With all of the negative, and often untrue, headlines that surround foster care and adoption, it's refreshing to read a story that uplifts and brings hope. 

That's exactly what this week's podcast guest is on a mission to do. Dagmara Sitek is a children's book author, who is turning tragedy into hope and bringing encouragement and empowerment to children in foster care, and their caregivers, all over the world. 

A Little More About Dagmara...

Dagmara Sitek is a Canada-based mother of two, who is committed to children’s education and emotional well-being. Originally from Poland, she is married to a Taiwanese-Canadian. She wrote the Courage Tales series about foster care heroes because she realized something important – not all kids get a fair shot at life. 


“Loris Opens Up His Heart” was inspired by the tragic story of 8-year-old Kamilek from Czestochowa, who died due to mistreatment by his stepfather. Dagmara's goal is to empower children through literature: Explore the transformative power of books in shaping young minds. 'Loris Opens Up His Heart' provides a medium through which adoptive or foster parents can empower their children, fostering a sense of self, understanding, and compassion.

How To Connect With Dagmara...

• Pre-order Loris Opens Up His Heart
• Visit Dagmara's website
• Follow Dagmara on Instagram

Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

If you're anything like us, last year was a really difficult year. We stepped out of it, into 2024, feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and fearful that the New Year would turn out just like the old year. The biggest aspect of this journey to take a hit was our mental health. 

Anyone out there with us on that one? 

But, it doesn't have to be this way. There are practical steps we can take as caregivers, to drastically improve, even transform, our mental health. It begins by creating a Mental Health Decree. 

This past week, we hosted a 3-part workshop entitled, Overcoming Isolation & Burnout in 2024 and it was simply amazing. More than 500 caregivers from all over the world signed up and went through it. Session 2 was all about Transforming Our Mental Health in the New Year. Not only did we give practical advice, we also shared a valuable Action Sheet to help you take action and decree your value and boundaries. Game-changer! 

It was such a powerful session (in fact, possibly our best live session ever!) that we decided to drop a snippet into this week's podcast. Check it out. 

The great news is that you can also still register for the workshop and catch all of the replays. Details below (along with the Action Sheet Download).

And, we've also opened up public enrollment for Resilient Caregiver University (also, below).

• Register for Overcome Isolation & Burnout in 2024 (replays available until 1/25)
• Download Your Mental Health Decree Action Sheet
• Enroll in Resilient Caregiver University

Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

Happy New Year! We're kicking off the 31st season of The Resilient Caregiver Podcast and this is episode 299. We are absolutely BLOWN away that we have produced 31 seasons of this show since October, 2015! Thank you for being part of this amazing journey. 

We're kicking off the brand new season with an amazing interview with our good friend Rob Scheer from Comfort Cases and author of A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Child At A Time.

A Little More About Rob...

Rob entered the foster care system as a child who had lost both parents. He was brought into a house with all of his belongings in a tattered and torn trash bag. As Rob and his husband Reece went through the adoption process for each their 5 children, who are now their daughter and 4 sons, they arrived on their doorstep through foster care experiencing the same undignified process Rob endured forty years ago.

Floored by the fact that children still carry their lives in a bag used for trash nearly four decades since his own experience, Rob decided to devote his life to restoring dignity to those transitioning in and out of foster care with the creation of Comfort Cases.

His personal dedication and success through Comfort Cases has provided hope and self worth to thousands of children as he and his team empower the next generations transitioning within foster care.

How To Connect With Rob...

• Learn about Comfort Cases
• Discover more about Rob
• Watch Rob's TED Talk

Also On The Show...

• Grab your spot now for the Overcoming Isolation & Burnout in 2024 workshop coming January 15, 16, & 18th exclusively online! During this free 3-part live event we'll be diving deep into your purpose, person and plan as a caregiver. Plus, we'll be sharing the proven path to building and maintaining resiliency all year long! Registration is open! Click Here. 

Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

2023 was a combination of fulfilling, overwhelming, sometimes defeating, but most importantly, a year of growing for us. We learned so many important things this past year. 

As we bring this year to a close, we take a moment to look back and discuss the important things we learned as caregivers. 

These include...

• The value of time and space
• Focusing on the need before the behavior
• Setting healthy boundaries with our adult children
• Making the most of the time we have with the people who are with us
• and sooo much more! 

Pull up a chair and join the conversation! 

Also on the show...

