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Foster Parent Well

Author: Nicole T Barlow

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Foster Parent Well is the go-to podcast for foster and adoptive parents who are navigating the complexities of parenting children with trauma while trying to stay sane in the process. Hosted by Nicole T Barlow, a foster and adoptive mom of six, and parent trainer, this podcast is where faith, resilience, and practical strategies come together.  

If you're feeling burnt out, overwhelmed, or just plain exhausted from the daily realities of foster care and adoption- you're not alone. Here, we have real conversations about the hard stuff: attachment struggles, secondary trauma, parenting beyond behaviors, and the deep emotional weight of loving kids from hard places. But we also talk about you- your health, your nervous system, leaning into Jesus, and the small, sustainable ways you can care for yourself so you can keep showing up for your kids.  

Expect practical tips, faith-based encouragement, expert insights, and zero sugarcoating- just real, honest talk about what it takes to foster well, adopt well, and most importantly, stay well in the process.  

Because parenting kids with trauma is a marathon, not a sprint, and you were never meant to run it alone.  

🎧 Subscribe now and let’s do this together! 


80 Episodes
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Trauma-informed care isn’t a better behavior chart. It’s a whole new way of seeing what’s happening underneath the behavior in the body, the brain, and the nervous system and it changes how we parent the moment we truly get it. We sit down with Dana Hargus, a mental health counselor with 25 years of experience and the founder of Biofeedback and Counseling and Restore of Ada. Dana explains why so many foster and adoptive kids don’t need “more discipline” first, they need regulation and felt s...
“Would you please hold her until she dies?” That question stopped us in our tracks, and it’s where Judy Wright’s story begins. Judy and her husband foster for 12 years, welcome 55 babies, and think they’ve seen it all, until a two-month-old leaves the NICU weighing four pounds with intense medical needs and an uncertain future. What follows is a raw look at medically fragile foster care, where love and skill have to grow side by side, sometimes on no sleep and with a lot of fear. We walk thr...
We talk with foster parent and pediatric physical therapist Dr. Trevor Carlson about why early childhood development still affects our kids long after infancy. We walk through practical milestone windows, red flags, and simple ways we can help our kids build skills with hope and clarity. • Why missed early milestones can show up later in regulation and connection • When to talk with the pediatrician and ask about early intervention • How to describe concerns when we do not h...
We talk through what it really takes to advocate for foster and adoptive kids at school without turning every meeting into a battle. We share a trauma-informed lens for reading behavior, partnering with teachers, and building plans that support nervous systems instead of rewarding or punishing survival responses. • why back-to-school transitions hit trauma-impacted kids harder • Jennifer’s adoption story and how TBRI reshaped her parenting and school work • the Four Rs of tr...
The fastest way to turn a peaceful day into chaos is a simple transition: shoes on, screens off, cleanup time, bedtime. For foster parents and adoptive families, those small pivots can hit like a tidal wave, and it’s easy to wonder why a child who seems “fine” suddenly spirals. We’re opening season four with a practical, hope-filled conversation on transitions and why trauma makes change feel so hard. Dr. Brandy-Lea McCombs joins us with deep experience in education and trauma strategi...
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