Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care

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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 something for foster families”?
• What was the biggest challenge in getting things off the ground?
• For listeners who might not know you yet, what’s the mission of Bananas Foster?
• What are some of the biggest everyday needs you hear about from foster, kinship, or adoptive families?
• How do you see Bananas Foster stepping into those areas of need?
• What’s your big dream for Bananas Foster — say, five or ten years from now?
• You talk about celebrating and supporting foster families — can you share what that looks like at a typical Banana Ball game day?
• What kinds of local partnerships do you have in the cities you visit — with churches, agencies, schools, or other groups?
• Looking ahead, do you have a plan or goal for building on those partnerships or expanding the care you offer with them?
• The celebrations you host are such a bright spot! What do families tell you after those events — how do they feel when they leave?
• Is there a particular story, celebration, or family that has really stuck with you?
• How do you hope those celebrations will grow or change over the next few years?
• What’s one thing you’ve learned from the families you serve that’s changed you personally?
• For our listeners, how can people get involved or support what Bananas Foster is doing?

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

Question: Do you have trainings for children transitioning from foster care to adoption?

Resources:

• Transitioning a Child to Your Home
• Welcoming an Older Child to Your Family
• Helping Your Child Transition Smoothly from Foster Care to Adoption
• Using Lifebooks to Explain Complex Issues in Adoption to Kids
• Books about being adopted from foster care

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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 Mar Child and Family Services.

In this episode, we discuss:

• “Selfcare” or “take care of yourself” are overused but still vitally important terms for foster, adoptive, and kinship parents.
• Why do all parents but especially parents of kids who’ve experienced trauma need to practice self-care?
• What is secondary trauma?
• Why are kids who’ve experience neglect, abuse and other childhood traumas harder to  parent?
  • Challenging Behaviors
  • Learning disabilities
• The busyness of foster and adoptive parenting.
  • So many appointments (therapy, OT, tutoring, doctors, IEP meetings, social workers, birth family visits, etc.)
  • Helping with education-homework struggles.
  • Dealing with the emotional fallout from early life trauma.
• What are some of the barriers to taking care of ourselves as adoptive, foster or kinship parents?
• The importance of respite care and the barriers to parents using it.
• Practical ideas for providing self-care.
• Think small when thinking self-care.
• Ask for help and accept it when offered. If someone offers to help, say “yes” and suggest something specific.
• Parent Support groups

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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 to contact. They missed a visit 2 weeks ago and have finally reached back out asking to plan another. Visits require 6 hours of driving and coordinating time off from work. They do not drive and would not have any means of travelling to us. Our plan was to do visits 2-4 times a year. We offered to plan another visit the week of his birthday. I also offered to send weekly text updates. I work in healthcare and need to be very present in my job and prefer not to be on my phone when I am home with my family, so I do not text anyone much during the week. I am now being asked to provide daily updates and to do visits monthly. I don't even respond to my best friend more than once or twice a week because it is hard for me to keep up with messages. I am also not convinced that increasing the frequency of visits will help them follow through on attending them due to the pattern that has occurred so far. I am feeling overwhelmed and unsure how to move forward in a way that is loving and respectful, but also sustainable for our family and best for our son.

Resources:

• 5 Tips for Navigating Sticky Situations with Birth Parents
• Creating Relationship with Birth Parents in Adoption (Even When It's Hard!)
• Mama on Earth: A Guest Article on Co-Parenting
• Open Adoption Can Be Messy
• Our #1 Secret Tip for Navigating Open 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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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, and an expert trainer of Foster and Kinship Care Education (FKCE) at Saddleback College. He has also recently written and released the book, Trauma-Informed Foster and Adoptive Parenting: Methods for Managing Meltdowns, Mishaps, and Maladaptive Behaviors.

