Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption & Foster 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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Does your child have a disability or have some label? If so, you need to listen to this interview with Dr. Deborah Winking, an educational psychologist and a special education teacher. She is the author of Capable: A Story of Triumph for Children the World Has Judges as “Different” and Raising Capable Kids. She is the mother of four, including one adopted child and o...
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Question: I was just asked to take on a Spanish-speaking teen with a baby. Do you have any resources to address fostering a teenager with a language barrier, as well as supporting her in developing adult skills and independence? She comes with a complicated history involving immigrating here on her own.
Resources:
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What do teachers understand about adoption? What are the misperceptions? We talk with two researchers on this topic: Dr. Hal Grotevant, the Rudd Family Foundation Chair in Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Dr. Abbie Goldberg, a Professor of Psychology and current Director of Women’s & Gender Studies at Clark University.
In this e...
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Question: We have applied to adopt a baby. We’re more or less being told that if we don’t agree to an open adoption, we’ll never get chosen by a birth mom. But, I really don’t want an open adoption. I think kids need just one mom and dad and opening up our family to others will just be confusing for everyone. But, I’m afraid that we’ll never get chosen if I say this....
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Do you have a child who acts out at school? Do you struggle with how to work with the school to help your child? If so, don't miss today's interview with Sarah Naish, the CEO and Founder of the Centre of Excellence in Child Trauma and the author of many books on foster parenting, including The A-Z of Trauma-Informed Teaching.
In this episode, we co...
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Question: We are planning to adopt our third child. We have reason to believe that my husband’s parents will oppose this idea. Do you have any advice on how to approach them?
Resources:
- Transitioning Your Child to Your Home
- Winning Over Reluctant Extended Family to Your Adoption Plans
- Sibling Relations (Combing Children by Birth & Adoption)
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Join us for this discussion with Dr. Gretchen Sisson, the author of Relinquished, the Politics of Adoption and the Privilege of American Motherhood.
In this episode, we cover:
- Book focuses on private adoptions between 2000-2020. Not on parents where parental rights were terminated by the state and not on international adoptions.
- Full of first-person storie...
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Prior to Russia invading Ukraine, it was possible to adopt from Ukraine. In fact, depending on the year, it was one of the top 10 placing countries to the US. However, the government of Ukraine has said that intercountry adoption will not fully resume while martial law is in place. However, the government of Ukraine confirmed they will process intercountry adoptions ...
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Join this interview with Dr. JaeRan Kim, an adoption researcher who also blogs at Harlow's Monkey.
In this episode, we cover:
- Research:
- Intercountry adoptees with adoption disruption and displacement histories – Adoptee perspectives
- Korean adoptees as parents
- Adoptees who adopt
- Transracially adopted Korean American adults raising multiracial childre...
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Summer break is just around the corner for families of school-aged children – whether you are ready or not. You may already be planning your annual vacation, buying pool passes, and buying tickets online for local venues to enjoy together as a family. However, you may also dread your child’s hours of unscheduled time. It’s understandable – transitioning from your pre...
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Join this inspiring discussion with two former foster youths who talk about their time in foster care and how that experience shaped them. Lanitta was a pregnant and parenting teen growing up in the North Carolina foster care system. In May of 2022, she joined the 2% population of former foster youth that graduate from post-secondary education with a bachelor’s degre...
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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.
Resources
- Adoption Lifebooks (Suggested Books)
- Welcomin...
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Are you considering adopting internationally. If so, you really should listen to this interview with the great 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 of Minnesota.
In this episode, we discu...
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Question: We’re 5 years in trying to conceive and I’m TIRED. I have an opportunity to adopt an unborn baby girl. My question is, does it get any easier dealing with the infertility, the failure, the empty feeling? Does your heart stop breaking every month when you know you’re not pregnant? I’m so afraid that I’m gonna get this little baby but still need more…. hope I...
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Join us to talk with Cam Lee Small about his new book, The Adoptee's Journey: From Loss and Trauma to Healing and Empowerment.
In this episode, we talk about:
- You wrote this book for Christian adoptees. Why that specific audience?
- Adoptees have been objectified, scrutinized, and infantized. Can you give examples of where you see this?
- The narrative sur...
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Question: Hello! I’ve been listening to the podcast for a little while now as I consider my desire to adopt. I’ve had many models around me who adopted their children, and although the process is difficult, I have a desire to provide a home to children in need. It seems like now adoptions are declining for various reasons, and I’m trying to consider my motivations an...
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Do you want to help your adopted or foster child work through the big issues they may face in life? Join our discussion of the seven core issues with Allison Davis Maxon, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She is the co-author of Seven Core Issues in Adoption and Permanency, The Seven Core Issues Workbook for Parents of Traumatized Children and Teens, and The ...
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Are you in infertility treatment but possibly considering adoption? Dawn outlines what couples may be considering, which indicates they are ready to consider adoption.
Resources:
This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org. We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthe...
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.
Join us to talk with Dr. Kimberly McKee about her book, Adoption Fantasies: The Fetishization of Asian Adoptees from Girlhood to Womanhood.
In this episode, we cover:
This book explores how Asian women and girls, specifically Asian adoptees in the US, negotiate the sensationalism and fictional portrayal of adoption in US popular culture.
- “Modern Famil...
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As a mom of four children through birth and adoption, I’ve been there and done that in terms of parenting. I’ve made more than my share of mistakes and have had my share of successes as well. I’ve also had the privilege of interviewing the top parenting experts over the last almost 17 years we’ve been doing the Creating a Family podcast. It can be hard in the heat of...
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