Many parents who reject authoritarian parenting don’t have a clear model to follow. It can feel isolating, overwhelming, and exhausting—especially in a society that prioritizes punishment, control, and individualism over connection and collaboration.
In this confronting and compassion-filled episode, Rythea speaks with Yolanda Williams, an activist and single parent raising her neurodivergent child with intention, autonomy, and resistance at the core. Rythea asks about the connection between facism and childism during this moment in history, and Yolanda expertly breaks this down. How is our parenting directly related to fighting against or participating in fascist patterns?
Yolanda expands on the need for building a village—a local community that supports her child while also inviting her child to actively participate in building that community. She speaks about the moment she refused to let survival mode sever her bond with her child, how she is intentionally shaping her physical environments to support her values and her family’s needs, and how community-building has become part of her parenting practice.
Yolanda’s insightful vision weaves its way through this conversation as she talks about parenting an autistic and developmentally delayed child—and how conscious parenting looks different when collaboration cues are not available. She brings voice to the reality of being a Black, disabled, solo parent, and the ongoing work of balancing self-responsibility with survival, in an unsupportive social and political system.
Key Topics:
- Building intentional community as a parenting practice
- Parenting while disabled, solo, and under-resourced
- Refusing to let survival disconnect you from your child
- Creating physical spaces that reflect anti-oppressive values
- Conscious parenting with neurodivergent children
- Redefining the “village” as real, local, and reciprocal
Yolanda Williams is the founder of Parenting Decolonized, and is currently documenting her journey of building a farm.
Follow along Yolanda's farming journey https://www.youtube.com/@WildandFreeFamilyFarm
Listen to Parenting Decolonized podcast https://parentingdecolonized.com/podcast/
Support YKDS https://buymeacoffee.com/yourkidsdontsuck
Book a mentor session with Rythea https://calendly.com/rythea
Connect with Cara https://www.caratedstonetherapy.com/
We (Rythea and Cara) are white, cis-gender, straight, middle-class women living with financial and societal privilege. Our perspectives are limited. We are committed to featuring guests from diverse lived experiences to reflect the realities of a broader parenting community. 25% of proceeds from this podcast go to creators of color who have shaped our work.
Rate & Review: Your feedback helps us reach more families who are parenting with presence, resistance, and love. Let us know what this episode stirred in you.
