At Peace Parents Podcast Ep. 141 - Getting Started Parenting Your PDAer
Jan 28, 2026
Charlie, a parent of a 4½-year-old suspected PDA child and a 10-month-old, shares their recent parenting shift after learning about PDA. They discuss starting PDA-informed changes, choosing immediate boundaries like safety, sleep, and bathing, handling equalizing aggression toward the baby, and experimenting with flexible routines while accepting limits and small wins.
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Host's Personal Burnout Experience
- Casey shared her own experience of switching paradigms when her older son hit burnout after she left work.
- She ate frozen meals standing up for months while restructuring life to keep everyone safe.
Autonomy, Not Demands, Drives PDA
- PDA activation is driven more by perceived threats to autonomy and equality than by the literal number of demands.
- Accommodations reduce nervous-system activation over weeks and months, not instantly.
A Mother's Early Discovery And Constraints
- Charlie described Jock escalating to harming baby and intense daily aggression before discovering PDA.
- Limited space and little support left her cooking, sleeping arrangements, and safety extremely constrained.