Panel of Kinship Caregivers: What's It Really Like

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

04/16/21

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54m

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What's it like to have your world turned upside down when you become the parent to your grandchild, niece, or nephew? What are the hidden joys and challenges. In this podcast episode, we have a frank and open talk with a panel of kinship caregivers about their experience.
In this episode, we cover:

What has been one of the greatest joys you’ve experienced as a kinship caregiver?
What has been one of the greatest challenges you’ve had in raising your grandchild or niece or nephew?
How has your age played into your parenting experience with this child?
How has caring for your grandchild affects your friendships and activities?
How do you handle the dual roles of being a mom to your grandchild and a mom to your grandchild’s parent? How has kinship caregiving impacted your role as parent to your child?
Have you had to set boundaries with your child to protect your grandchild?
How have you handle if your grandchild’s parent has another child? Would you take that child in as well?
How have you learned about technology, screens, video gaming, etc. in order to parent a child of this younger generation?

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

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

Previous Episode

Helping Parents & Kids Manage Phones, Internet, & Gaming

April 9, 2021

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50m

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How old is too young for a phone? Is gaming harmful to our kids? How much technology is too much. We talk with Dr. Jay Berk, a licensed psychologist and an expert in working with children and families. He is the author of two books: “A Parent’s Quick Guide to Electronic Addiction” and “Codeswitching: Social Skills in the Screen-Age”.
In this episode, we cover:

Parents from time immemorial have worried about the impact of the “new technology” and this goes back to our great great great grandparents worrying about the influence of novels to parents of the 50’s worry about too much time on the phone, to parents of the 80s worrying about too much TV, and on to the present where we worry about screen time, texting, and gaming.

We parents are digital “immigrants” while our kids are digital natives. How does this dynamic present challenges?
How to keep up with what our kids are doing?
What are the general best practices for elementary aged kids using digital technology?
- What age should kids be given a phone?
- What are reasonable rules for phone use?
How do things change as our kids each around age 11 or 12 and on into their teen years
How important is the use of digital media to socialize for this generation?
When should parents worry?
- Is the child getting enough sleep?
- Are they eating well?
- Are they getting enough exercise?
- Are they doing well in school?
- Do they have real life friends?
- If so, they are probably just fine.
What are the signs that our kids may be too involved with digital technology or gaming
How much screen time is too much for tweens? For teens?
Do different types of technology have different risks and benefits? Internet? Gaming? Porn?
What are some reasonable rules for families to set in regards to technology, screen time, and gaming?
How to get buy-in from our tweens and teens?
App-tell kid
A challenge particular to families adopting or fostering older children or teens is that often our kids come to us with having had little supervision or rules about internet use? How can we establish healthy habits when the rules are new to them?

Resources:

A Parent’s Quick Guide to Electronic Addiction by Dr. Jay Berk
Center for Parent and Teen Communication: A Fact-Not-Fear Approach to Parenting In the Digital Age https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aNtRhYfA3k
Creating a Family’s Navigating the Internet with Adopted or Foster Tweens and Teens https://creatingafamily.org/adoption-category/adoption-blog/navigating-the-internet-with-adopted-or-foster-tweens-and-teens/
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.

Support the show

Weekly podcasts
Weekly articles/blog posts
Resource pages on all aspects of family building

Next Episode

Practical Tips for Disciplining Children Who Have Experienced Trauma

April 23, 2021

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63m

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How do you discipline kids who have experienced trauma? We provide 5 tips and then discuss 5 challenging parenting situations. Our expert is Karen Doyle Buckwalter, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Registered Play Therapist and Supervisor, and co-author of "Raising the Challenging Child".
In this episode, we cover:
1. The Relationship Bank Account

Spend effort building your relationship with your child so that you have banked “good will” for when you need to say no or set a firm rule.
Ideas for making quick and easy deposits:
- Praise efforts, successes, helpfulness, their unique essence—big and small.
- Let the child choose whenever possible.
Look for compromises.
Make more deposits than withdrawals.
Magic “rule” 5 positive comments to every 1 negative.
- Difference between making a deposit and spoiling your child.
- Sideswipe instead of confront.

2. Respond to What is Beneath the Behavior

Behavior is a reflection of a need. It’s a symptom.
Strategies for digging deeper into what is underneath the behavior.

3. Reexamine Your Expectations

See your child for who she is.

4. Balancing Structure and Nurture

How does structure lead to feelings of safety and why is this often misunderstood when parenting children with a history of trauma?
Choose your battles: choose to ignore some behaviors.

5. Share Power to Gain Power

Specific Behaviors: