Podcast
Parenting Different
The Parenting Different Podcast is the go-to show for adoptive parents who want to raise children who feel seen, heard, and truly valued. Hosted by Anna Bernacki, CEO of Parenting Different, this podcast blends expert insight with real lived experience from adoptees, birth parents, and adoptive families.
Promoted by PodServe.fm
Conversations recorded amongst friends. Unscripted, uncensored, sometimes hilarious, and always significant. Email us at cogs.pod@gmail.com Follow us on: Instagram- @COGS.PODCAST Twitter- @COGSPod TikTok- @cogspodcast
Parenting Different · Aug 21, 2026
There are a lot of conversations about open adoption, but few include the voices of the people actually living it. This episode offers a unique glimpse into what a relationship between an adopted adult …
43:36Parenting Different · Aug 9, 2026
School isn't just a place where children learn math and reading. For many adoptees, it's also where they begin asking deeper questions: Am I safe? Do I belong? Will people understand me?In this episode, …
48:33Parenting Different · Jul 3, 2026
What if one of the greatest opportunities to build trust with your child has been hiding in plain sight? In this powerful conversation, Anna sits down with Tamekia Swint, founder of Styles 4 Kids, …
44:30Parenting Different · Jun 11, 2026
What happens when you spend nearly five decades wondering where you came from?In this powerful conversation, Anna Bernacki sits down with transracial adoptee Michael Gaither, a retired educator, former principal, executive coach, and adoption …
1:12:59Parenting Different · May 29, 2026
Dr. Danisha Keating joins Anna for a raw conversation about trauma, survival mode, parenting, and healing. From homelessness and raising her siblings to earning a PhD while battling severe anxiety, Danisha shares what it …
1:01:58Parenting Different · May 14, 2026
In this raw conversation, Anna and Isaac unpack the moment everything shifted for him. Not because the mission failed, but because something deeper inside no longer fit. This episode dives into the identity crisis …
50:04Parenting Different · Apr 30, 2026
In this insightful interview, Dr. Adam Anthony shares his personal journey as a Black adoptee, the complexities of identity and belonging, and his impactful work in mentorship and advocacy within the adoption community. Discover …
42:23Parenting Different · Apr 17, 2026
This conversation delves into the challenges of parenting children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) and the systemic issues surrounding the lack of understanding and resources for this condition. It highlights the emotional toll on …
1:03:43Parenting Different · Apr 10, 2026
What happens when an adoption doesn’t go through? No one really talks about what comes next.In this deeply moving conversation, Valerie Marble shares the story behind the launch of Beyond the Match Foundation, a …
31:19Parenting Different · Apr 3, 2026
Adoption is often painted as a beautiful, selfless act, but what happens when we look beneath the surface? In this deeply honest and eye-opening conversation, Anna Bernacki sits down with birth mother advocate Jessie …
59:18Parenting Different · Mar 20, 2026
Simon Benn spent most of his life believing he had a “good” adoption story. Raised in a loving home, he didn’t carry the obvious wounds many adoptees describe. But at 40 years old, a …
32:01Parenting Different · Mar 5, 2026
Melissa Smallwood’s story is layered with resilience, heartbreak, healing, and deep commitment to children from hard places. Removed from her home as a child and placed into foster care, Melissa aged out of the …
56:52Parenting Different · Feb 27, 2026
When racism makes headlines, transracial families feel it at home. What others may dismiss as politics often lands as something deeply personal for parents raising children of color.In this candid conversation, Julie Etter and …
52:53Parenting Different · Feb 20, 2026
The foster care system feels massive. Broken. Overwhelming. And if you’re a foster or adoptive parent in the thick of it, it can feel like your voice doesn’t matter at all.In this powerful conversation, …
33:57Parenting Different · Feb 12, 2026
What happens when an adoptee becomes an adoptive mom?In this deeply honest conversation, Dolly Regier shares what it means to live on both sides of the adoption triad. Adopted from South Korea and raised …
40:11Parenting Different · Feb 6, 2026
Eating struggles in foster and adoptive homes are rarely about food alone. In this powerful and deeply affirming episode, Anna sits down with Madison a registered dietitian and adoptive mom to explore how trauma …
48:59Parenting Different · Jan 29, 2026
In Part 2 of this powerful conversation, Janelle Basham and host Anna move deeper into what adoption looks like over time when children grow up, technology changes everything, and honesty can no longer be …
32:30Parenting Different · Jan 23, 2026
What does it really mean to choose adoption, and how does that decision stay with you for life? In Part 1 of this deeply honest conversation, Janelle Basham shares her story of becoming a …
28:34Parenting Different · Dec 18, 2025
The holidays can bring warmth, traditions, and togetherness, but for adoptive families, they can also surface grief, trauma, sensory overload, and big emotions that don’t fit neatly into picture-perfect expectations. In this episode of …
35:40Parenting Different · Dec 11, 2025
In this powerful and deeply vulnerable episode, Lainey Hartley shares her extraordinary journey from childhood neglect, foster care, and kinship care to becoming a foster mom, adoptive mom, author, and advocate. She opens up …
44:40Parenting Different · Nov 28, 2025
In this powerful conversation, Valerie Marble opens up about the winding, emotional path that led her into the world of adoption, first through heartbreak, then through unexpected connection, and ultimately through profound transformation. Her …
38:52Parenting Different · Nov 21, 2025
In this powerful episode, Abbey Ramirez shares the winding, vulnerable, and hope-filled road that led her to motherhood through embryo adoption and eventually to welcoming twins through domestic infant adoption. After years of unexplained …
48:58Parenting Different · Nov 14, 2025
In this powerful and deeply vulnerable episode of Parenting Different, host Anna Bernacki talks with Julie Etter, teacher, mom of five, and adoptive parent trainer, about the silent grief that so many women carry …
47:33Parenting Different · Nov 9, 2025
In this episode, we explore the reality of international adoption through the powerful story of Jodi Slein’s journey to adopt her son from Romania. Host Anna Bernacki sits down with Jodi, a parent coach …
52:08Parenting Different · Nov 6, 2025
Host Anna Bernacki welcomes Parenting Different founder Isaac Etter to break down the biggest misunderstandings adoptive parents have and what truly helps adoptees thrive. From trauma-informed parenting and race, to curiosity, grief, and identity, …
44:08Parenting Different · Nov 6, 2025
In this powerful and personal episode, host Anna Bernacki sits down with her adopted brother Jon DeWitt for their first-ever honest conversation about what it was like growing up adopted in the same home. …
44:01Parenting Different · Nov 6, 2025
Host Anna Bernacki sits down with adoptive mom and advocate Alice Refauvelet to explore the messy, meaningful work of transracial parenting. Alice shares her journey through infertility and adoption, how she’s learning to raise …
43:37Parenting Different · Nov 6, 2025
In this episode of the Parenting Different Podcast, host Anna Bernacki speaks with Devon Anasiewicz, whose journey through foster care and adoption began with one unexpected phone call. Devon opens up about loving through …
29:07Parenting Different · Nov 6, 2025
In this episode of the Parenting Different podcast, host Anna Bernacki sits down with April Ficklin, Director of Family Support Services at Flourishing Families of South Carolina. April shares her deeply personal story of …
34:55Parenting Different · Nov 6, 2025
In this episode, host Anna Bernacki speaks with adoptee Kristin Kirkland about the realities of adoption and identity. From uncovering long-hidden truths as a young adult, to navigating grief and ultimately finding validation through …
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