Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. What are the red flags that may alert that a potential agency may not have the child’s or your best interest in mind? Your adoption agency will guide your international adoption, so choose wisely. Dawn highlights some of the red flags to be aware of and Creating a Family has a 3-step process for finding an adoption agency, and we include a list of questions you must ask agencies before you select. Note that all international adop...
May 05, 2024•4 min•Season 18Ep. 36
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Have you ever considered being a foster parent but thought that it was just too hard? You need to listen to this podcast with a group of experienced foster parents sharing the joys of being a foster parent. In this episode, we discuss: Why did you become a foster parent? We talk a lot about the challenges of fostering because we want people to go into it with realistic expectations, but we also need to talk about the many joys yo...
May 01, 2024•46 min•Season 18Ep. 35
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: My husband and I have been matched with a mom expecting twins any day now. One topic that was a particular stress point for us that we found difficult finding resources on was the logistics of flying/traveling with a true newborn, let alone two, and handling the waiting period for ICPC (Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children). We're working with a national agency and in our particular case, we live in Texas an...
Apr 28, 2024•9 min•Season 18Ep. 34
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Join us to talk about the very important topic of youth suicide. Our guest will be Dr. Angela Tunno, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Assistant Professor at Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science. One of her areas of specialty is trauma-informed suicide prevention. In this episode, we cover: Suicide is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the US. How prevalent is suicide i...
Apr 24, 2024•48 min•Season 18Ep. 33
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: I was the one who wanted to adopt. My husband agreed because I wanted it so bad, but now, I’m the one who wishes we hadn’t done it. We adopted a 5-year-old little girl, who is now 7. The awful truth is that I don’t love this child. I don’t even like her very much. I wish I could turn back the clock. Resources: Creating and Cultivating Attachment (Resource) Understanding and Overcoming Blocked Care (Free Course) Creating...
Apr 21, 2024•5 min•Season 18Ep. 32
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Are you confused about having an open adoption? Do you worry about what this means for your family. Join us today to talk about open adoption with Sara Easterly, an adoptee, Kelsey Vander Vliet Ranyard, a birth parent, and Lori Holden, an adoptive parent. In addition to co-authoring the book, "Adoption Unfiltered", they host a podcast of the same name. In this episode, we cover: What is meant by the term “open adoption”? Contact ...
Apr 17, 2024•46 min•Season 18Ep. 31
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: Hubby and I are finally ready to take the plunge and become foster parents. We wanted to wait until our youngest was in high school. We’ve started listening to your podcast, and you’ve mentioned on several of the shows that we would likely have a choice between the local county child welfare agency and a private agency. Which should we choose? Resources: Choosing a Foster Care Agency (Resource page) Becoming a Foster Pa...
Apr 14, 2024•6 min•Season 18Ep. 30
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Do you worry about applying the Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard as a foster parent? Check out this interview with Rhonda Serrano, a senior attorney at the ABA Center on Children and the Law, and Kate Schultz, the Deputy Director at Foster Family Alliance of North Carolina and a licensed foster parent. In this episode, we cover: Where does the concept and term for “reasonable and prudent parent” come from? What were the pro...
Apr 10, 2024•38 min•Season 18Ep. 29
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: We’ve been waiting for 15 months for an expectant mom to choose us to adopt her baby. We finally got chosen, but I’m filled with fear. Are we the right family for this baby? Are we up to parenting her? Will we be ruining our lives and maybe hers? Resources: Evaluating Risk Factors in Adoption (Resource page) Raising a Child with Prenatal Substance Exposure (Resource page) Explaining Prenatal Substance Exposure, ADHD, an...
Apr 07, 2024•6 min•Season 18Ep. 28
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Are you parenting an adopted teen or young adult? Check out our interview about important conversations we need to make sure we have. Our guest is Katie Naftzger ,an LICSW, an adult adoptee, and the author of Parenting in the Eye of the Storm: The Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Navigating the Teen Years . She also has a course for adoptive parents: The Four Paths To Securing The Relationship With Your Adopted Teen Or Young Adult . In...
