An Honest Conversation About Adoption

Many of the families in the Connected Families community were formed through adoption. This month, during National Adoption Awareness Month, we look more closely at how the Connected Families Framework can be applied to children who joined their family through adoption (or foster care).

Whether or not you’ve adopted, you will not want to miss this podcast!

Note: In this podcast we are sharing the perspective of three internationally adopted transracial families. We recognize there are many different ways adoptive families are formed.

Kids who have entered our families through adoption have experienced trauma. This is an honest conversation about adoption, but the truth is, all kids have experienced some level of trauma. The good news is, a trauma-informed approach to parenting is a key element of the Connected Families Framework.

Maybe you have searched and sifted through an overload of parenting advice that has made you even more discouraged. You may have even thought, “sounds like good advice….for a more ‘normal’ family” But your family is unique, and special, which is exactly how God intended it to be. Be encouraged! You can reach your child in powerful and practical ways.

In today’s podcast, three moms on the Connected Families team join together to have an honest and heart-to-heart conversation about some of the ways adoption and trauma have impacted their parenting. Stacy Bellward (podcast host) is joined by Anna Braasch (Executive Director) and Jen Berge (Content & Social Media Manager) to discuss how the Connected Families Framework provides a profound and gracious approach to trauma-informed parenting.

The Connected Families Framework gives a unique perspective for parenting kids from trauma. It offers the tools to navigate different parenting situations across the board. Our Framework provides an approach to connected parenting that communicates to your child–God can redeem all things!

In this podcast, you’ll discover:

how certain words surrounding adoption can bring hurt or discomfort, and how you can bring words of healing and compassion instead
the science of how trauma affects the body, and how it manifests in a child’s emotions, attachment, and daily living
the vital importance of safety and connection for kids in a chronically heightened state of fight-or-flight, and how your parenting can set the stage for connection in the midst of it
the four levels of the Connected Families Framework, and how they play out both emotionally and practically in trauma-informed parenting

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

Bios:

Stacy Bellward is the Connected Families Project Manager. She has been married for over 20 years and is a mom of two daughters: One biological and one through adoption from Ethiopia. Stacy loves to be the cheerleader in the Connected Families online courses. She is also an author, speaker, and certified leadership coach. But most of all, Stacy is soaking up all the moments of motherhood, knowing time passes so quickly.

Jen Berge is the Content Manager for Connected Families. Jen has been married for over twenty years and has six children ranging in ages from 12-21: four biological, and two added through adoption from Haiti. Jen loves her big family and in her not-so-abundant “free time” she enjoys exercising, attending sporting events, and spending time as a family.

Anna Braasch is the Connected Families Executive Director. Anna loves to encourage parents who are struggling. She has experienced infertility, adoption, attachment struggles, and loads of grace and healing. Anna has been married for 25 years and has two kids through adoption from Ethiopia, who are now teenagers. Anna and her family are involved with sports, school events, their church, and the Ethiopian adoption community.