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

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

How Do You Parent Two Toddlers Close in Age Without Burning Out? - Weekend Wisdom

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Parenting two toddlers close in age can leave you wondering whether either child is getting enough of your time, attention, and emotional

Nov 7
17 min

Transracial Adoption: Helping Kids Build Identity, Culture, and Belonging

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can parents support transracial adoption identity and belonging while honoring all the parts of who their child is becoming? In this

Nov 4
1 h 05 min

Will We Lose Kinship Benefits or Medicaid If We Adopt Our Grandchild? - Weekend Wisdom

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What happens to kinship benefits after adoption, and could adopting a relative child affect Medicaid, monthly kinship payments, or other f

Oct 31
10 min

How Movement Helps Kids Regulate Emotions, Focus, and Learn

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What is the connection between movement and regulation in children, and could the right kind of physical activity help a child focus, lear

Oct 28
53 min

How Do I Teach Safety Skills to a Foster Teen Without Being Overprotective? - Weekend Wisdom

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can you build safety skills for foster teens without becoming so protective that they feel you don’t trust them? Older youth who have

Oct 24
16 min

What the Research on Adult Adoptees Can Teach Us

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What can research on adult adoptees teach us about adoption across the lifespan? In this episode, adoption researcher and adult adoptee Dr

Oct 21
46 min

How to Teach Kids to Use AI Responsibly - Weekend Wisdom

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can parents teach kids to use AI responsibly when their children may already know more about tools like ChatGPT than they do? In this

Oct 17
6 min

The Impact of CASAs and GALs in Foster Care

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What do a CASA and GAL in foster care actually do, and how can one consistent advocate make a difference in a child’s life? In this epis

Oct 14
31 min

How Can We Do Open Adoption from Foster Care? - Weekend Wisdom

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can families navigate open adoption from foster care while maintaining the safety and boundaries their child needs? In this Weekend

Oct 10
17 min

Keeping Kids Safe Online: Raising Tech-Ready Kids with Confidence

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Keeping kids safe online takes more than setting screen-time limits or turning on parental controls. In this episode, digital safety exper

Oct 7
54 min

What If Important Information Was Withheld About a Foster Placement? - Weekend Wisdom

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What do you do when you discover that important foster placement information was withheld before you accepted a child into your home—or ev

Oct 3
14 min

Helping Kids Transition From Foster Care to Adoption

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! The transition from foster care to adoption can bring relief and security, but it can also stir anxiety, grief, uncertainty, and behaviors

Sep 30
55 min

How to Lessen the Trauma for a 4-Year-Old Moving Into My Home - Weekend Wisdom

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! 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

Sep 26
5 min

What Do I Look For In A Trauma-Informed Parenting Model?

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! With so many trauma-informed parenting approaches available, how do foster, adoptive, and kinship parents know which strategies will actua

Sep 23
1 h 16 min

Open Adoption: What If Birth Grandma Wants Contact but Birth Mom Doesn’t? - Weekend Wisdom

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! What should you do when a birth mother doesn’t want contact in open adoption, but other birth family members still want a relationship wit

Sep 19
11 min

Where Do I Belong? Young Transracial Adoptee Adults Talk About Race, Identity, & Belonging

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can parents support transracial adoption identity and belonging as children grow and begin defining who they are for themselves? In th

Sep 16
1 h 14 min

When Should You Consider Residential Treatment for an Adopted Teen? - Weekend Wisdom

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! When should a parent consider residential treatment for an adopted teen who has been struggling for years? One listener shared that after

Sep 12
6 min

How Can We Protect Kids from Sexual Exploitation Without Scaring Them?

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can parents protect kids from sexual exploitation without teaching them to fear the world around them? For adoptive, foster, and kinsh

Sep 9
1 h 00 min

Are You Ready to Foster or Adopt a Sibling Group? - Weekend Wisdom

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! Are you considering whether your family is ready to foster or adopt a sibling group? Keeping siblings together can preserve important fami

Sep 5
11 min

How Do You Adopt a Relative from Another Country?

Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! If you want to adopt a relative from another country, the process involves much more than simply proving your family connection. Internati

Sep 2
52 min

Chart trend

Position in the Parenting chart (US), last 90 days.

#1#101#200AugSepOctNov

#102

all-time peak

395

days in the top 200 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Nov 7, 2026).

#131 ▼ 2 Parenting US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

This podcast has been incredibly helpful for us. I started listening when we were in the process of applying for a domestic infant adoption and I’m still listening to it a year and a half later as we are raising our adopted son. It has helped me to be more understanding of his birth parents and to prepare myself for what we might see in my child’s behavior and development in the future and how we can best raise him with love and the support that he might need. Thank you for all that you do. For all of the research that you do and share, and for all the experts, birth parents, and adoptees that you interview.

mogrady3 · Jun 2026

I love this podcast and find so much strength in having a podcast that touches on topics that most of my other mothering friends can’t necessarily relate to. The content is so relevant and so helpful. I highly recommend! We have five incredible biological children and one amazing adopted son. We always felt like a child would join our family through adoption but the process proved to take much longer than we anticipated. Our son came to live with us when he was 17 and became ours forever just three days after his 18th birthday. He has been away from his bio family since he was 4 years old and been in multiple homes so I appreciate every level of this podcast! Thank you!!

sarahgranata · May 2026

For nearly two years, we were in the planning and waiting phase of what would become an open adoption with our child’s birth family. This podcast is one that educated me on so many things - trauma and adoption informed parenting, the values and challenges of an open adoption and the importance of listening to the stories of birth parents and adoptees. I attribute much of my understanding and intentionality with our open adoption to this podcast and others I learned about through guests on the show. Thank you, Dawn Davenport (happy retirement) and team!

T. Ewinghill · Jul 2025

I found you about a year ago while we were going through our home study. Your podcast has been so helpful! We are now foster parents of two teen girls and I have gone back and listened to almost all of your old episodes as well. Thank you!

MackenzieAlexisMatthew · Apr 2025

I’m a potential foster/adoptive parent looking for info and encouragement on how to get started. This podcast is great at addressing all the real and serious NEGATIVE issues of adoption but for us newbies, it is extremely discouraging and helps perpetuate all the downsides of adoption—80% of the episodes are negative and perpetuate all the fears I already have about adoption. 20% have been genuinely helpful and motivating. We probably would have begun our process a couple years earlier had I not been listening to this. I do appreciate the realistic approach, I just hope that I can get past the negativity to get started; and if I do, I will likely find this podcast helpful as I navigate the realities and struggles of adoption. Perhaps this is best for seasoned adoptive parents IN the struggle.

BirdieMO123 · Jun 2026

We strive to present a balanced view by showing a diverse range of reviews from Apple Podcasts.