Apr 03, 2024•46 min•Season 18Ep. 27
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: My husband and I are seriously considering domestic infant adoption. In my research I have found grants are available for people who want to adopt. We make decent money, but do not want to spend all of our savings on adoption fees when we know expenses will only go up when we have a child. Will filling out applications for grants be a waste of time for us or will they consider us even though we make decent money? Resour...
Mar 31, 2024•4 min•Season 18Ep. 26
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Foster youth or children who have been in the foster care system make up over 80% of children being sexually exploited. What can you do to prevent this from happening to your child? We talk with Audrey Morrissey, Co-Executive Director of My Life My Choice , a survivor-led nonprofit fighting sexual exploitation of youth. In this episode, we cover: What are some of the different forms that sexual exploitation can take? What is incl...
Mar 27, 2024•39 min•Season 18Ep. 25
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question : I am a nurse and am very aware of the benefits of breast milk. I always imagined I would get breast milk from a milk bank if I adopted. Just recently, I read there aren’t many milk banks around, and they can have a supply issue and be very expensive. I then stumbled upon adoptive parents inducing lactation to feed their adopted baby. How common and easy is this? Is it successful? Does never being pregnant before and ha...
Mar 24, 2024•5 min•Season 18Ep. 24
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Do you think your child was exposed to alcohol or drugs during pregnancy? If so, a diagnosis can help your child access services and support. Check out this show with Dr. Yasmin Senturias, a developmental-behavioral pediatric specialist with 28 years of experience in developmental pediatrics and prenatal substance exposure. She worked with the American Academy of Pediatrics on developing their FASD Toolkit. In this episode, we co...
Mar 20, 2024•51 min•Season 18Ep. 23
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: We adopted our son at two, but we were his foster parents since he was three months. He is now in second grade and is really struggling in school both academically and with bad behaviors. His teacher is not open to hearing me talk about trauma and how his trauma is impacting his learning and behavior. I think she thinks that since he’s been with us for almost his entire life that he hasn’t had trauma. We seem to be gett...
Mar 17, 2024•8 min•Season 18Ep. 22
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Are you struggling to feel connected to your child? Do you sometimes wish you could turn the clock back and not be parenting this child? If so, you need to listen to this interview with Melissa Corkum, adoptee, adoptive mom, and co-author of Reclaim Compassion: The Adoptive Parent’s Guide to Overcoming Blocked Care with Neuroscience and Faith. In this episode, we cover: What is blocked care, and how does it differ from blocked tr...
Mar 13, 2024•44 min•Season 18Ep. 21
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: We are close to adopting two kids from foster care. Is there somewhere that shows the possible options for things we should ask for in adoption assistance? I don’t want to rely just on the child welfare office to hopefully tell us all the possible options. Resources: Josh Kroll , Adoption Subsidy Resource Center, Families Rising (Formerly NACAC) [email protected] 651-644-3036, extension 115 Foster Care Subsidies: What is ...
Mar 10, 2024•9 min•Season 18Ep. 20
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Are you thinking about domestic infant adoption? This is an interview you must listen to! We talk with adoption medicine pediatrician, Dr. Todd Ochs, about common risk factors you should know about before adopting an infant. In this episode, we cover: Common Risk Factors in Domestic Infant Adoption Lack of prenatal care. Why do expectant moms who are considering making an adoption plan often have limited prenatal care? What is co...
Mar 06, 2024•37 min•Season 18Ep. 19
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Listener Response: An aspect of adopting that we didn’t hear about was how your mental health is challenged throughout the process. It’s a roller coaster of emotions, and this isn’t discussed as often as organic issues such as drug or alcohol use. Resources: Creating a Family Online Support Group Adoption Process & Important Considerations Self-Care for Parents and Caregivers This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.or...
Mar 03, 2024•8 min•Season 18Ep. 18
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Do you want to raise a child that can bounce back from all the hard stuff life throws at them? Join us to talk about this with Dr. Caroline Leaf, a communication pathologist and clinical and cognitive neuroscientist. She is the author of several books, including Switch on Your Brain, Think Learn Succeed, and How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess . In this episode, we cover: The mind/brain/body connection. The neurocyc...
