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 Trauma Really Does to a Child’s Brain (and Why Behavior Can Be So Hard) - Weekend Wisdom
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p><b>Question: </b>I’m new to raising my grandchild and still learning about trauma. People keep saying it changes a child’s brain, but I don’t really understand what that means. What does trauma actually do to the brain, and how does that show up in behavior at home or school?</p><p><b>Resources:</b></p>The Three Es: Understanding the Impacts of TraumaA Conversation with Dr. Bruce Perry About TraumaHow Trauma Impacts a Child's DevelopmentMeeting Children Where They Are: The Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics<p>Support the show</p...
So You Want to be a Foster Parent
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p>Have you considered fostering? What might be holding you back? Join us for a conversation with Laura, the Foster Parent Partner, to explore what it takes to be ready to foster, what the licensing and placement process looks like, and how to navigate relationships with the child's birth parents while providing a safe place for the child to land. Laura is the author of First Time Fostering and brings awareness and advocacy for foster families to social media spaces.</p><p><b>In this episode, we talk about:</b></p>How...
How to Talk to Your Child About Unsafe Birth Parents (Without Shame or Fear) - Weekend Wisdom
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p><b>Question:</b> How do I delicately share information about my child’s birth parent with my child, when we know their biological parent has a long history of arrest? They are not a safe adult for my child to maintain a relationship with. Our family is struggling with how to balance the message that the adoption plan was made out of love for the child and not wanting to cast a negative message about the child’s birth parent, even though we know there is a history of some very viol...
NFL Running Back Ricky Watters: How Adoption Shaped My Life
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p>Join us for this interview with former NFL Running Back and Super Bowl Champion Ricky Watters. He is an adoptee, an adoptive dad, and author of a new children’s book on adoption, A Gift Called Shane.</p><p><b>In this episode, we discuss:</b></p>How old were you when you learned you were adopted and how did you find out?When you discovered you were adopted, you mentioned in your NFL movie that it put a big chip on your shoulder. How has that chip served you well as...
What Do Kids Need From Therapy? - Weekend Wisdom
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p><b>Question: </b>I’m an intern therapist working with kids involved in DHS and the foster system. Could you guys talk about what a kid in the system needs from therapy? Or like what helped them, what didn’t, what they needed in that space that their therapist didn’t provide?</p><p><b>Resources:</b></p>Trauma-Informed Therapy: Finding the Right Fit for Your FamilyTherapists: Parents Should Be With Their Kids for Adoptive or Foster Therapy SessionsFinding an Adoption Competent Therapist<p>Support the show</p><p>Please leave us a ra...
Maintaining Secure Attachment While Disciplining Misbehavior
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p>Could you use a few new strategies to help your child improve misbehavior? Listen to this conversation with Dr. Casey Call, the Associate Director of Education at the Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development at TCU and Associate Professor of Professional Practice in the TCU Department of Psychology. She will help us understand how to maintain connection while correcting challenging behaviors.</p><p><b>In this episode, we discuss:</b></p>Why and how should parents and caregivers work toward secure attachment with kids impacted by trauma? What does it mean w...
How Do I Handle All These Big Feelings & Big Behaviors? - Weekend Wisdom
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p><b>Question:</b> My 2nd grader, adopted domestically, has some pretty big, hard behaviors, like tantrums, clingy whining, and difficulty cooperating or sharing. We know there was prenatal substance exposure. I feel stuck to help them with their big feelings and big behaviors — what do I do to help them day to day?</p><p><b>Resources:</b></p>5 Tips to Save Your Sanity While Raising Kids with Prenatal Substance ExposurePrenatal Exposure, Part 1: Parenting Babies Through Elementary AgesTantrums, Meltdowns, Whining, Oh My! How to Parent Challenging Behaviors<b>Free E-Guide:</b> Na...
Celebrating & Supporting Men in Foster & Kinship Care
<p>Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!</p><p>Join us for a conversation about why men in foster and kinship care matter - to the family unit, to the system, and most importantly, to the kids. Our guest is Tony Craddock, a Prevention Social Worker in Wake County, NC, with more than 25 years of experience supporting families. For the past decade, he has engaged kinship families and fathers through his co‑facilitation of the Kinship In Action Support Group.</p><p><b>In this episode, we talk about:</b></p>What first drew you to working with families, and la...
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...
