Creating A Family: Talk About Infertility, Adoption & Foster Care

Are you expecting the placement of a newborn? Don't miss our conversation about the latest information on baby care with Kristen O’Dell, a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner with almost two decades of working with over 10,000 newborns and their families in her hospital practice of Neonatology and Newborn Medicine.In this episode, we cover:FeedingThe vast majority of adoptive parents will bottle-feed their baby. How to choose a formula.Is liquid or dry formula better for the baby?How to sterilize the dry formula?Do you need to sterilize bottles?What type of bottle is best?Does the bottle type differ if the baby is born premature or has Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome?Does the temperature of the formula matter?Can you make the bottles up once a day, or do you have to make it fresh for each feeding?When should you consider a specialized formula, and what options do you have?How often should a baby eat?Other feeding options: adoptive mother induce lactation to breastfeed; donated breast milk.How do you k

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Are you raising an internationally adopted child or a child of another race? Join our fascinating discussion with Dr. Hollee McGinnis, an Assistant Professor in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work. She focuses on mental health and identity for internationally adopted people. She is also an intercountry adoptee from South Korea.In this episode, we cover:How are racial, ethnic, and cultural identities different for international adoptees?Why is racial, ethnic, or cultural identification important for the emotional development of a child adopted internationally? At what age does cultural and racial identity develop?For children adopted internationally, what are some of the acculturation and assimilation issues that these children face? Including those issues arising from factors such as race, ethnicity, religion, and culture.Does this differ by race?Does international adoption itself potentially create acculturation or assim

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Do you suspect your child has ADHD? Don't miss today's show with Dr. Tamara Rosier. She is the author of “Your Brain’s Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD.” She runs the ADHD Center of West Michigan and is president of the ADHD Coaches Organization.In this episode, we cover:Understanding ADHDWhat is ADHD? What are the symptoms? Are foster, adoptive, and kinship kids more prone to ADHD?How to tell if our child’s behavior is ADHD or caused by the trauma they’ve experienced? Treating ADHDImportance of early diagnosing and intervention. To medicate or not?Should you take a medication break/holiday? Parenting Challenges with Raising a Child with ADHD: Managing expectations.Emotional management is key.Stop comparing your child and yourself to other parents and their “perfect” kids.Self-control/Impulsiveness.Sticking to an activity - the challenge of finding the balance between encouraging a child to persis

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Do you have a child receiving special education services or one that you think may need these services? In this podcast, we talk about navigating this process. Our guests will be Lisa Eisenberg and Gaile Osborne. Lisa Eisenberg is a social worker, education advocate, and consultant. She is a member of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, an organization whose goal is to secure high-quality educational services for all and to promote excellence in advocacy. Gaile Osborne is the Executive Director of Foster Family Alliance, the foster, kinship, and adoptive parent association in North Carolina. She has her masters in special education with certifications in five areas, including emotional disabilities. Gaile and her husband are parents of children adopted from foster care and have fostered over 28 children. Foster Family Alliance provides educational advocacy support for NC foster, adoptive, and kinship families.In this episode, we cove

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Support the showPlease 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 the professionals who support them.Creating a Family brings you the following trauma-informed, expert-based content: Weekly podcasts Weekly articles/blog posts Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.How can parents help their transracial adoptees transition to college, and why can this transition be hard for both teens and parents? We talk with Dr. Amanda Baden, a Professor in the Counselor Education Program at Montclair State University. She is an active researcher and currently leads their Adoption Research Team. She is also a transracial adoptee and a member of the Creating a Family board.In this episode, we cover:Acknowledge that this will likely be a strange year for preparing anyone to go to college.What are the major developmental milestones for all adolescents that happen during the 15-20 age frame?What are some of the additional developmental milestones for adolescent adoptees?What are the additional developmental milestones for transracial adoptees during the late teen years?Why is the transition to college sometimes a difficult one for transracial adoptees?What do you mean by “honorary whiteness”?Is the experience of transitioni

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Everyone connected to adoption needs to listen to this show. We talk about a new research report on how birth parents experience adoption. The results will surprise you! Our guest are the two main authors: Ryan Hanlon is the Executive Director of The National Council for Adoption, the national adoption organization providing resources and education for all people and organizations in the adoption world and advocating for sound adoption policies; and Laura Bruder is the Executive Director of Brave Love, an organization dedicated to changing the perception of adoption by acknowledging birth moms for their brave decision.In this episode, we cover:The Birth Parent Experiences report is based on the responses of 1,160 birth mothers and 239 birth fathers.Were these all domestic infant adoption rather than adoptions from foster care?Birth mothers who placed their child for adoption in 2010 or later were much more likely to report satisfaction with the

