Low Demand Parenting

In this episode of the Low Demand Parenting Podcast, I’m answering your toughest, most honest questions about screen time — especially during burnout. Together, we unpack big concerns about whether screen use is “addictive,” whether dropping limits is the right choice, and how to respond when your child is glued to YouTube all day or spending your entire budget on Roblox. I offer a grounded, shame-free perspective on how screens can meet vital needs for rest, novelty, and autonomy — especially for neurodivergent kids — and how we can offer our most powerful parenting tool: a wholehearted yes. Whether you’re new to low demand or deep in phase two of burnout, this episode offers clarity, reassurance, and practical insight for one of the most emotionally loaded topics in parenting today. More details on this topic: To listen to more about burnout, check out episodes 11 and 14! I also have a mini-course on screens to get more of this compassionate, shame free approach. Screens Without Shame,    Additional low demand resources: For shame-free coaching, including a safe space to process your kid's screen use, check out coaching with the Low Demand team! We have skilled, passionate, deeply compassionate coaches ready to help you step into more acceptance and support. Find out more about coaching. 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!

When you’re parenting a high-needs or PDA child, it often feels like their needs dominate the household. But what about the siblings? In this episode, I share five core truths that have helped me show up with compassion and clarity in the most impossible-feeling moments of sibling conflict. From managing competing needs, to navigating rupture and repair, to having real conversations about disability, this episode explores the messy, nuanced reality of raising multiple children in a low demand household. I’ll walk you through practical steps and hard-won insights, all rooted in deep love, radical acceptance, and the commitment to building safe, shame-free family relationships. - 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!

This week, I’m answering your questions about partnerships — about how to talk to your spouse about low demand parenting, what to do when they’re not on board, how to respond when they’re getting really triggered by meltdowns or moments of being hit or yelled at, and how to support a PDA partner in sharing their emotions safely. I share how I approach partnerships: with radical acceptance, deep listening, and letting go of expectations that are too hard. I also name that this conversation is based on my own experience being married to the person I co-parent with — and that things might look different if you’re navigating co-parenting after separation or with trauma present. I hope this episode gives you a fresh way to think about dropping demands for the other adults in your life and trusting that you can do your work, even when someone else is on their own journey. 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! 

This is a deeply personal episode. I am in the guest seat to share my transformation from high-demand, perfectionist parenting to the radical practice of Low Demand Parenting. Interviewed by my dear friend Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman, I open up about the turning point in my parenting journey, how the collapse of old paradigms gave way to deep healing, and why letting go isn’t failure—it’s freedom. Together, we explore the spiritual depth of radical acceptance, the impact of privilege on parenting choices, and why practicing low demand is never all-or-nothing. This episode is a love letter to the part of you that’s wondering if it’s okay to stop trying so hard. Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman: https://www.rabbishoshana.com The PDA Safe Circle is a new app, course, and welcoming online community designed to decrease distress and increase thriving for PDAers and our loved ones. Diane Gould of PDA North America calls The PDA Safe Circle Approach “a game changer.” No waitlist. Membership rates are equity-based and no one is turned away for financial reasons. Ross Greene and the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions model: https://livesinthebalance.org Misophonia information: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24460-misophonia 

In this powerful and deeply moving conversation, I am joined by Ambreia Meadows-Hernandez of Free Black Motherhood. Together, we unpack what it means to mother freely within systems built to demand your erasure. Ambreia shares how she is deconstructing martyr-based motherhood, reclaiming her identity as a liberated Black mother, and moving toward a more expansive and embodied parenting practice rooted in presence, emotional transparency, and intergenerational healing. We talk about the impossibility of perfection, the false expectations placed on mothers—especially Black mothers—and how parenting can be a radical act of justice. If you’ve ever felt like you had to disappear to be a “good” mom, this episode is for you. ~~Join the next Masterclass community group in April 2025!~~ MEET AMBREIA: Ambreia Meadows-Fernandez is a storyteller, public speaker, facilitator, and motherhood scholar who processes the world through her award-winning writing. Sometimes, these efforts are birthed as reported journalistic-style pieces. Other times, they manifest as essays where she tries to use her personal experiences as a window into larger societal trends. She found her writing voice in the aftermath of birth trauma. The experience compelled her to share her story and create Freeblackmotherhood – a way of mothering that asks 'Black mothers and others' to prioritize self-love and authentic expression in all things while asking them to imagine a world where Black women are free to feel. Her mediums change, but her passion for health, especially reproductive matters, remains the same.  • Learn more about Ambreia  • Follow her on Instagram at Free Black Motherhood  • SisterSong  • Patricia Hill Collins (Black Feminist scholarship)  • Adrienne Rich (Of Woman Born)  • Eckhart Tolle (The Power of Now)  • Ambreia's article exploring Partus sequitur ventrem (status of the child follows the mother)  

