UnProfessional Parenting

We dive into the hidden emotional impact of foster care and adoption on parents. This episode explores how parenting children from hard places can unexpectedly surface unresolved trauma, emotional triggers, and past wounds we thought were long behind us. As we navigate attachment, behavior, and trust, we often find ourselves confronting our own stories in powerful and sometimes uncomfortable ways.

Designed for foster and adoptive parents, this honest conversation highlights the connection between trauma-informed parenting and personal healing. We unpack how increased self-awareness can lead to stronger relationships, healthier responses, and lasting transformation for both parents and children. If you’re parenting through foster care or adoption and feeling triggered, this episode will help you feel seen—and give you tools to grow through it.

When trauma shows up in your home, it rarely looks like fear — it looks like defiance, meltdowns, shutdowns, and power struggles.In this episode, we sit down with the Director of Therapeutic Services at A Door of Hope and TBRI specialist, Shaleigh Schneider, to unpack what’s really happening underneath those big behaviors. Why do they exist? What is your child’s brain and body communicating? And how can parents move from reacting to regulating?We talk about what co-regulation actually looks like in real life, how to stay steady when emotions escalate, and practical tools you can use in the moment to help your child feel safe, seen, and deeply loved.If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by behaviors you don’t understand, this conversation will give you clarity, compassion, and concrete next steps for building safety at home.

If you’ve ever felt the nudge to foster but found yourself hesitating… this conversation is for you.

This week we sit down with Billy Babbino, Director of Communications for A Door of Hope, who has spent years recruiting, training, and walking alongside foster families. Billy has seen the fears, the objections, the “what ifs,” and the incredible transformations that happen when families say yes.

We talk about:

• The most common reasons people hesitate to foster

• What prospective parents are most afraid of

• What actually happens when you take the first step

If you feel the tug but aren’t sure you’re ready… this episode might be the clarity you’ve been praying for.

If you'd like more information about becoming a Foster Parent - Sign up for A Door of Hope's Info Sessions by clicking HERE

Big moments matter—but what happens after matters even more. In this episode, we talk about repair: the conversations, reconnections, and care that follow conflict, meltdown, or rupture. Through the lens of attachment and bonding, we unpack why repair—not perfection—is the foundation of trust with our kids, and how showing up after the hard moments can actually strengthen the relationship.

Attachment and bonding don’t always come naturally in foster and adoptive homes—and that doesn’t mean anyone is failing.

In this episode, we unpack some of the most common misconceptions foster and adoptive parents have about bonding and attachment, including the belief that love, time, and consistency alone will “fix” attachment struggles.

We explore why foster and adopted children often struggle with healthy attachment, how early trauma, loss, and disrupted caregiving shape the nervous system, and why behaviors that look like rejection or defiance are often rooted in self-protection.

Most importantly, we share practical, trauma-informed practices for the home—simple shifts that help create safety, build trust, and nurture connection over time. If attachment feels slow, confusing, or one-sided in your home, this conversation is for you.

Bonding isn’t broken—it’s built differently.

Holidays can be filled with joy—but for foster and adoptive families, they can also surface big emotions, challenging behaviors, and unmet expectations. In this episode of Unprofessional Parenting, we talk honestly about holidays, attachment, and bonding, and why meaningful connection doesn’t happen by accident—it takes intention and it takes a village.

We explore how children impacted by foster care and adoption experience the holidays differently, especially when trauma, grief, loss, and disrupted attachments are part of their story. From overwhelmed nervous systems to fear of change and pressure-filled traditions, we unpack what’s really happening beneath the behavior—and how caregivers can respond in attachment-informed ways.

This episode also highlights the intentional work of bonding and why foster and adoptive parents cannot (and should not) do it alone. We talk about the power of safe adults, extended family, church, friends, and support systems in helping kids build trust, experience consistency, and feel secure—especially during emotionally charged seasons.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why holidays can be triggering for foster and adopted children

• How attachment and bonding require purposeful, everyday choices

• The role of community and “the village” in trauma-informed parenting

• Practical ways to create connection without forcing memories or emotions

• How to release unrealistic expectations and lead with grace

Whether you’re a foster parent, adoptive parent, kinship caregiver, or part of a support network walking alongside these families, this conversation will remind you that attachment is built slowly, bonding is intentional, and healing happens best in community.

🎧 Listen now for encouragement, practical insight, and honest conversation for foster care and adoption journeys—especially during the holidays.

Foster kids don’t just enter a new home—they enter a new world. In this episode of Unprofessional Parenting, we break down the unknown emotional, relational, and environmental barriers our foster kids faced and how those challenges shaped our parenting. If you’re fostering, adopting, or walking with families who are, this raw conversation is for you.

It wasn’t scripted. It wasn’t easy. It was real. We talk with our kids about the moment they were given permission to call us “Mom” and “Dad” — and the storm of emotions that came with it. From guilt to identity to love that still feels new, this is the side of adoption most people never hear.

We are back from the CAFO Conference in Houston — and wow, do we have a lot to unpack. From inspiring keynotes to raw conversations about foster care, adoption, and church engagement, we’re sharing our favorite moments, biggest lessons, and what’s stirring in our hearts after a week surrounded by people who get it. Whether you were there or following along from afar, this episode will give you a front-row seat to how God is moving in the world of orphan care and family restoration.

In this raw and unfiltered episode of The Unprofessional Parenting Podcast, Matt and Laney sit down with no notes, no prep, and six real questions—three each—about their foster care journey. From the moments that broke them to the ones that built them, they open up about what foster parenting has taught them about love, loss, attachment, and faith.

Whether you’re a foster parent, an adoptive parent, or simply someone who wants to understand the heart behind foster care, this episode is for you