Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.

Do your kids drive you crazy over the holidays? Does their behavior escalate? Join our conversation to learn why and what you can do about it. We will talk with Erin Nasmyth is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with a Master’s in Social Work. She is the co-founder of Adoption Support Alliance, which provides services and support to adoptive families. She has worked in the public and private adoption and foster care system.

In this episode, we cover:

• Is it common to see behavioral changes for the worse during the holiday season?
• What are some of the behaviors you might see that allow our kids to drive us crazy?
• What are some of the stressors that we may not recognize that cause these behaviors? 
  • New things
  • New people
  • Change in routines
  • Parental distraction
  • Past history with holidays
  • Too much of everything-sensory overload
• Practical ideas of how can we make the holidays smoother for our kids and for you
• Ideas on how to get our family onboard for making these changes to our holidays to make it easier for our kids?

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 & 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.

Question: I see that you have information regarding prenatal substance exposure. Is there information regarding biological mothers that hate their pregnancy or their baby, but carry it to full term and put it up for adoption? Are there resources that would address the emotional impact on the baby?

Resources:

• Understanding the Birth Mom/Parent's Experience
• Talking with Kids About Adoption
• Raising a Child with Prenatal Substance Exposure

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 & 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.

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 episode, we cover:

• Most of our audience is foster, adoptive, and kinship parents and professionals. Often they don’t know for sure if a child has been exposed. The US government estimates that about 10% of all children in the US have been prenatally exposed to alcohol or drugs. Do you have a feel for the percentage of children in foster care or who have been involved with the child welfare system? International adoption? Domestic infant adoption?
• Does prenatal exposure increase the likelihood of a disruption to a foster or adoptive placement?
• How is prenatal exposure to alcohol detected or diagnosed?
• What type of training do pediatricians receive during their education or residency on prenatal exposure and on how to diagnose?
• Can you tell at birth or in infancy if a baby has been exposed to alcohol in utero?
• How is prenatal exposure to drugs detected or diagnosed?
• How does birth order change the likelihood that a child who is at risk has been exposed during pregnancy?
• What are the long-term impacts of alcohol exposure? What are the symptoms that are most noticeable to parents, teachers, and other professionals working with these children?
• Alcohol exposure affects multiple systems in the body.
• Does it matter what type of alcohol was consumed?
• Who can diagnose a child with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder?
• What are the long-term impacts of the following drugs?
  • Opioids
  • Heroin and Fentanyl
  • Depressants (benzodiazepines, such as Valium, Xanax)-Prescribed and unprescribed
  • Stimulants-Prescribed and unprescribed
  • Methamphetamines
  • Marijuana
  • Tobacco/Nicotine
• Do pediatricians have a body of resources to offer parents regarding raising a child with prenatal exposure?
• Tips for parents.

Tronick's Still Face Experiment

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 & 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.

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 who induce lactation suffer from similar issues? I have also heard of mothers who enter a depressive state during breastfeeding. Can you outline any other negative side effects of induced lactation?

Resources:

• Breastfeeding the Adopted Child
• Creating and Cultivating Attachment with Your Adopted Child
• Post Adoption Depression

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 & 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.

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 interests include transracial adoption and mixed-race and multiethnic identity formation. We are honored to have Dr. Samuels as the Chair of the Creating a Family Board.

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? 
• Unconscious overlap between self and racial identity for White people.
• What are some of the issues parents should think about to determine if they are a family that should adopt across racial or ethnic lines? 
• What should parents be prepared to do in order to help their children develop a healthy sense of self?
• Adoption is a family affair, so how should prospective adoptive parents prepare their extended family members for the adoption of a child of a different race or culture?
• How do you protect your child from family members who may not approve or are racist?
• What to do if you have someone in your family that you fear will not be accepting or will not treat your child fairly or is a racist?
• How do you find role models that racially mirror your child? 
• Politic of transracial adoption in minority communities. 
• What does the research show on how transracially adopted children are doing?
• What issues may come up with open adoption when adopting across racial lines?
• Preparation for transracial adoption goes beyond hair care; hair and skin care are important. What should parents know?

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 & 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.

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 question is, are there stories of adoptees, especially males, who have experienced emotional health and emotional success in life? I have heard many stories, both about and from, adoptees who have challenges with identity, maladaptive behavior, and experiences with other trauma, which make them at risk for suicide, addiction and depression. Are there any adoptive parents out there who are doing it right, whose adopted kids grow up to be well-adjusted adoptees, emotionally healthy adults who can form good relationships? Is our child doomed for a future of emotional trauma and struggle? I would love to hear their stories and learn from them as well.

