Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Do you worry that the over the counter medications you take for a headache or allergies could impact your fertility? What about CBD or melatonin? We talk with Dr. Kathleen Tucker, a scientific director for various IVF labs; and with K.E. Tucker Consulting, and Dr. Angie Beltos, CEO and Chief Medical Officer of Vios Fertility Institute. In this episode, we include: Re...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How should you talk with young children, toddlers, and preschoolers about adoption. How do you talk about birth mothers and birth fathers? In this episode we talk with Jenna Howard, a LMSW who has worked in the adoption field since 1994 in both domestic and international adoption. In addition, she is an adoptee and an adoptive mom. In this episode, we cover: Why is i...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How do you discipline kids who have experienced trauma? We provide 5 tips and then discuss 5 challenging parenting situations. Our expert is Karen Doyle Buckwalter, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Registered Play Therapist and Supervisor, and co-author of "Raising the Challenging Child". In this episode, we cover: 1.     The Relationship Bank Account  Sp...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What's it like to have your world turned upside down when you become the parent to your grandchild, niece, or nephew? What are the hidden joys and challenges. In this podcast episode, we have a frank and open talk with a panel of kinship caregivers about their experience. In this episode, we cover:   What has been one of the greatest joys you’ve experienced as a...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How old is too young for a phone? Is gaming harmful to our kids? How much technology is too much. We talk with Dr. Jay Berk, a licensed psychologist and an expert in working with children and families. He is the author of two books: “A Parent’s Quick Guide to Electronic Addiction” and “Codeswitching: Social Skills in the Screen-Age”. In this episode, we cover: Parent...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Have you ever wondered if your struggle to conceive could be caused by your genes? Today we're going to answer that question and more about genetics and fertility by talking with two certified genetic counselors with CooperGenomics: Sharyn Lincoln and Sheila Johal. In this episode, we cover: Infertility is a disease affecting nearly 7% of all couples. It is a hi...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Bringing foster children into your family may impact the kids already in your home—both in positive and potentially negative ways. We will provide suggestions on how to integrate new foster children into your home as seamlessly as possible. Our guest expert is Dr. Eshele Williams, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, who brings her professional expertise with co...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What do we mean by attachment and what can parents do to help their child attach. What can parents do if they are struggling with attaching to their child. We talk with Dr. Casey Call, the Assistant Director of Education at the Institute of Child Development at TCU. She is a researcher and trainer for Trust-Based Relational Intervention. In this episode, we cover: Wh...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What do adoptive and foster parents need to know about the impacts of prenatal exposure to opioids, Suboxone, and Methadone. What are the risks to a baby born with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome or Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome (NOWS)? We talk with Dr. Julian Davies, a pediatrician at the University of Washington’s Center for Adoption Medicine and their FASD and...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Have you or someone you care about experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth? We talk about coping with pregnancy loss with Dr. Poonum Sharma, a Licensed Psychologist specializing in reproductive issues. She is a long term member of the Mental Health Provider Professional Group at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. In this episode, we cover: Miscarriage and...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What issues should you consider if you want to adopt as a single person? We talk with Susan Fremer, a licensed mental health intern and a single mom of five adopted girls; and Lee Varon, a LICSW specializing in adoptive parenting, a single mom to two sons through adoption, and author of two books on single parent adoption. In this episode, we cover: Single parenting...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Grandparents raising grandkids or aunts and uncles raising nephews and nieces is often complicated and comes with a mix of challenges and blessings. What are the unique issues that kinship caregivers face and what do they need to succeed. We talk about these issues with LaNette Jacobs, an aunt raising her two nephews; Marla Galvan, a licensed clinical social worker a...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Should you consider freezing your eggs? What is involved and how much does it cost. We talk with Dr. Taraneh Nazem, Board-Certified Reproductive Endocrinologist with Reproductive Medicine Associates of NY. In this episode, we cover: Female Fertility  Overview of female fertility. What impacts fecundity? How important is age in female fertility? Why does age negativel...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Have you ever wondered why a specific behavior by your child drives you crazy? What do we as parents bring to the relationship that could be part of the problem? We talk about how a parent's history with attachment and trauma impacts our parenting with Dr. Patrice Berry, a licensed clinical psychologist with specialized training in adoption and foster care and o...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can you talk full advantage of the Adoption Tax Credit? What changes are important when filing for this credit for your 2020 taxes. We talk with Becky Wilmoth, an Enrolled Agent and Adoption Tax Credit Specialist with Bill's Tax Service and Josh Kroll, the Adoption Subsidy Resource Center coordinator at the North American Council on Adoptable Children. In th...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! We talk about evaluating the risk factors for foster care with Dr. Kimara Gustafson, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota with appointments at both their Adoption Medicine Clinic and Pediatric Emergency Department. In this episode, we cover: The common risk factor that foster parents and those wanting to adopt from fos...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! We don’t just bring kids into our homes; we bring them into our marriage and relationships. And marriages or relationships are particularly challenged when we are parenting kids who have been exposed to trauma. We talk with Amy Garber, MSW and LICSW, the Manager of the Post Adoption Program with Wide Horizons for Children, a child welfare organization. We also talk w...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What should you expect as you return home with a newly adopted baby or child? What are the common emotions? We talk with Laura Jean Beauvais, a licensed professional counselor and mother of two adult daughters through adoption. She has conducted domestic, foster, and international adoptions for more than 25 years. In this episode, we cover: Adopting a Newborn What ar...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What foods and supplements help improve fertility for those trying to conceive naturally and for those undergoing fertility treatment. We talked with Dr. Jorge E. Chavarro, Associate Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health and Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Chavarro’s research is focused on understanding how nutrition a...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Children adopted from foster care or from abroad have often experienced abuse, neglect, or trauma. These children require a different form of parenting.  This is a re-air of an older interview we did with the late Dr. Karyn Purvis, author of The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family , and the founder and Director of the TCU Institute of Chil...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How do you find and adopt a baby or child in another state and what is the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC)? We talk with Chantilly Wijayasinha, MSW and MPH and Interim Director of Adoptions and Foster Care at Vista Del Mar Child & Family Services; and Jim Thompson, adoption, foster care, and assisted reproduction attorney at the Thompson D...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How is the COVID-19 pandemic impacting those people who are trying to create their family through surrogacy —both those seeking surrogates in the US and those going abroad. We talk with Dr. Barry Witt, the Medical Director of WINFertility and Greenwich Fertility. In this episode, we cover: How is surrogacy practiced in the US? What is the distinction between gestatio...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Do you know how the legal process of adoption works? How do you get an original birth certificate? How do you get a social security number for your adopted child? We talk with Brinton Wright, an adoption attorney and Fellow in the Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys about the legal and social implications of adoption. In this episode, we cover:...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! We talk about Coping with the Stress of Infertility with Dr. Tonya Wood, a clinical psychologist specializing in family planning,  pregnancy loss and infertility. She is the Director of Clinical Training at Pepperdine University and is 2020 President of the California Psychological Association. In this episode, we cover: Why is infertility so stressful? What are the...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Talking with your adopted or foster child about the hard parts of their story can feel like a daunting task.  Should you tell your child that her birth father is in jail or that her birth mother is addicted to drugs, or that she was conceived by rape? If so, how in the world do you share this news. We talk with Lesli Johnson, an EMDR therapist who specializes in adop...