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

Click here to send us a topic idea or question for Weekend Wisdom.
Question: We have two children adopted through the foster care system as infants - an almost 10-year-old (AudHD) and a 4.5-year-old (neurotypical). They both come into our room every night in the middle of the night, and it really disturbs my sleep and my husband's sleep. It seems like we've tried everything to get them to stop. Recently, we told them we were going to start locking our door, but then they just come and knock and knock until one of us gets up. If we try to put them back in their own beds, they make us lie down with them until they fall asleep - then I can't get back to sleep after that. Not sure how to handle this situation.
Resources:
Sleep Issues with Adopted, Foster, or Relative Children
Why Won't My Child Sleep?! (And What Can I Do?)
Help! My Newly Placed Child is Regressing on Sleep
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.
Would you like to learn how to build a culture of joy, connection, and healing in your home? Join us for a conversation with Bryan Post, an adoptee and therapist specializing in child behavior, adoption trauma, and love-based parenting. He's the founder of Fear to Love LLC, Bondify.ai, and Leaf Wraparound, and the author of several books, including From Fear to Love.
In this episode, we discuss:
Bryan's journey as an adoptee and how that shaped his work with families today.
What do we need to know about trauma, its impacts on the kids, and how it shows up day to day?
Why might we as parents be tempted to misinterpret those behaviors and expressions as defiance, manipulation, or disrespect? 
When a child is melting down, shutting down, or pushing adults away, what’s actually happening in their brain and nervous system?
In a very real-life parenting moment — like a slammed door, eye rolls, a screaming match, a refusal to comply — what does the shift from fear-based reactions to love-based responses actually look like?
Can you share two or three concrete strategies parents can start practicing immediately that reflect that mindset shift?
Could you give us an example of words or scripts a parent might use in that moment? 
How can a parent calm themselves first when their child’s behavior is triggering them? 
What might a “culture of love and joy” actually look like inside a home — especially one that has experienced a lot of chaos?
What are some of the small, daily practices that build trust over time?
What does growth look like in a trauma-impacted home?
One or two examples of how-to or where to capture JOY in the moments when we are feeling challenged about when or where healing may happen. 
Resources:
Learn more about Bryan Post
Introduction to Attachment - Online Parent Education course
Raising Kids for a Lifelong Parent/Child Bond - Podcast
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 finalized our adoption in December 2025, and we’re still waiting for our son’s birth certificate in the mail. Then we’ll need to take it to file for an SSN and wait for that to arrive. How can we file taxes, including our newborn baby, without a Social Security Number for him? (We didn’t know we could file for a temporary number with the IRS until it was too late - after his finalization hearing).
Resources:
The 2025 Adoption Tax Credit (podcast)
The Annual Adoption Tax Credit Guide: 2025 Edition
IRS.gov: Adoption taxpayer identification number
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 worry about what is normal in your child’s sexual development? Join us to talk with Roy Van Tassell, a Licensed Professional Counselor in Oklahoma and Director of Trauma and Evidence-based Interventions for Centene Health. He co-chairs the National Child Traumatic Stress Networks’ subcommittee on children with problem sexual behaviors.
Warning: We will be using anatomically correct words and talking about sex, so if this offends you or triggers you, you may want to skip this podcast.
In this episode, we discuss:
Typical Sexual Development / PlayWhat is typical sexual development in children as they age?
What type of sexual play is considered “normal?”
How should parents manage a child’s natural sexual development?

Problematic Sexual BehaviorWhat are Problem Sexual Behaviors in Children?
What causes kids and youth to act in socially unacceptable or destructive sexual ways? What factors influence the development of these behaviors?

Child vulnerabilitiesBehavior problems
Emotional difficulties
Developmental delays
Low impulse control

Family vulnerabilitiesPoor supervision
Single caregiver

Modeling of coercionHarsh parenting practices
Physical abuse
Domestic violence

Modeling of sexualitySexual abuse
Modeling/exposure
Nudity or poor family boundaries

How common are problematic sexual behaviors?
Suggestions for professionals and parents and how to respond to behaviors.
What should parents and caregivers do?
Rules for younger kids
How effective is therapy?
How to find a therapist?What training have they had in this area?
Child development expertise (including sexual development)

ResourcesTaking Action booklets (two booklets) – for children with problematic sexual behaviors (age 12 and younger) and one for 13+
Resources at the National Center on Sexual Behavior of Youth – really good resources for caregivers and parents.
National Center for Exploited Children—for kids to understand safety—teaching them safety skills to protect their own body
Amaze.org—videos for children
National Child Traumatic Stress NetworkA.J.’s Story— A Book About Not OK Touches

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: As a single mom, how do I find good role models for my kids?
Resources:
Finding Male Role Models for Kids of Single Moms
Creating a Support Network as a Single Adoptive Foster or Kinship Parent
1 Yes, 4 S's: How a Post-Adoption Support Group Changed My Life
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