Understanding Resilience and How to Build It
Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care
10/15/25
•62m
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Resilience is more than just bouncing back from a challenge. Join us for a conversation about building resilience in ourselves and our kids, understanding coping tools, and caring well for ourselves while raising kids who may have significant gaps in their resilience. We talk with Kathleen Harnish McKune and her sister, Karen Dickson from Remarkably Resilient, Inc., a non-profit organization committed to partnering to empower healing from trauma.
In this episode, we cover:
- How do you define resilience? What does it look like in real life, not just in theory?
- What are resilience cups? Why do we need a full cup?
- How can parents and caregivers fill their cups while raising kids impacted by trauma, prenatal exposure, etc?
- What are your “5 Rs” of resilience?
- Regulation
- Relationships
- Response
- Recovery
- Reflection
- What are some typical challenges – or symptoms – we might see in a child whose resilience is undeveloped or lacking?
- When a child is struggling with challenging behaviors that show some gaps in their resilience, how can parents/caregivers practically implement these 5 Rs in the moment?
- What are the coping tools you’ve identified to help people implement resilience-building strategies – the 4 Cs:
- Calm
- Care
- Courage
- Connect
- Strengthening resilience at the individual level ripples out to families, communities, and beyond. What gives you hope as you do this work?
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
Is It Too Soon to Look Through Foster Photo Listings? - Weekend Wisdom
October 11, 2025
•18m
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Question: We are currently going through our home study to adopt from foster care, and I'm wondering if it is too early to look at photo listings? I have been looking at photo listings for a long time, but now, when I read the bios, it feels real, and I get slightly attached. I'm curious if you think this is setting myself up for disappointment.
Resources:
- Adoptions in the US – Our Annual Update
- Adoption Comparison Charts
- Foster Care Adoption
- Dealing with a Long Wait While Adopting
- The Impact of Fostering and Adoption on Kids Already in the Family
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
Next Episode
Navigating Time Off from Work to Bond with a Newly Adopted Child
October 18, 2025
•16m
Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks!
Question: My husband and I are in the process of adopting a waiting child internationally. This is our first adoption and we will soon be waiting to be matched with a child. I teach in higher education and my schedule is coordinated about nine months out. I am working with my supervisors to try and make sure my schedule for the next year is flexible to account for uncertain adoption timing. It has been so difficult to try and navigate this with my job, especially because my institution has very limited options for paid parental leave.
I'm wondering if you have any insight into how to discuss a few of my questions with my employer:
- How to manage unpredictable adoption timelines that may require mid-semester leave on minimal notice,
- Explaining the necessity of time off work to bond with our new child, without the physical recovery needs that traditional birth includes, and
- That while teaching online is an option, balancing teaching online with international travel and a critical bonding period is very daunting.
If you have any insight into how to discuss these topics with my employer, or any additional details I should be considering, I would love to hear your thoughts. I should say that my supervisors are very supportive and excited for my family, and they are open to creative solutions. These are just uncharted waters at my institution. I love listening to your podcast every week and my husband and I have learned so much from you all while we've been on our adoption journey!
Resources:
- How Can I Get Paid Leave for My Adoption?
- The Movement Project: Relationship & Parental Recognition: State Family Leave Laws
- Center for Parental Leave Leadership
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
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