When You Don't Know Your Child's Racial or Cultural Heritage - Weekend Wisdom
Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care
10/04/25
•15m
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Question: We very recently brought home our second child through domestic infant adoption. We feel very fortunate, and our son is developing well; we are also settling into the new routine. We matched with our Son's birth mother through a local agency, and unfortunately, she decided that she did not want to meet us. She gave no information about the biological father. We know she was caucasian, but honestly, it is unclear whether our son is entirely caucasian or not. The pediatrician said it was a mystery, and he may be caucasian with a darker complexion, or biracial, some amount of Hispanic, black, or any other heritage. We want to do everything in our power to be informed, acknowledge, and celebrate any ethnic background that is presented, but short of doing a DNA ancestry service on a baby that is a few weeks old, I don't really know where to begin- I'd appreciate any guidance you have.
Resources:
- Raising a Transracial or Multicultural Child
- Adoptee Voices
- Ethical Issues in Genetic Testing in Adoption
- Genetic Testing and Genealogy for Adoptees
- Genetic Testing for Adoptees – Is It Worth It?
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
Tweens and Teens: Managing Tech & Mental Health
October 1, 2025
•61m
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Do you worry about the impacts that screen time, social media, or gaming have on your tween and teens' mental health? We spoke to Brittany Anderson, an author, certified play and narrative intelligence practitioner, and the founder of Renala, which helps families become creative, vision-driven leaders—beginning at home.
In this episode, we discuss:
- What are the most common concerns that parents and caregivers have about their tween or teen’s tech use?
- Are those concerns more about the amount of time kids spend on devices, the content they’re seeking out, or the content they stumble upon?
- What are the differences in concerns between parents of pre-teens/tweens (11–13) and older teens (16–18)?
- What does current research say about how much screen time is considered healthy—or at least not harmful—for our tweens and teens?
- Is the amount of time as important as how that time is being spent?
- Are there particular times of day when device use is more problematic for mental health (e.g., late at night)?
- What types of online content are most worrisome for the tweens and teens in our homes?
- What mental health effects are we seeing most often in tweens and teens related to tech use?
- What are the symptoms of mental health that parents and caregivers should look for?
- Why might kids with a history of trauma and loss, prenatal exposure to alcohol or drugs, or neurodiversity be more vulnerable to tech-related mental health challenges?
- How do issues like attachment, identity, and resilience intersect with device use?
- Are there specific risks associated with online relationships, gaming communities, or social media for these children?
- What can adoptive and foster parents, as well as caregivers such as grandparents raising their grandchildren, do proactively to reduce some of these risks before problems arise?
- What role do boundaries, monitoring, and co-viewing/co-playing have in prevention?
- How can they help their child develop self-protective, self-regulation skills, such as learning to prioritize their own mental health and manage their device use?
- If a tween or teen has already had a harmful tech-related experience, what steps should parents/caregivers take immediately?
- What does a healthy “tech culture” in a home look like for tweens and teens?
- One piece of equipping and empowering advice for leading with purpose and mission around the issues of technology, devices, and tweens’ and teens’ mental health
RESOURCES:
- Managing Technology and Screens
- What Resource Parents Should Know About Prenatal Exposure
- How to Cultivate Resilience In Your Kids
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
Is My Child At Risk for Human Trafficking?
October 8, 2025
•67m
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What is human trafficking? Is your child at increased risk of being trafficked? Listen to this conversation with guests Dr. Yolanda Montgomery, a nurse, advocate, and the founder of Zoë Ministries, a nonprofit established in 2012 to combat human trafficking in Delaware and beyond, and Sara Poore, the Executive Director of the Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council (DATAC), leading statewide efforts to prevent human trafficking, support survivors, and strengthen community partnerships.
In this episode, we discuss:
- What is human trafficking, and how does it show up in the lives of children and teens in the U.S.?
- Why might children who have experienced foster care, adoption, or relative caregiving be at higher risk for trafficking?
- What role do things like running away, online activity, or mental health play in increasing risk?
- Are there particular ages or developmental stages when children are most at risk?
- What systemic factors—such as placement instability or a lack of adult oversight—contribute to vulnerability?
- What signs or red flags should caregivers be watching for in their children or teens?
- How does trafficking often begin for vulnerable youth?
- What should a caregiver do if they suspect trafficking or exploitation?
- If a child discloses trafficking or exploitation, what should a caregiver’s first response be?
- What kinds of services or professionals should a caregiver seek out to help a child recover from trafficking or exploitation?
- What are some preventative actions parents and caregivers can build into their homes and relationships with their kids?
- What can caregivers be sensitive to at home, things that may contribute to increasing risk factors for our kids who are more vulnerable to these risks? (
- What conversations should caregivers be having regularly with their tweens or teens about trafficking risks?
- What resources, hotlines, or support networks should every caregiver have saved in their phones, or know about?
- In addition to being the one safe, stable, nurturing adult in a child’s life, what other practical protective factors can parents and caregivers incorporate into their home’s daily rhythms?
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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