Low Demand Parenting

In this solo episode, I get to dive into one of the most radical, healing, and countercultural practices in Low Demand Parenting: listening deeply to our kids. As the third step in the six-step Low Demand Method, listening is the heart of it all—the bridge between understanding and letting go. Together we will explore how to listen when our kids won’t answer a single question, when what they say triggers us, and when their truth doesn’t match what we wanted to hear. I share real-life stories, practical tools (like “bark if you love cereal!”), and deep reflections on the power of curiosity, differentiation, and radical humility. This episode will help you release the pressure to “get it right,” and instead, open your ears—and your heart—to what your child is really communicating. Additional Resources: Low Demand Coaching with our incredible team. Receive support and compassion; get un-stuck with practical help; find someone to talk to who fully gets it. Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!

What happens when parenting meets the deep work of liberation? In this episode, I talk with Jaya Ramesh and Priya Saaral, authors of Parenting at the Intersections, about raising neurodivergent children of color, unlearning oppressive systems, and redefining what it means to love our kids exactly as they are. Together, they explore how intersectionality shapes parenting, why “expert culture” often misses the mark, and how resistance, both ours and our children’s, is a form of love. This is a tender, eye-opening conversation about healing generational wounds, honoring ancestral wisdom, and raising children who belong without apology. About my Guests Priya Saaral, LICSW, RPT-S is a proud mama, play therapist and parenting coach specializing in the emotional wellbeing of neurodivergent children and parents by helping them reconnect to their playful spirit amidst personal and structural adversity. She is a late-identified neurodivergent person with caste privilege and a first generation immigrant settler from India and Singapore, settled on Duwamish land (Seattle). Jaya Ramesh, LMHC is psychotherapist in private practice, specializing in supporting BIPOC and neurodivergent individuals and couples in having more authentic relationships. She also runs a DEI consultancy supporting communities and organizations in creating more anti-racist spaces. She identifies as a caste-privileged Indian-American who is neurodivergent. She is married, raising two kids and an adorable dog and lives on the unceded lands of Duwamish (colonially known as Seattle). Read "Parenting at the Intersections" Jaya Ramesh Counseling Priya Saaral - Play Therapy and Parent Coaching Additional Resources Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!   

In this raw, tender conversation, Chris and Jasmine open up about navigating a “big blended family crisis,” discovering PDA, and rebuilding connection in a stepfamily with three kids. They share the pressure cooker of custody battles, school expectations, aggression at home, and the moment low-demand and CPS (Ross Greene) reframed everything around autonomy and safety. We talk deconditioning from “good parent” scripts, stepmom complexity, marriage repair, and how Chris’s autistic burnout changed the pace of their whole family. It’s honest, nuanced, and deeply human.  📌 Content note: brief mention of a child’s disclosure of self-harm early in the story. Guest Bio Ten years married, Chris and Jasmine are an interracial couple raising three PDA kids aged 14,6 and 4 in Goolwa Beach, South Australia. They navigated an intense blended family crisis with intense child behaviors, catalysing their conscious parenting journey before discovering PDA. Chris is an entrepreneur and a coach who helps people reprogram their reality. Jasmine is the author of Behind That Shiny Resume. She supports stepmoms navigating complex family dynamics as well as neurodiverse couples. Follow their journey at @unschooling.pda on Instagram Find stepmum support at Linktr.ee/stepmumcoach Additional Resources Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you! 

In this solo episode, I reframe “low-demand” beyond crisis triage and into a proactive, sustainable practice. I explain why dropping demands only in the moment can leave parents burned out—and how to move toward durable drops that create real ease and joy for everyone. Using a concrete “can’t get out of bed for school” example, I show you how to become a demand detective, uncover the deeper beliefs and personal history driving our pressure, and design accommodations that actually work. We also tackle internally driven demands (especially with teens), dismantling the cultural “shoulds,” and why believing yourself is the first liberating step to building a life that fits your child—and you. Additional Resources: Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest   The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!

Parent coach, clinical psychologist, neuropsychologist, and single mom Dr. Gila shares hard-won, compassionate guidance for solo parents of high-needs kids: naming the grief and stressors unique to single parenting, why stress is “the great magnifier,” and how radical permission + perspective help us stay out of shame and make workable choices. We get concrete about the “tiger in the room” (what to do when the meltdown is happening right now), expanding what counts as support (yes, screens sometimes), asking for help when choice A isn’t available, and building micro-practices—audio journaling, body-based resets, and community—to keep one adult resourced when there’s no one to tag in. Meet our guest: Dr. Gila (she/her) is a Jai-certified parenting coach and certified Clini-Coach®, in addition to being a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist. Most importantly, she’s a single mom to a beautifully complex kid. Dr. Gila is passionate about parenting with connection, NOT perfection. She specializes in supporting single parents, and parents of strong-willed, spirited, or neurodivergent kids. Her motto is: Even if you're on your own, you don't have to do it alone! Biz name: Dr. Gila Parenting Website: www.drgilaparenting.com   Email: info@drgilaparenting.com IG: www.instagram.com/drgila_parenting FB: www.facebook.com/drgilaparenting/ Podcast Single-Parenting with Connection (NOT Perfection): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/single-parenting-with-connection-not-perfection/id1840297689 Facebook group: Single-Parenting with Connection, not Perfection (https://www.facebook.com/share/g/154KRmy72k/) Free Guided Meditation for Single Parents (or anyone who feels like one!): https://www.drgilaparenting.com/SP_meditation Additional Resources: Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest   The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!   

