Growing up and taking on “adult life” can feel heavy—especially if foster care, adoption, or hard family stuff is part of your story. This page is built for tiny, doable wins, not perfect plans.
If you’re a teen or young adult in foster care (or recently aged out):
Start with one of these:
Money When It’s Tight
Anxiety Reset
First Apartment—Starter List
If you’re a foster parent, caregiver, mentor, or other caring adult:
Start with one of these:
Family Huddle
Phones & Teens: Agreement You’ll Keep
Repair After a Blowup
You don’t have to fix everything this week. Just pick one small step that fits your real life.
Goal: Move $10 to “Future-Me” and see a tiny budget.
Steps:
Move $10 to a new bank sub-account called Future-Me.
List your next 3 bills + dates.
Assign today’s money to only those bills.
Script (to say out loud): “I don’t need a perfect budget. I’m paying the next three bills first.”
You’ll know it worked when… you have $10 saved and a list you can see.
Goal: Calm your body enough to choose your next step.
Steps:
Inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 6 (x3).
Grounding: name 5 things you see, 4 you feel, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you taste.
Ask: “What’s one kind thing I can do next?”
Script (steady voice): “Bodies get loud. I can help mine settle.”
You’ll know it worked when… your shoulders drop and your breath slows.
Goal: Make home feel a little steadier tonight.
Steps:
Set a timer for 5:00. Phones down.
Each person answers: Rose (good), Thorn (hard), Seed (one plan for tomorrow).
End with one small promise (ride, check-in, bedtime).
Script: “Let’s do a quick huddle. No fixing—just listening.”
You’ll know it worked when… you leave with one promise you can actually keep.
Goal: Co-create 3 rules you can both live with.
Steps:
Each writes one worry and one hope about phones.
Pick three rules for this week (ex: no phones at dinner, dock at 9:30, ask before posting someone).
Choose one consequence you can calmly enforce (loss of data for 24h, or no social after 9:30).
Script: “I’m aiming for safety and trust, not control. Let’s try this for a week and adjust.”
You’ll know it worked when… the rules fit on a sticky note.
Goal: Reduce damage; rebuild trust faster.
Steps:
Regulate first (30 seconds of breathing).
Say what you own: “I raised my voice. That wasn’t okay.”
Offer a plan: “Next time I’ll take a pause. Let’s try again at 7.”
Script: “I care about you more than I care about being right.”
You’ll know it worked when… the conversation is shorter and calmer.
Goal: Know your next 3 tasks.
Steps:
Write target move-in month.
List the 3 documents to gather (ID, pay stub, references).
Open a notes page called Deposits & Fees and add three local places to check.
Script: “I’m building this one tile at a time.”
You’ll know it worked when… you have a date, a document list, and a notes page.
Playlists
Coming soon
Guides & Tools
Coming soon
Heading: Stuck on a step?
Send a question or a scenario. We collect themes for future episodes and workshops.