Creating a Family: Talk about Adoption, Foster & Kinship Care
Sep 16, 2026 · 1 hr 14 min · 13 segments
Drop us some Fan Mail. Thanks! How can parents support transracial adoption identity and belonging as children grow and begin defining who they are…
Mayia WarrenGuestDawn DavenportHost
Tyron SmithGuestKirti PickardGuestSo when we, um, are talking, our listeners are often families who are preparing to welcome a child of another race or another culture, and we're told that it's crucial to cultivate a connection to their birth culture or their racial community or their ethnic community.
So I wanna dive into that just a little bit as we're getting close to wrapping up here.
Maya, one of the things that families often start with would include, like, cultural events or buying books or learning new recipes, celebrating holidays, those kinds of things.
In your view, how could parents maybe shift a little bit more meaningfully from those occasional exposures to meaningful connection with their child's community of birth?
Um, one thing I'll say is, 'cause I, I'm in orbit with a lot of, you know, foster parents, environments, and kinship environments, um, and so I'll kinda try to speak to both.
But, um, like, don't put so much pressure on yourself in terms of, like, being fearful of getting stuff wrong.
You know what I mean? Like, the child is learning you, you're learning them.
You know? Like show- if a child shows an aptitude for wanting to know more about their culture-
... that's different than you trying to force that desire, if that makes sense.
But, like, also, you know, don't underestimate the power of establishing a culture within your family.
Like, we talk about ethnicity, we talk about all these other factors, but the culture as a family.
Every time someone has a child, whether through adoption or by birth, you are now faced with the unique opportunity to either revamp your culture as a family, further deepen it, whatever the case might be, but don't, like, we're just gonna add this person and change nothing.
So when we, um, are talking, our listeners are often families who are preparing to welcome a child of another race or another culture, and we're told that it's crucial to cultivate a connection to their birth culture or their racial community or their ethnic community.
So I wanna dive into that just a little bit as we're getting close to wrapping up here.
Maya, one of the things that families often start with would include, like, cultural events or buying books or learning new recipes, celebrating holidays, those kinds of things.
In your view, how could parents maybe shift a little bit more meaningfully from those occasional exposures to meaningful connection with their child's community of birth?
Um, one thing I'll say is, 'cause I, I'm in orbit with a lot of, you know, foster parents, environments, and kinship environments, um, and so I'll kinda try to speak to both.
But, um, like, don't put so much pressure on yourself in terms of, like, being fearful of getting stuff wrong.
You know what I mean? Like, the child is learning you, you're learning them.
You know? Like show- if a child shows an aptitude for wanting to know more about their culture-
... that's different than you trying to force that desire, if that makes sense.
But, like, also, you know, don't underestimate the power of establishing a culture within your family.
Like, we talk about ethnicity, we talk about all these other factors, but the culture as a family.
Every time someone has a child, whether through adoption or by birth, you are now faced with the unique opportunity to either revamp your culture as a family, further deepen it, whatever the case might be, but don't, like, we're just gonna add this person and change nothing.
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