Are you thinking about adopting internationally? Don't miss this interview covering the common health, developmental, and emotional issues found in kids adopted internationally. Our guests are Dr. Kimara Gustafson, M.D., M.P.H., an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota Medical School, a Faculty Member in the Division of Clinical Behavioral Neuroscience, and a pediatrician at the Adoption Medicine Clinic at the University of Minnesota. We will also talk with Dr. Katie Stone, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pediatrics at The University of Minnesota Medical School. She is part of the Psychology team at the Adoption Medicine Clinic.In this episode, we cover:The best place to get information on the country-specific laws and the adoption process is your agency and the US State Department website on intercountry adoption, in the country information section.Each year the US State Department prepares an Annual Report on Intercountry Adoption that includes th

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Join us to talk with Angela Tucker about her new book You Should Be Grateful: Stories of Race Identity, and Transracial Adoption. Angela is a black woman adopted from foster care to white parents. She was the subject of Closure, a documentary that chronicles her search for her biological parents. Angela has consulted with NBC’s "This Is Us", supported the lead actor of Broadway musical "Jagged Little Pill", has over 15 years of experience working within adoption and foster care agencies, and has mentored over 200 adoptees, leading her to found the Adoptee Mentoring Society.In this episode, we cover:The Adoptee ManifestoWhat adoptee centrism. What do you mean by that?The complexities of loving your adoptive parents and wishing you weren’t adopted.Why is the spoken or unspoken “you should be grateful” so hard on adopted people?How to share the hard parts of our child’s story?What is the Ghost Kingdom that adoptees create about

Do you sometimes feel like screaming because you can't keep up with all that you think is expected of being a mom? If so, you're in good company. Join us to listen to our interview with Jessica Grose about her book Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood. Grose is an opinion writer at the New York Times. She writes a popular newsletter on parenting and was named by Glamour Magazine as a Game Changer in 2020 for her coverage of parenting during the pandemic.In this episode, we cover:What brought you to write this book?The pressure to feel a certain way and do everything right feels inherent in modern motherhood, but is it new? Have things changed? In what areas are moms in America struggling? ExpenseWork and Role of Fathers:Our society’s views of working motherhood from the 1990’s to now. “There is the expectation for working women to want to become moms. Then when we do become parents, we are expected to be our best at work and attend to our children. I was the first cal

Are you parenting teens, or will you be in a few years? Don't miss today's conversation with psychologist Dr. Lisa Damour, author of the book, "The Emotional Lives of Teenagers: Raising Connected, Capable, and Compassionate Adolescents."In this episode, we cover:Our society has become afraid of being unhappy. What are the reasons for this?Studies seem to suggest that teens are unhappier now than in the past. Why?Three myths about adolescence.The adultification of black teens. Why do our teens find us so annoying?The goal is not always to avoid conflict with our teens; rather, it should be to learn how to have constructive conflict.You say that spending time online can be both good and bad for teens.What should parents know about porn?How carefully should you supervise what your teens are seeing online?How can parents keep technology in place? What are some common-sense rules?The importance of small pleasures in modulating the mood of our teens.Resource:American Psychological Association: H

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Join us as Dr. Bruce Perry answers your questions about how trauma impacts adoptive, foster, and kinship kids and families. Dr. Bruce Perry, is a child psychiatrist and neuroscientist, the principal of the Neurosequential Network, Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy, and adjunct Professor at Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago. He is the author the numerous books including co-author along with Oprah Winfrey of What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, and co-author of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog.In this episode, we cover:The shift in perspective from what’s wrong with you to what happened to you--the ability to understand seemingly senseless behavior by looking at what’s behind it.What do you include as “trauma”? How severe does it have to be to impact us later in life?We hear foster, adoptive, and kinship parents say, “she was only neglected.” Is neglect less harmful than abuse?When sib

Are you thinking about adopting from foster care or adopting a child you are already fostering? Are you wondering how to help the child transition to adoption? Our guests are Hope Middlebrook, a foster parent recruiter for Arrow Child and Family Services, and Jennifer O’Brien, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Regional Director for Arrow’s Foster Care Programs.In this episode, we cover:Two different scenarios: You are the foster parents of the child you are going to adopt.You are adopting a child who is living with another foster family.At what age do kids understand the concept of adoption and what it means in their life?If you are adopting a child you are fostering.How is adoption different from fostering?What are some typical emotions (positive and negative) a child might feel? Grief is to be expected.How far in advance should the child be informed?What are some typical behaviors you might see?What are some typical emotions and behaviors you might see from other children already living in your home?If

