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 the professionals who support them. Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content: weekly podcasts, weekly articles, and resource pages on all aspects of family building at our website, CreatingaFamily.org. We also have an active presence on many social media platforms. Please like or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).
Episodes
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Questions: I am a 58 single man and I am considering fostering.
- My first question is how much of a bias is there against men?
- What are the unique challenges that single foster dads face that discourage so many?
- What can we do to get more single foster dads to help families reunify, foster, and possibly adopt?
Resources:
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.
Are you educated and informed on the issues around weed and vaping, including THC, nicotine, and the signs of addiction? Listen to this interview with Dr. Krishna White. She is an attending physician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, with board certifications in Pediatrics, Adolescent Medicine, and Addiction Medicine.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Ca...
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Question: I have listened to hundreds of adoption-related podcast episodes, but very few of them have talked about talking directly with a potential birth mother. We were matched with an expectant mother who wanted to be able to communicate with us directly. We agreed, believing that it would help us form a better relationship. However, we were mentally unprepared fo...
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Are you considering adopting internationally? You need to listen to this interview about the laws and processes that you will be required to follow. We'll be talking with Kelly Dempsey, a partner with Fox Rothschild, who specializes in adoption and assisted reproduction. She is a fellow in the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys and an adop...
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Question: Hi, my husband, biological daughter and I are in the process of infant adoption. We have passed our home study and have made our profile book. We are at the point where we are viewing expectant moms' profiles. My husband‘s family is very excited and ready for this new chapter in our lives, but my family, however, seems unsure. It’s been hard to communi...
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Most children will experience bullying at some point. What can parents do to help protect their children and to help their children cope if they are bullied? Host Dawn Davenport, Executive Director of Creating a Family, the national infertility & adoption education and support nonprofit, interviews Brooke Randolph, LMHC, a child and family therapist and author of...
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We frequently hear from waiting parents that they are unsure when to prepare the nursery, what formula is best, or how often they should expect to feed their new baby. It's a huge life transition, and we thought today we could talk about some basic baby care tips to help you think about what's next for you and your family when you get the baby home.
Resource...
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Does your child struggle to get or stay organized? Is homework a battle you dread every day? Prepare yourself to support your children for the Back to School season with this interview with Dr. Richard Guare. He's a neuropsychologist and board-certified behavior analyst focused on autism, learning, attention, and behavior disorders, and acquired brain injuries. ...
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How do you know your child with prenatal substance exposure is ready to potty train? How do you start potty training a child with impacts from prenatal substance exposure, like developmental delays? This Weekend Wisdom offers practical strategies and encouragement to help you stay motivated and keep up the good work.
Resources:
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Join us for a look at where CreatingaFamily.org - and this podcast - began and where we are heading from here. We talk today with Dawn Davenport, the founding Executive Director of the organization, as she prepares to retire from Creating a Family.
In this episode, we discuss:
- Tell us how and why you started Creating a Family. Why start a non-profit?
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.
Question: I have a question that may be well suited for a weekend wisdom episode. I'm aware of the reasons that a domestic infant adoption may fail, but I've also read about foster children having failed adoption(s) and then aging out of the system. What are some of the main reasons that a foster child experiences a failed adoption? How does that look diffe...
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What should you look for when you are considering therapy for your child or your family? How do you find the right fit for your child's needs? We talk today with Kelly Raudenbush, Executive Director of The Sparrow Fund, a non-profit that provides therapeutic services for foster and adoptive children and their grown-ups. She is a child and family therapist with a...
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.
Question: My husband and I adopted our daughter in 2019, and she is now 5. As of a week ago, we were matched with a birth mother who is due in six weeks. We have explained the process to our daughter (we made a book about our life, and one day someone will pick us), but now that we’ve been chosen, what is the best way to approach this with my daughter? We have severa...
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Are you looking for practical strategies to build attachment with your child? Jeanette Yoffe, MA, MFT, is a psychotherapist specializing in adoption and foster care with over 20 years of experience treating children with complex trauma. Her new book, The Traumatized and At-Risk Youth Toolbox: Over 160 Attachment-Informed Interventions for Working with Kids and Famili...
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.
Question: My wife and I adopted a newborn baby almost 3 years ago, and we could not be happier. Now that he is getting a little older, he is talking and starting to understand things. My question is, how can we best normalize his adoption with him? I know it is better for kids to grow up with everyone being open with him and his adoption so it feels like now is a goo...
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Are you looking for practical strategies to help your kids face the challenges of a scary world? Join us for a conversation with Melinda Wenner Moyer. She is an author, contributing editor at Scientific American, a regular contributor to The New York Times, and a former faculty member at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Her new book is tit...
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Question: My 15-year-old foster daughter, “Anna”, is scheduled to move back in with her mom at the end of the school year. She is currently on my phone plan. I also pay for her access to Spotify, Netflix, and Hulu. Should I ask her mother now how she wants to transition Anna onto her phone plan? Do you recommend continuing to pay for a 3-6 month period until the moth...
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.
Are you considering international adoption? If so, this interview will help you decide which special needs are a good fit for your family. We'll talk with Dr. Dana Johnson, MD, PhD. He is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Johnson founded the International Adoption Clinic at the University ...
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.
Question: A listener wrote in asking about encopresis and enuresis. These tips are for handling bedwetting or soiling accidents once your child is successfully potty trained.
Resources:
Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by ww...
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.
How do you define self-care? Are you establishing a routine of self-care that supports you to meet your kid's needs? Nicole Barlow joins the podcast to discuss how we think about self-care, why it's crucial, and how to create rhythms of self-care in our homes. She is a certified wellness coach, TBRI® Practitioner, and parent trainer for foster and adoptive ...
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