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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Do you wonder if your child was prenatally exposed to alcohol or drugs? There may be nothing in the files, but something feels not right? We talk about diagnosing and treating these kids with Dr. Larry Burd, a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and the Director of the North Dakota Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Center. In this episod...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: I will ultimately decide on whether to try induced lactation to breastfeed an adopted baby on other factors, but I would like to make my decision with my eyes wide open. I like my breasts as they are, but I have been told all my life that pregnancy and breastfeeding change the breasts (making the breasts saggy and the nipples larger). Do adoptive parents wh...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Should you adopt a child of a different race? What things should you consider? Join our conversation with Dr. Gina Samuels, an adult transracial adoptee and a Professor at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice at the University of Chicago. She is also the Faculty Director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture. Her scholarly...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: My husband and I are nearing finalization of our five-month-old adopted son. We don't currently have any other children. Throughout our time in the adoption process, I have spent time learning about adoption trauma and the complexities of adoption. I want to be well-informed as our son grows up and aware of the difficulties he may face. However, my que...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Does your child struggle with planning/organizing, time management, and impulse control? Join us for our interview with Dr. Joyce Cooper-Kahn, a clinical child psychologist who specializes in the treatment of children and adolescents with ADHD, executive functioning challenges, and other learning disabilities. She is the author of Late, Lost, and Unprepared: A Parent...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: My niece has been living with her paternal grandparents for two years. She is now four and they have decided that it is getting too hard for them. We’ve agreed to take her in. She knows us, but we haven’t spent much time with her. What’s the best way to move her to our home that will cause the least psychological damage to her. She is very attached to her g...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Join us to talk about how kids understand adoption and how best to talk with them about adoption. Our guest is Camillia Whitehead, is a MSW and a licensed clinical social worker, and the Founder of Wise Care Consulting, LLC. In this episode, we cover: How does a child’s understanding of adoption differ by age? Toddlers & Preschoolers School Age Tweens/Teens Young...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question:  Do you have any suggestions for articles or posts on telling a sibling that their new baby sibling is third-party conceived (e.g. donor egg)? We haven't told our 5-year-old son that we are pregnant yet, and I'm wondering if it is appropriate to tell him we used donor eggs at the same time we drop the big news that he will be a big brother. He wil...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Teens and sex are a scary topic for lots of parents. How can we impact our kids' decisions and what do we say? Join our conversation today with Dr. Debby Herbenick, a Provost Professor at the Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, where she leads the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior. She is the author of Yes Your Kid: What Parents N...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: We are seriously considering becoming foster parents.  We have 2 children by birth, and I am really worried about how this will affect them and what I can do to prevent some of the negative effects. Resources: The Impact of Fostering and Adoption on Kids Already in the Family (Resource) Talking with your Resident Kids about Foster Care or Kinship Care (Reso...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Are you often bewildered by your child's behavior? Check out this interview with Dafna Lender, a LCSW and a certified trainer and supervisor/consultant in both Theraplay and Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy. She is also an EMDR therapist. She is the author of “Theraplay® – The Practitioner’s Guide” and “Integrative Attachment Family Therapy: A Clinical Guide t...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: I wanted to bring up something about your article on the risks for an expectant mom changing her mind. You have a point that says any placement before five months into the pregnancy is a risk. We recently had a match with a woman who was only four months along. We asked about this, and our agency tells us that there is no correlation between the time of the...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! One of the hardest parts of being a kinship caregiver is navigating the relationship with the child’s birth parent. We talk with Dr. Joseph Crumbley, a social worker, family therapist, and author of “An Overview of Kinship Care.” In this episode, we cover: Creating a Family listening sessions with kinship caregivers in rural counties. What are some of the complicatin...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: Can I use my home study for a different type of adoption? This question arises in the following types of situations. Someone is applying to adopt an infant domestically and gets a home study from a domestic adoption agency. They then decide that they want to adopt from foster care and ask if they can use their domestic home study for foster care adoption. O...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Are you an aunt or uncle raising your nephew or niece? Or are you curious about the unique challenges these families face? Check out today's podcast with a panel of four aunts raising their sibling's child. In this episode, we cover: Who are you raising? How old were they when they moved in? How long have they been with you? Didn’t ask for this. Less of a f...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: I’m a single 38-year-old woman. I’ve always been interested in fostering, but I thought I’d wait until I got married. That doesn’t seem to be on the horizon, and I’m tired of waiting. Is it possible to foster as a single woman? Will it be too hard? I prefer a baby placed with me since I'm new to parenting. Resources: Becoming a Foster Parent Fostering...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can something that happened in past generations impact us now and affect the way we parent? Join our conversation with Beth Tyson, a childhood trauma consultant and former family-based trauma therapist. She is the author of the children’s books A Grandfamily for Sullivan and Sullivan Goes to See Mama . In this episode, we cover: What is intergenerational trauma?...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: My husband and I have been married two years. I'm 44 and he’s 61. Is there an age limit to be able to adopt a baby? Resources: Domestic Infant Adoption (Resource page) Foster Care Adoption (Resource page) Adoption Options Support the show Please leave us a rating or review.  This podcast is produced by www. CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national non-p...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What should you expect when adopting internationally or bringing a child into your home from foster care? Check out our discussion with Dr. Robin Gurwitch a licensed clinical psychologist with close to 30 years of experience in evidence-based treatments and the impact of trauma/disaster/terrorism on children. She is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Beh...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Resources: Adoption Comparison Charts Adoption Agencies (Resource page)  International Agencies (Creating a Family partners) Types of Adoption (Resource page) Support the show Please leave us a rating or review.  This podcast is produced by www. CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national non-profit with the mission to strengthen and inspire adoptive, foster & kinshi...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Have you ever wondered what adult adoptees really think about adoption? Join us to hear about the Profiles in Adoption: Adult Adoptee Experiences report, based on research by the National Council for Adoption.  In this episode, we cover: Who did you interview for the Profiles in Adoption: Adult Adoptee Experiences report, and how did you find them? You separated your...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: We have two boys, ages 10 and 12. We’ve been told that if we become a foster family, the foster children will have to have a room to themselves. Our boys can share a room for another year, but then we want to separate them. Can we just foster for one year? How long do foster kids usually stay? Resources: Becoming a Foster Parent Raising Foster Children Work...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! There is a huge need for foster and adoptive homes for LGBTQ+ youth in foster care. We interview Holly Harridan and Dr. Shelly Ronen. Holly is a Senior User Experience Researcher at Bloom Works and an applied Anthropologist with a background in queer and feminist studies.  Dr. Shelly Ronen is a Senior User Experience Researcher at Bloom Works. She has a Ph. D. in Soc...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Question: My husband and I want to adopt a baby. We are working with an adoption attorney, and we have to make a book about us and our lives to be shown to women and girls who are considering adoption for their baby. My husband has full-sleeve tattoos on both arms and on his neck. I am worried that it might be a turnoff for a girl choosing a family. Should we use pic...

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Does your child struggle with anger , and do you struggle with how to help them? Tune in to our discussion today with Jessica Sinarski, a certified adoption therapist and author of the picture books Riley the Brave and Your Magic Backpack series. She also serves on the editorial board for The Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma . In this episode, we cover: All kid...