In this conversation, therapist and long-time school advocate Keischa Pruden shares 25 years of hard-won wisdom on helping neurodivergent kids access safety and learning inside traditional schools. We talk whole-child lenses (bio-psycho-social), what actually derails learning (surprise transitions, sensory overload, inflexible expectations), and how to build a true “village” between home and school. Keischa walks through the key components of practical school advocacy—and names the heavy load parents carry (and why support is non-negotiable). It’s a compassionate, concrete guide to lowering demands at school without losing sight of what matters most: each child’s definition of a meaningful day. Meet our guest: Learn more about Keischa Pruden here. Additional Resources: Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom   Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest   The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!   

In this rich, practical conversation, Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman—PDA adult, rabbi, and creator of the PDA Safe Circle—maps out a body-based way to understand PDA using her “safe circle” metaphor. We explore why capacity, not compliance, defines what’s truly “safe,” how trauma can sensitize antenna without being the cause of PDA, and what actually widens a nervous system’s circle. Learn more about Shoshana: Experience a free week in the PDA Safe Circle community Download the PDA Safe Circle Coloring Book (for free!) Follow Shoshana on Instagram Additional Resources: Low Demand Course - a powerful 6 week course to learn the 6-step Low Demand approach and change your parenting journey! Enrolling now through September 15. Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom Follow @LowDemandAmanda on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!

In this episode, I welcome Dr. Angele Close, a psychologist, motherhood coach, and author, to discuss the transformative power of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy in parenting. We explore how understanding and healing our internal parts can lead to more effective, compassionate, and empowering low-demand parenting. Dr. Close shares her personal journey with IFS, how it changed her approach to parenting her neurodivergent son, and offers practical insights into how parents can shift their inner dialogues to better manage triggers and stress. Our personal and raw conversation sheds light on the importance of unburdening ourselves from societal expectations and embracing the dynamic healing journey, which gifts us with a richer relationship to our children and ourselves. Bio: Dr. Angele Close is a clinical psychologist, motherhood coach, and certified mindfulness teacher who supports mothers and couples through the emotional challenges of parenting and partnership. A mom to a neurodivergent teen, she discovered the therapeutic model of Internal Family Systems (IFS) during her own parenting journey and found its tools transformational. Practicing and training in IFS helped her shift from chronic reactivity to greater clarity, calm, and compassion, for her kids and herself. Dr. Close now brings this approach to her clients, guiding them to feel more grounded, connected, and confident through their own inner healing. She is the author of the forthcoming book Unburdening Motherhood and is passionate about helping parents apply IFS in everyday moments so they can not only show up with the steady, wise presence their children and relationships need most, but also experience more ease, joy, and fulfillment in parenting. - Episode Resources: 5 part free video series - https://www.drangeleclose.com/courses IFS Book: You Are The One You've Been Waiting For IFS Workbook Dr. Close is also hosting a workshop/webinar for PDA North America August 21st (6pm CST) titled Finding Calm in the Chaos: How Internal Family Systems Can Shift the Way You Parent.  - Additional Resources: When Siblings Feel Like Enemies - a DIY course for overwhelmed PDA families navigating constant sibling conflict Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom - Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest - The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!

In this episode, we delve into the intricate dynamics of sibling relationships in families with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA). Whether your family is neurodivergent or mixed neurotype, sibling interactions can be challenging. We'll explore practical strategies for creating a safe, compassionate, and understanding environment. Learn about the importance of repairing relationships, avoiding comparisons, and fostering open conversations about disabilities. Additionally, I introduce my self-paced course, 'When Siblings Feel Like Enemies,' designed to help you navigate these dynamics with tools and conversation guides. When Siblings Feel Like Enemies - a transformative DIY course for PDA families with challenging sibling dynamics Additional Resources: Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom   Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest   The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you! 

I am joined by Amelia Nagoski, co-author of Burnout, for a deep conversation about autistic burnout, systemic stress, and why traditional self-care often fails. We both reflect on our personal experiences of autistic burnout and how healing can begin by dropping unrealistic expectations—especially those rooted in systemic oppression. Episode Details: Burnout Workshop - June 12, 4-6pm - Get a ticket for $27 Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily and Amelia Nagoski Amelia and Emily’s YouTube channel with autistic insights on burnout recovery Additional Resources: Low Demand Parenting book: a love letter to exhausted, overwhelmed parents everywhere. Get the first chapter free!  Why is everything with my kid so hard?: Take the quiz to find your first step forward! Low Demand Parenting Blog: a treasure trove of low demand wisdom Follow us on social for updates on the podcast, blog, and more!  Instagram Facebook Pinterest The Low Demand Parenting Podcast is your space to let go of the pressure and embrace a more joyful, authentic approach to parenting. We hope you enjoyed this episode and would be honored if you left us a review which helps us reach more parents just like you!