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Is your child more intense and more challenging than other kids? Do you worry about the future for this child and your ability to help them learn to behave? You will love this interview with Tina Feigal, M.S., Ed., the Director of Family Engagement at Anu Family Services and founder of the Center for the Challenging Child, where she works with families throughout the US. She is the author of the book Present Moment Parenting: The Guide to a Peaceful Life with Your Intense Child.In this episode, we cover:What makes some kids more challenging?What is the impact of trauma on children’s behavior?We often parent the way we were parented. How can we overcome this?What do we mean by “attachment,” and why is it important for children and parents?“Parent the child in front of you in the present moment"- not the one that did ____ yesterday or the one that you fear will do or be ____ in the future.”Ten Tenets of ParentingHow can parents work with chi

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Are you parenting a child on the autism spectrum. This interview will give you insight and hope. We talk with Dr. Lynn Koegel, a clinical professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine, and author of Hidden Brilliance: Unlocking the Intelligence of Autism. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.In this episode, we cover:What are some of the variations in the way autism presents in humans?What are some of the symptoms or signs of autism at different ages? We so often focus on the weaknesses of children with autism and overlook their strengths. Why is this a problem for children on the autism spectrum?How is autism diagnosed, and what are the limits to this testing?What can parents do to make sure that the testing more clearly reflects their child’s strengths as well as weaknesses?The absence of speaking starting at around age one and struggles with communicating are common with people with autism

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Have you thought about adopting a child of a different race or ethnicity? Are you up for the job? How can you be the best family for this child? Join us when we talk with Meggin Nam Holtz, a Licensed Master Social Worker, and a Korean adoptee. She has a private counseling practice specializing in adoption.  She created an award-winning documentary film, Found in Korea, about birth search, country of origin travel, identity, and adoption.In this episode, we cover:If you are a White parent, are there different issues you need to consider depending on the race of the child you adopt?Some families prefer to adopt a bi-racial child rather than a child who is all Black or all Latinx. What are the issues to consider?Is there a difference between transracial and transcultural adoption?What does it take to raise a child to have a healthy self and racial identity. How do they differ?What are some of the issues parents should think about to determine if t

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Does your child struggle with controlling their big emotions? Do they seem angry or frustrated most of the time? We've got some answers! Join us to listen to this interview with Dr. Stuart Shanker, a Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Psychology at York University and author of several books, including Self-Reg: How to Help Your Child (and You) Break the Stress Cycle and Reframed: Self-Reg for a Just Society. He is also an adoptive dad.In this episode, we cover:3 basic principles of self-regulation:There is no such thing as a bad or lazy kid. No matter how difficult, out of control, distracted, or exhausted a child might seem, there’s a way forward: self-regulation.All people can learn to self-regulate in ways that promote rather than constrict growth.There is no such thing as a "fixed outcome": trajectories can always be changed, at any point in the lifespan, if only we have the right knowledge and tools

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.Do you wonder how to talk to your child about adoption? What if they don't seem interested? How do you talk about some of the hard stuff? This episode explores talking with children about adoption at different ages with Mari Itzkowitz, with the Center for Adoption Support and Education (CASE). She is an adoption-competent therapist and leader of the CASE Training Team, providing training and education to professionals and parents.In this episode, we cover:How does an adoptee’s understanding of adoption differ by age?  InfantsToddlers & Preschoolers School Age Tweens Teens Young Adults Older Adults How to talk about adoption at different ages? Should you wait for the child to ask questions before you tell them about their adoption story?What if your child or youth shows little or no interest in their adoption story?How does openness or lack of openness impact a child’s understanding of adoption? Should adoptive parents bring up the idea

We talk about raising your grandkids with Christine Adamec, coauthor with Dr. Andrew Adesman, of The Grandfamily Guidebook. She and her husband have been raising their teenage grandson since his infancy.In this episode, we cover:Why are grandparent led families increasing?What are some common emotions that grandparents and other kin experience when they realize that they need to step in and raise their grandchildren or other kin?What type of decisions should you make about legal custody or permanency? How to protect your grandchild? How to enroll them in school? How to be able to get medical and mental health care for them? How to prevent the child’s parents from removing the child from your home? Becoming a foster parent? A will?What are some of the strains that grandparents can experience with their children (the parents of their grandchildren)?How to navigate the relationship with your adult child?Explaining the situation to the child? (“Why am I living with you and not my parents?”)Raising kids that likel

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.How does parenting an adopted teen differ from parenting teens that come to us through birth? What are some of the unique challenges adopted teens or young adults face? Check out our interview with Katie Naftzger, an LCSW, Korean adoptee, and the author of “Parenting in the Eye of the Storm: The Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Navigating the Teen Years.”In this episode, we cover:Why is parenting an “adopted” teen any different from parenting a child who comes to you by birth?What issues related to adoption come to the front during the teen years?What issues that relate to early neglect or abuse, or loss come to the fore in adolescence?In your book, “Parenting in the Eye of the Storm: The Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Navigating the Teen Years,” you talk about adoptive or foster parents taking a learning stance when working with teens. What is a learning stance?Many of our kids have experienced early life adversity and carry the scars of this early trau