I respond to a question from a parent navigating a painful dilemma: when a child is really struggling in school, how do we know when it’s time to pull them out? I explore two intertwined questions—how to recognize when it’s truly “too much,” and how to care for ourselves in the aftermath of such a big, life-changing decision. I share tools for tuning into our child’s nervous system, identifying red flags, and listening to our own inner knowing. I also talk about how to create sustainable routines, even in the chaos of burnout and unpredictability. This is an episode for anyone in the limbo of indecision, wondering if it’s “bad enough yet.” You are not alone. 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 powerful conversation, I sit down with Robyn Gobbel, trauma therapist and author of Big Baffling Behaviors. Together, we explore how to talk to our kids about their brains, why it matters so much, and how understanding our nervous systems helps us parent with compassion and connection. Robyn shares her Owl, Watchdog, and Possum framework—a playful and accessible way to explain our brain states—and we dive deep into how nervous system science can transform the way we understand our kids’ struggles, our own reactions, and the path to healing for the whole family. This episode is for anyone who has ever felt baffled by their child’s behavior and longed for a way to explain the unexplainable—with love, curiosity, and a lot less shame. Explore the Restore Your Soul Mastermind here --> Mastermind LINKS FOR MORE DETAILS: • Robyn Gobbel’s website: https://robyngobbel.com • Robyn’s book Big Baffling Behaviors: https://robyngobbel.com/book • Polyvagal Theory by Dr. Stephen Porges: https://www.stephenporges.com • Dr. Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model: https://www.neurosequential.com

When I started practicing low demand parenting, it wasn’t because I read a book or found a perfect system. It was because our family hit a wall—and nothing else was working. One of the very first mindset shifts that saved me, and continues to guide me every single day, is this: shifting from won’t to can’t.   This episode is all about that shift—from believing our kids (or ourselves) won’t do something, to realizing they can’t in this moment. I unpack:  Where the “won’t” mentality comes from and why it’s so ingrained in us. How shifting to “can’t” opens up curiosity and compassion (for your kid and yourself). What happens in the early phases of low demand parenting when all the hidden can’ts start tumbling out. How safety, masking, and nervous system overwhelm all play into what your child can (and can’t) do—and how that changes from moment to moment.   If you’ve ever thought, “They won’t just put their shoes on, they won’t go to bed without me, they won’t do their homework,” this episode is for you. Let’s rethink it together.   ADDITIONAL LINKS Ross Greene’s Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (Plan B) - https://www.livesinthebalance.org Submit a question for future episodes via SpeakPipe Previous episode: What is Low Demand Parenting? 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

Toileting struggles, periods, and body care—these are some of the trickiest internal demands our kids face. When a child refuses to wear a seatbelt, smears poop, or struggles with managing their period, how do we support them in a way that respects their nervous system while still meeting real needs?   In this episode, I break down:  • What internal demands are and why they can be so distressing for neurodivergent kids  • How burnout impacts basic needs like sleep, eating, and toileting  • Why forcing solutions backfires—and how to approach these struggles through support, not control  • Creative, low-demand ways to navigate seatbelt struggles, poop smearing, and period care  • How parents can reduce their own stress while supporting kids who struggle with bodily functions   This episode is for every parent who’s felt like, “I can’t drop this demand, but I also can’t keep fighting this battle.”   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! 

How do you create a low-demand partnership while raising neurodivergent kids? This week, I sit down with Lindsay and Daryl Flanagan—fellow low-demand parents—who share their journey of shifting from traditional parenting to a more intuitive, needs-centered approach. We explore how dropping demands for each other and for our children has transformed their relationship and family life. In this episode, we discuss: ✔️ Letting go of traditional expectations in relationships and parenting. ✔️ Navigating marriage when one or both partners are neurodivergent. ✔️ The power of humor, shorthand phrases, and texting in low-demand communication. ✔️ How to balance needs and avoid resentment in a partnership. ✔️ Understanding PDA in both kids and adults—and how it impacts relationships. ✔️ Why acknowledging capacity (not intent) is key to mutual respect. If you’re wondering how to create a partnership that thrives alongside parenting neurodivergent kids, this episode is for you! 🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts! More Resources: Follow Lindsay (with cameos from Daryl) on Instagram Discover Lindsay’s courses, coaching, and community through Hive Parents Brooke from No Pressure PDA – insight on humor as a signal of safety. 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!