As a mom of four children through birth and adoption, I’ve been there and done that in terms of parenting. I’ve made more than my share of mistakes and have had my share of successes as well. I’ve also had the privilege of interviewing the top parenting experts over the last almost 17 years we’ve been doing the Creating a Family podcast. It can be hard in the heat of the moment (and there are plenty of hot moments in parenting) to remember too many “rules”. Listen for my top two tips for parenting.

Resources:

• Parenting Kids with Challenging Behavior (Resource page)
• Raising Kids with Neurodiversity - ADHD, Autism, & Learning Differences (Resource page)
• Managing Technology & Screens (Resource page)

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

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Children adopted from foster care or from abroad have often experienced abuse, neglect, or trauma. These children require a different form of parenting. In 2015, we interviewed Dr. Karyn Purvis, author of The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family, and the founder and Director of the TCU Institute of Child Development.

In this episode, we cover:

• Why is parenting kids who have been abused or neglected different from traditional parenting?
• What are the 3 most important things I should do during the first 6 months home with a newly adopted child?
• How can we discipline our children while still remaining connected and creating attachment?
• How can we help a child who has tantrums whenever he hears the word “no” or is told he can’t do something?
• How long should parents stay home (if possible) when you adopt?
• An adult adoptee asks: I’ve seen before where you say that “Adoptive parents become the biological parents through connection. We change their Biology.” I’ve seen adoptive parents now call themselves biological parents because of this statement. I wonder if it isn’t important for adoptive parents to accept they aren’t their child’s biological parents? Does their lack of acceptance affect how the child adjusts and reacts?
• You talk a lot about being proactive with children who have experienced abuse and neglect in order to help them and to improve their behavior. Can you explain what you mean?
• Parenting kids adopted from foster care and internationally can be hard on the marriage, especially when one of the parents is the one getting educated on the type of parenting these kids need and the other one has not “bought into” it yet. How to help that parent get with the program.
• Suggestions for maintaining a strong marriage when adopting older kids?
• How to handle criticism (implied or direct) about your parenting style when you are trying to follow the empower-to-connect style?
• Practical tools for encouraging attachment.

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

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Question: My foster child only likes junk food and will not eat anything that doesn’t come out of a box. We aren’t fanatics, but we try to eat pretty healthily. I don’t want to feed the rest of my family the boxed junk, and I don’t want to feed him separate stuff. Help!

Resources:

• Food Issues (Resource page)
• Raising Foster Children (Resource page)
• Creating a Family Online Support Group

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

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily

Support the Show.

Please leave us a rating or review RateThisPodcast.com/creatingafamily