Feb 28, 2024•51 min•Season 18Ep. 17
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: We’ve been waiting for a little over a year, and so far, no birth mom has asked to meet with us. I think we need to revamp our profile book. Resources: What is an Adoptive Parent Profile? (Resource page) Understanding the Birth Parent's Experience (Resource page) Adoption Process & Important Considerations (Resources) This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national non-profit with the mission...
Feb 25, 2024•6 min•Season 18Ep. 16
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Nicole Chung, author of All You Can Ever Know , has done it again with another wonderful memoir about growing up as a transracial adoptee and then losing both her adoptive parents. A Living Remedy is a story about family love and loss, regardless of how the family is formed. In this episode, we discuss: Family love. You were well, if not always perfectly, loved. You were temperamentally different from your parents, especially you...
Feb 21, 2024•44 min•Season 18Ep. 15
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: We are adopting an 8-year-old little girl from the country of Georgia. I would love some concrete tips on how our family (four bio kids) can best communicate with her and foster attachment despite the language barrier. Are there any tools you can recommend or strategies to help non-English speaking adoptees feel more comfortable in their new environment? Resources: Creating and Cultivating Attachment (Resource Guide) Si...
Feb 18, 2024•8 min•Season 18Ep. 14
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. We talk to our kids all day, but how can we use these conversations to help them reach their full potential? Our guest is Rebecca Roland, a speech pathologist, Harvard lecturer, and author of the book The Art of Talking with Children . In this episode, we discuss: What is rich talk, and why is it important? You talk about different types of conversations. What are some of the different conversations we should have with our childr...
Feb 14, 2024•49 min•Season 18Ep. 13
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: Last week my husband and I flew across the country to meet our potential adoptive baby. We had been matched 5 weeks earlier and were full of happiness. We’ve always known the risks of having a fall through but based on the case, we didn’t think it would be the case. It was. Despite being in contact with birthmom via email and text, getting her updates and baby pictures, she ghosted us and the agency. We met her and birt...
Feb 11, 2024•7 min•Season 18Ep. 12
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. What are the microaggressions or stigmas in the world of adoption and how do they impact adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive parents? We talk with Dr. Amanda Baden, a Professor and the Doctoral Program Director at Montclair State University in the graduate counseling program and a licensed psychologist in private practice in Manhattan. She is an adult adoptee from Hong Kong and an adoptive parent of a daughter from China. In th...
Feb 07, 2024•43 min•Season 18Ep. 11
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: Is it possible to adopt a child from another state, provided that all parental rights were terminated on both mother and father’s sides? What extra complications or legalities do families adopting out of state face? Resources: Adopting a Child Out of State (Parent Training Education Course) Foster Care Adoption Domestic Infant Adoption Working with an Adoption Attorney This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org...
Feb 04, 2024•4 min•Season 18Ep. 10
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. How can you create an adoptive parent profile to help you stand out and show what makes you unique? To find out, join our guests Erin Quick, the Founder and CEO of PairTree and an adoptive mom, and Jess Nelson, the profile creation provider at Pairtree and a two-time birth mom. In this episode, we cover: What are Adoptive Parent Profiles? What other names might they go by? Each agency or attorney has their own preference, but the...
Jan 31, 2024•47 min•Season 18Ep. 9
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Question: How are pre-adoptive matches made in foster care? I’ve heard that families may even need to network with social workers to be noticed when possible matches come up, but I’m not sure how matches are made. Resources: Working as Part of a Foster Care Team Foster Care Adoption Practical Tips for Fostering a Sibling Group This podcast is produced by www.CreatingaFamily.org . We are a national non-profit with the mission to s...
Jan 28, 2024•7 min•Season 18Ep. 8
Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom. Join us for a wonderful discussion with author and performer Susan Kiyo Ito about her new memoir, I Would Meet You Anywhere . This is a book adoptive parents should read! In this episode, we cover: It felt like much of the tension between you and your birth mother was due to her desire to keep you a secret and your desire to be seen. And also her desire to be in control of this relationship. The harsh reality that adoption reunio...
Jan 24, 2024•35 min•Season 18Ep. 7
