Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: Hello, thank you sincerely for your podcast and the work you do. It has helped me feel less alone and allowed me to better navigate foster parenting and adopting from foster care. My husband and I have two amazing boys; they have the same bio mom, and two older siblings each in a different family. Our youngest is 5. We met when he was 3 months. Our oldest is 8. We met when he was 3. He was removed at birth, then...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Join us to learn about family rituals—how to create and why they can help build strong families. Our guest will be Elizabeth Barbour, the author of a new book, Sacred Celebrations: Designing Rituals to Navigate Life’s Milestone Transitions. She’s also a reunited adoptee and an adoptive mom. In this episode, we discuss: Why are rituals important for families? Define the culture of family-this is who we areThis is what we d...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: We have been matched with an expectant mom due in a couple of months. She is having twins. As we are preparing for the next steps, sleep training has come up frequently in newborn care books. What research is there on the cry-it-out method or other popular sleep training methods in relation to adopted children? We want to make sure they know their needs will be met and build a strong adoption bond, but we also want t...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Are you looking for practical ways to build your child's resilience and sense of safety, and to strengthen your family's connectedness? Listen to this conversation with Ginger Healy, MSW, LCSW, director of programs for the Attachment & Trauma Network and host of the podcast “Regulated and Relational.” Ginger speaks across the nation on trauma-informed schools, therapeutic parenting, and community engagement. In this episod...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: I would love to hear about family profiles for adopting older teens. Resources: Adopting a Child of a Different Race or CultureAdopting Older KidsEvaluating Risk Factors in Foster Care AdoptionSupport 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 & kinship parents and ...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. What is it like to be the only biological child in a large transracial adoptive family? Our guest, Elaine Duncan, shares her story of how transcultural adoption impacted her identity and resilience. She is a writer, speaker, and strategist whose work bridges storytelling, healing, and social change. She has a passion for improving outcomes for underserved young people and is currently working on a memoir of her life journey. I...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: I have a friend whose 12-year-old adopted son (adopted at age 6) has been sexually abusing his younger siblings. She self-reported to CPS and law enforcement, but they have not done a formal removal yet, and their solutions involved bringing the child back home or kinship (not an option). The offending child is currently in a temporary behavioral hospital, and a Refusal to Assume Parental Responsibil...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. We're thrilled to introduce you to our new Executive Director, Linda Fiore. Listen to today's conversation about her journey to Creating a Family and where we're heading in this next chapter under her leadership. In this episode, we discuss: What first brought you into the world of adoption, foster care, and kinship care?When you started out, what was your “why”?What values or goals drove your work in those earliest years?What...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: Help for a youth dealing with being bullied because they are in foster care? Resources: 5 Steps to Effectively Advocate for a Child Who is Being BulliedAre Transracial Adoptees More Likely to Be Bullied?Helping Our Kids Cope with Bullies at SchoolStopBullying.govSupport 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 st...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Do you feel like raising a child with a history of trauma has stirred up your own traumatic past? If you wonder how to parent from a position of healing, listen to this conversation with Dr. Robyn Koslowitz. She is a psychologist, trauma expert, and author of the new book, Post-Traumatic Parenting: Break the Cycle, Become the Parent You Always Wanted to Be. In this episode, we discuss: You open your book by saying, ‘It’s not y...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: I have been fostering our grandchild since March. It is now almost September. Both biological parents had drug addiction. Bio mom was on a trial home visit, but used this as the reason our grandchild is with us. After the trial home visit ended, bio mom was still getting supervised visits 2x a week. After every visit, the little one was dysregulated and started biting and hitting the daycare kiddos and the provider, ...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Join us for a fun and inspiring conversation with Emily Cole, co-founder and co-owner of Banana Ball, the new sports phenomenon sweeping the country. We're talking with her about Bananas Foster, their non-profit that celebrates foster families all around the nation. In this episode, we talk about: Please tell us the story of how Bananas Foster got started.What was happening in your life that made you say, “We need to do someth...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: Do you have trainings for children transitioning from foster care to adoption? Resources: Transitioning a Child to Your HomeWelcoming an Older Child to Your FamilyHelping Your Child Transition Smoothly from Foster Care to AdoptionUsing Lifebooks to Explain Complex Issues in Adoption to KidsBooks about being adopted from foster careSupport the show Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced by www.Cr...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Do you sometimes feel that self-care is an impossible goal when you are parenting kids who have experienced trauma? There isn’t enough time in the day to do it all, much less take care of yourself. Or is there? Join us to talk about how to find time to take care of yourself. We will talk with Angelica Jones, MSW, Program Director of Intercountry Services and the Intensive Service Foster Care Recruiter and Trainer at Vista Del ...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: We adopted our son at birth, and he is about to turn one already. I deeply care about his birth parents and have tried very hard to maintain a relationship with them. Even during many months of no contact, I think about them every day. Our only post-placement visit with them was at 2 1/2 months. They have no-showed for all the other visits they asked for, and have gone several months at a time without responding...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Why do our kids melt down, act out, or regress during the holiday season? Listen to our conversation with Dr. David Adams to learn what is going on and what you can do about it to make this holiday season more enjoyable for you all. He is an adoptive and foster dad, a licensed psychologist, and a licensed professional counselor. He is the Founding Director and President of New Life Psychology Group in Laguna Hills, California,...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: My adoptive child was contacted by the birth mother, never contacted us, it has caused chaos in our family. The parents that adopt kids are never considered after raising a child for over 20 years to give them back. Resources: Adoptive Mom Feels Left Out at Son’s Reunion with Birth MotherWhat You Need to Know about Open Adoption5 Tips for Navigating Sticky Situations with Birth ParentsAdvice to My Pre-Adoptive ...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. How do you handle sleep struggles when raising a child who has been impacted by trauma, prenatal substance exposure, or other challenges? Listen to our conversation with Dr. Chris Winter, a sleep researcher and neurologist who has practiced sleep medicine and neurology since 2004. He is also the author of The Rested Child: Why Your Tired, Wired or Irritable Child May Have A Sleep Disorder--And How To Help, and hosts the podcas...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: How should I deal with an adoptive child with a people-pleasing personality? I want to prevent the anxiety that comes with that, but I'm not sure how. Resources: 6 Tips for Creating AttachmentHow to Cultivate Resilience in Your Kids7 Character Traits Your Kids Need to ThriveSigns Your Child Might Be People Pleasing and How to HelpSupport the show Please leave us a rating or review. This podcast is produced...

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. How do you manage daily expenses and budgeting when you are a foster or kinship caregiving family? We speak with Nicole Valenzuela, a foster parent and founder of Fostering Finances, to learn about simplified budgeting practices and healthy mindsets for managing money. In this episode, we discuss: What are the financial challenges that foster and kinship families commonly face?How do those challenges differ between kinship car...