekend Wisdom
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p><b>Question: </b>We have two children adopted through the foster care system as infants - an almost 10-year-old (AudHD) and a 4.5-year-old (neurotypical). They both come into our room every night in the middle of the night, and it really disturbs my sleep and my husband's sleep. It seems like we've tried everything to get them to stop. Recently, we told them we were going to start locking our door, but then they just come and knock and knock until one of us gets up. If we try to put t...
Parenting with Love, Joy, and Connection with Bryan Post
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p>Would you like to learn how to build a culture of joy, connection, and healing in your home? Join us for a conversation with Bryan Post, an adoptee and therapist specializing in child behavior, adoption trauma, and love-based parenting. He's the founder of Fear to Love LLC, Bondify.ai, and Leaf Wraparound, and the author of several books, including From Fear to Love.</p><p><b>In this episode, we discuss:</b></p>Bryan's journey as an adoptee and how that shaped his work with families today.What do we need...
How Do I File Taxes Without My Child's Social Security Number? - Weekend Wisdom
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p><b>Question: </b>My husband and I finalized our adoption in December 2025, and we’re still waiting for our son’s birth certificate in the mail. Then we’ll need to take it to file for an SSN and wait for that to arrive. How can we file taxes, including our newborn baby, without a Social Security Number for him? (We didn’t know we could file for a temporary number with the IRS until it was too late - after his finalization hearing).</p><p><b>Resources:</b></p>The 2025 Adoption...
Problematic Sexual Behavior
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p>Do you worry about what is normal in your child’s sexual development? Join us to talk with Roy Van Tassell, a Licensed Professional Counselor in Oklahoma and Director of Trauma and Evidence-based Interventions for Centene Health. He co-chairs the National Child Traumatic Stress Networks’ subcommittee on children with problem sexual behaviors.</p><p>Warning: We will be using anatomically correct words and talking about sex, so if this offends you or triggers you, you may want to skip this podcast.</p><p><b>In this episode, we discuss:</b></p>Typi...