Resources:

• Adoptee Voices
• Parenting Adopted Children
• Talking with Kids About Adoption

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 & 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.

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 Parents' Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning.

In this episode, we cover:

• What is executive functioning?
• Example of executive functioning skills?
• What is it like for kids, youth, and adults who struggle with executive functioning?
• What is the experience of families with a child/youth with executive functioning difficulties?
• Why do some kids struggle with executive functioning? What other disabilities often occur with this deficit?
• At what age do we usually expect executive functioning skills to start developing?
• Who can diagnose an executive functioning disability, and why is it important to get a diagnosis?
• What can parents do to help kids improve their executive functioning skills or learn to live without them?
  • Use real life to teach
  • Teach rather than punish
  • Collaborate with the child or youth
  • Behavior modification
  • Adjust expectations
• When should you allow your child to experience natural consequences for behavior?
• Practical tools for helping kids plan and organize.
• Practical tools for helping kids shift gears or handle transitions.
• Practical tools for helping kids with working memory challenges.
• Practical tools for helping kids control impulses.

Additional resources:
Late, Lost, and Unprepared: A Parents' Guide to Helping Children with Executive Functioning

Boosting Executive Skills in the Classroom: A Practical Guide for Educators

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 & 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.

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 grandparents.

Resources:

• Kinship Parenting Resources
• Transitioning a Child to Your Home
• Creating and Cultivating Attachment

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 & 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.

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 Adults
• How does openness or lack of openness impact a child’s understanding of adoption?
• How does transracial adoption impact a child’s understanding of adoption?
• How to talk about adoption at different ages?
  • What are the important points you want to make sure your child understands at each stage?
• What are some common questions children ask at different developmental stages?
  • Why didn’t my birth parents parent me?
  • Can I go back to my birth parents?
  • Do my birth parents think about me?
  • Did my birth parents love me?
  • Who do I look like?
  • Why did they parent my sibling?
  • How am I like my birth parents, and how am I different.”
• Why not wait for your child to ask questions and then talk with them?
• What if your child shows little or no interest in their adoption story?
• What to say when you know very little about the birth parents?
• How can you talk about adoption and the role of the birth father with young children who do not understand the concept of sex?
• How to handle the “You’re not my real mom or dad” statement?
• How to handle hard birth parent stories? 
• What to do when your cultural or ethnic background is strongly prejudiced against adoption? 
  • Don’t outright lie. 
  • Think through carefully what you are afraid of by telling the child.
    • That the child will be rejected by extended family?
    • That you will be judged or rejected by extended family?
    • That the child will share the information to others in your community?
  • Accept that the odds are extremely high that the child is going to find out from over-the-counter DNA testing or someone in the family will tell or from 8th grade biology assignment. 
  • Accept that at some point the failure to tell is the same as lying. When adult adoptees who were not told by their parents were interviewed later in life they almost universally say that it was the lie that hurt the most and did the most damage to their relationship with their parents.
  • Start laying the groundwork at an early age.
    • Families are formed in different ways.
    • All types of families are good.
    • We had trouble having kids and we were so happy when you arrived.
    • Try to establish connections with other adoptive parents
    • Point out adoptive families when you see them in real life or TV or movies
  • Review your reasons for not wanting to tell and decide on an age that you will tell.
  • Explain their adoption story. 

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 & 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.

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 will already have questions about conception. Too much info all at once? 

• Suggested Books on Adoption
  • Books for Children Conceived Through Embryo Donation
• More information on Embryo Donation/Embryo Adoption

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 & 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.

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 Need to Know About Today’s Teens and Sex.

In this episode, we cover:

• What do you believe a parent's role should be in sex education?
• How do you become an askable parent?
• How to talk with our kids about sex without sounding overly judgmental but also convey your values.
• 5 minutes a week conversations.
• The importance of having high-quality books on puberty and sexuality around the house.
• When to start talking about sex with kids?
• How to talk with young people about consent
• Impact of technology (internet, social media, ubiquitous cell phones, etc.) on sexual development.
• What are reasonable parental rules surrounding technology usage?
• Taking and sharing sexual images--how common?
  • How should parents even start talking with their child about nude images?
  • At what age should we start this conversation
  • How to share the downside
• Pornography or sexually explicit media
  • How common do kids access porn, and at what ages?
  • Is viewing porn bad for kids?
  • At what age should parents start talking with kids about pornography?
  • What should parents say about porn?
  • How to keep our kids from viewing porn?
  • How to respond if we catch our kid watching porn or know that they have viewed it?
• Having these discussions when we haven’t had a lifetime of raising this child?

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 & 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