In this episode, we discuss:

• What are some of the reasons that holidays are hard for children who are adopted or are in foster care?
• What kind of behaviors do parents and caregivers commonly see that are likely related to those challenges around holidays?
  • Sleep challenges
  • Feeding challenges
  • Increased anxiety, fear, insecurity
  • Impulsivity
  • Dysregulation (louder than usual, bigger emotional response than normal for this child)
• How do these behaviors relate to the reasons holidays are hard for our kids? What’s the connection between that outward behavior and the internal need or hurt?
• Can you provide us with a few practical strategies for addressing these behaviors? Let’s break them down by age:
  • Toddler and preschoolers
  • School-aged children
  • Tweens and Teens (into young adults)
• What trauma-sensitive preparations or preventative actions can we take to minimize the challenging behaviors and help our kids feel safe, supported, and able to find healing?
• What is compassion fatigue? What signs should we look for to help us identify our risk during this holiday season?
• Strategies to help parents and caregivers plan now for a less-stressful holiday season.

Additional Resources:

• Set Your Family Up for Success This Holiday Season
• Tips for Managing Your Picky Eater
• Strategies to Manage Holiday Stress

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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 Mother
• What You Need to Know about Open Adoption
• 5 Tips for Navigating Sticky Situations with Birth Parents
• Advice to My Pre-Adoptive Parent Self

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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 podcast Sleep Unplugged with Dr. Chris Winter.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Understanding the value of sleep and reframing the conversation about expectations and what your child needs to support overall health, development, and wellbeing.
• What makes adopted, foster, or kinship children particularly vulnerable to sleep challenges?
• How might a child’s early trauma and experiences of loss — such as separation from birth families or multiple moves — show up in their sleep patterns?
•  What effects do frequent environmental changes have on a child’s sleep?
• How might prenatal exposure to substances (e.g., opioids, alcohol, others) impact a child’s sleep?
• What may be the challenges that children with neurodiversity (Down syndrome, ADHD, ASD etc) experience?
• What are the practical strategies you have found successful in helping families with sleep disturbances?
• Why is it important to teach our kids the value of rest—even without sleep?
• What should we consider when setting up a consistent routine and sleep-friendly setting for our kids?
• When is it time to seek professional evaluation—like a sleep study or specialist referral for our kids?
• What guidance do you offer caregivers to help them stay consistent, avoid burnout, and model healthy sleep habits?

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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 Attachment
• How to Cultivate Resilience in Your Kids
• 7 Character Traits Your Kids Need to Thrive
• Signs Your Child Might Be People Pleasing and How to Help

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

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 caregivers and licensed foster parents?
  • Are there particular challenges for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC foster or kinship families?
  • What about single foster parents or kinship caregivers?
• What are the day-to-day costs that aren’t always covered by stipends or allowances? 
• What hurdles might the informal caregivers face (those not participating in the foster care system while caring for a relative child) in accessing services or support?
• What financial supports may be available but underutilized by foster and kinship families?
• What are the Kinship Navigator Programs? How can they help — where are they found, etc.?
• What are some tax strategies or credits that families caring for foster or kin children may be eligible for?
• How can caregivers build a small financial buffer for the inevitable emergency that comes with raising kids? 
• What advice do you give around savings or flexibility?
• Suggestions for simple budgeting or expense-tracking strategies that foster or kinship families might implement right away?
• What are some low-cost ways for foster parents or grandparents raising grandkids to meet these kids’ needs while preserving their dignity?
• What other effective community-level initiatives or organizations are you aware of that support these families?
• How can caregivers locate and tap into similar resources in their own communities?
• How do caregivers decide which financial strategies to focus on first?
• What practical steps can they take to set in motion a plan to stabilize their household finances over the next 6 months?
• What are some early small wins that build confidence—say, saving a few dollars a week, or successfully claiming a benefit?
• What is a scarcity mindset and what are signs that a caregiver might be struggling with scarcity mindset?
• What are the top three ‘practical financial strategies’ you’d want every foster or kinship caregiver to walk away with from today?
• Finally, what’s your best encouragement to caregivers who feel overwhelmed by financial pressures?

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

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!

Question: My husband and I are considering whether we will open our special needs consideration to include children who are HIV+. We have already been approved to adopt from India, and as our home study update approaches, we are taking a good, hard look at the Special Needs list again. I was listening to your podcast episode on this topic from 2013 and wondered if this was worth an updated episode? Has much changed for families living with HIV?

Resources:

• Factors to Consider When Adopting from India
• Country Comparison Charts
• Common Special Needs in International 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