Adoption, Foster Parenting, Special Needs, Autism, and LGBTQIA with Eeka McLeod

Dr. Dan interviews single parent, social media phenomena, TikTok star, and advocate Eeka McLeod about parenting, fostering, family, disability and so much more. Eeka McLeod’s journey to building her family began when she made the decision to pursue her dream of adopting a child. After becoming a licensed foster parent while in graduate school, she started welcoming children into her home. Throughout her time fostering, Eeka cared for 18 children and eventually adopted three with disabilities: Eli, Evan, and Ella.  The self-described “family of misfits'' has made a name for themselves on social media during the pandemic with unapologetically real, hilarious content that showcases the triumphs and challenges of their daily life. Their devoted fan base includes 150 million likes and 2.7 million followers on TikTok, over 117,000 followers on Instagram, as well as over 230 million views and over 305,000 subscribers on YouTube. Eeka is passionate about using the family’s platform to advocate for acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities.   Eeka is a proud single mother who is committed to using their platform in the hopes of changing minds and hearts and encouraging acceptance. Meet Eeka and her family on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or search The McLeod Family.   Email your parenting questions to Dr. Dan podcast@drdanpeters.com (we might answer on a future episode). Follow us @parentfootprintpodcast (Instagram, Facebook) and @drdanpeters (Twitter). Listen, follow, and leave us a review on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Wondery, or wherever you like to listen! Don’t forget, you can hear every episode one week early and ad-free by subscribing to Wondery+ in the @WonderyMedia App. For more information: www.exactlyrightmedia.com  www.drdanpeters.com For podcast merch: www.exactlyrightmedia.com/parent-footprint-shop Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

For anyone who has been parented, is a parent or dreams of being a parent, Parent Footprint with Dr. Dan teaches us all how to make the world a more loving, accepting and compassionate place -- one parent, one person and one child at a time. Every episode features a “Sitting Down with Dr. Dan” segment to help listeners discover ways to be the best version of themselves. With more than 25 years of experience as a psychologist, author and father, Dr. Dan Peters understands the key to raising happy and aware kids is for parents to seek the same joy and mindfulness in their own lives. Through diverse and timely discussions, every episode of Parent Footprint explores and explains how (and why) the way we were parented impacts the way we parent. Aimed at any parental figure in a child's life, Dr. Dan helps any caregiver lead with purpose. With over 200 episodes, Dr. Dan has hosted adolescent and child development experts, mental health professionals and of course, parents. Plus, he takes listener questions! Submit yours to podcast@drdanpeters.com and you may get an answer on a future episode. Parent Footprint With Dr. Dan is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including true crime, comedic interviews, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, I Said No Gifts! and more.