• The Safety Planning Essentials Mini-Course is available until 11:59pm PST on December 31st. The course includes lessons on building and maintaining safety plans, navigating investigations, and managing crisis. Click Here to enroll! 

Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

Once we've aligned our expectations, and leveled them to a manageable place, we need to establish boundaries with our children. This is not an easy task, especially if you're parenting children who become triggered easily. And sometimes the boundaries will be very hard to explain. 

How do you do this? 

In this episode of The Resilient Caregiver Podcast we dive into a conversation around boundaries, what they may need to be, how to set them and, most importantly, how to maintain them. 

Also On The Show....

• Check out the TRC website
• Browse our free resources
• Learn about the Resilient Caregiver University
• Check out other podcast episodes (and subscribe!)
• Book us to speak at your event
• Schedule coaching sessions with us

Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

In the words of Ellen Griswold (from Christmas Vacation), "I know how you build things up in your mind, Sparky. You set standards that no family event can live up to." 

That might not fully be the case for you, but we often do struggle with our expectations. Especially when it involves the Holidays and situations that can go south quickly with meltdowns, triggered behaviors, overstimulation, and more. 

How do we navigate through this?  More importantly, how do we set expectations that don't set us, or our families, up for failure? 

That's what we're diving into in this week's episode of The Resilient Caregiver Podcast. 

Also On The Show...

• Check out the TRC website
• Browse our free resources
• Learn about the Resilient Caregiver University
• Check out other podcast episodes (and subscribe!)
• Book us to speak at your event
• Schedule coaching sessions with us

Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

For caregivers of a multi-racial families, hair care can be stressful and overwhelming. How do you provide the best care for your daughter or know what products to use? 

If you've had these questions, or felt overwhelmed and defeated by this topic, we have good news. Tony Award Nominated Acress Shalita Grant from the shows NCIS: New Orleans and You most recently, joins our show to discuss her new brand, Four Naturals Hair and provides a TON of hope and insight for caregivers just like you!

About Shalita...

Shalita Grant was raised in Petersburg, Virginia and attended high school at the Baltimore School for the Arts in Maryland where she was a YoungArts Winner in Theater and Presidential Scholar in the Arts. At 17, she received a scholarship to attend the Julliard School for her B.F.A. in Drama, graduating in 2010. She starred as Cassandra in "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" on Broadway, for which she earned a Tony Award nomination for Featured Actress in a Play and won the 2013 Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut.

Her TV credits Include, NCIS: New Orleans, Santa Clarita Diet, Search Party and You.

In Shalita's words...

My journey with Four Naturals started with a ponytail. As an actress with Type 4 hair, the tightest texture on the hair chart, I faced unique challenges while on NCIS New Orleans. My ever-changing ponytail concealed the damage I was chasing. I experienced traction alopecia in my second season and significant hair loss along my hairline in the third season, leading me to leave my job by the fourth season. I experienced a hard truth: No matter how much money you have or who you have access to, if you have type 4 hair, your options are limited to wigs and extensions, getting locs, or just cutting it all off. After quitting, I recognized my hair as my number one acting career problem and set out to solve it.

In 2019, I began reading journals and articles from the world of Cosmetic Chemistry - absorbing everything there was to know about the three parts of the hair strand, hair porosity, cationic and anionic charge, and more. After reading, I understood that everything I was taught to do to care for my fragile, fickle type 4 hair was pure ritual! No wonder I could never solve my chronic issues with dryness and breakage. 

I then researched the hair practices and ingredients used by the people of India, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Greece and created the patent-pending Four Naturals Treatment. I combined hair science and plant medicine and solved my lifelong issues with dryness, breakage, lack of curl definition, lack of established hair routine, and heat damage. 

The first treatment, I couldn’t quite believe my results - my hair felt softer, the color was richer, and it appeared thicker, and my hair felt heavier! However, by my third treatment, my hair was undeniably different. I had the best hair of my life! It was so easy to maintain, unbelievably soft and strong, and I could flat iron it without the heat damage requiring a Big Chop. So, I created Four Naturals Hair, and my mission is to make the lives of people with Type 4 hair better, easier, and more consistent. Best of all, because my treatment addresses the hair health concerns of people whose needs have been ignored for generations, it solves everyone else’s health concerns. I see the Four Naturals Treatment as the beginning of a hair revolution.

How To Connect With Shalita...

• Visit the Four Naturals website
• Follow Four Naturals Hair on Instagram
• Visit the Four Naturals YouTube channel

Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

Diversity is a central aspect of the foster and adoption journey. But often, it's overlooked or taken for granted. That's precisely why we have crucial guests like our good friend Maria Hansen-Quine. 

She's a wealth of knowledge and expertise, particularly when it comes to the celebration of diversity in foster care and adoption. 

A Little More About Maria...

Maria passionately believes in the value of children. So much so that she has devoted the past 22 years to working with children, currently working as a school counselor in a beautiful inner city community.   Maria has worked in three different states, six different schools, two group homes, an outpatient therapy children's programs, a homeless shelters, and has provided court mandated therapeutic in home support to families.  Maria’s passion for kids was birthed during college, when she spent two summers running day camps in Camden New Jersey.

Maria’s early beginning stories begun in a little country called the Faroe Islands. Here Maria spent the first eleven years of her life, immigrating to Canada as a non-English speaker. Later as an adult, Maria immigrated to the United States. 

Maria calls herself a precious jewels mamma, as she believes children are sacred gifts from God.  Maria and her husband Sam have ten beautiful and diverse precious jewels, seven through adoption, two born biologically, and one bonus adult daughter (and son in law).  Sam is an adult adoptee.

Also On The Show...

• Our new booking page is live! If you are an event coordinator or leader and looking for your next keynote or breakout speaker, send us a request. Our 2024 calendar is filling up fast. Click Here!

Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

We're excited to welcome Marna Pacheco from CapeAble Weighted Products to The Resilient Caregiver Podcast to discuss how weighted products (blankets, vests, wraps, etc) can help your children who have sensory needs.

Through their patented Smart Weight Technology, CapeAble Weighted Products is changing the game in the weighted products field. And good news...the products she shares are NOT just for children. Adults can benefit too! (Just ask Kristin...😉).

Check out the CapeAble Weighted Product store here. 

Also on the show...

• Don't miss The 5-Day Resiliency Challenge AND The 7-Day Consistency Challenge happening NOW. You can catch the replays of The 5-Day Challenge and go through the Consistency Challenge through November 11th. Click Here to gain access! 

Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

It leaves us baffled. We're having a good day, doing something they wanted to do, and suddenly they reject us, respond negatively, or become defensive. We could simply ask our child a question and the claws come out. It leaves us confused, defeated, and bewildered. 

And we often don't see it coming. How do we make sense of the metldowns, outbursts, and push-backs? 

In this episode we discuss our child's defense system, what causes them, and how to make sense of what we're seeing. 

Also On The Show....

• Don't Miss The 5-Day Resiliency Challenge, happening right now. You haven't missed anything though. You can catch all of the replays. During The Challenge, we are sharing practical steps to building and maintaining resiliency as a caregiver. It's free to join. Click Here to register.  

Thanks for stopping by this week ;-) 

You may be thinking, "Wait, they're talking about the holidays already?" That's right! 

We're entering the season known as the holiday vortex- From Halloween through New Years it's a season of overstimulation, grief-magnified, and loss-intensified for our children. 

How in the world can we nagivate this season and live to tell about it? If you're a caregiver who's wondering this, we have good news. Deborah Gray joins the podcast for an amazing throwback episode all about helping our children through the holiday season (Halloween through New Years!). 

A little more about Deborah...

Referred to as the “attachment guru” by Adoptive Families Magazine, Deborah Gray specializes in attachment, grief, and trauma issues of children in her practice, Nurturing Attachments.

As a clinical social worker, Deborah has the honor of helping families develop close, satisfying relationships after children’s earlier losses, traumas, and/or prenatal exposure to drugs and alcohol. In addition to her therapy practice, Deborah is the creator of the post-graduate certificate program, Attachment & Trauma Focused Therapy (ATFT). She holds an MPA in Public Administration (Health Care), from the Maxwell School/Syracuse University. 

Deborah is the author of Promoting Healthy Attachments; Attaching through Love, Hugs, and Play; Nurturing Adoptions; and Attaching in Adoption. She co-authored, with Megan Clarke, Games and Activities for Attaching with Your Child. In 2015 Deborah was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association for Training on Attachment and Trauma in Children.

Also on the show...

• Get our FREE Holiday Survival Guide.... a collection of interviews with trauma-trained therapists that will give you valuable insights into navigating the holidays! Click Here to get access. 
• BIG annoucement coming this Monday, October 16th. But you need to be on our email list to get the firsthand info. Click Here to visit our homepage and get on the list! 

Thanks for stopping by this week ;-)