Low Demand - But Make It Structured

In this episode, I sit down with writer and disabled parent Jessica Slice about what it looks like to practice low demand parenting… and also not. Jessica shares how parenting her autistic daughter showed her that “endless freedom” actually made her child more anxious — and that loving, predictable structure was the real low demand move for their family. We talk about how disability culture dismantles shame, why some kids panic in the face of too many choices, how to build rules that are genuinely child-centered, and why no one on the internet gets to tell you whether you’re “doing low demand right.” This conversation is a permission slip for families who need containers, timers, and posted rules on the wall, not because you’re trying to control your kid, but because that’s what actually lowers demands in your unique family culture.

In this episode we talk about:

Why “low demand” can’t be one-size-fits-all

How Jessica realized unlimited choice was actually the demand for her autistic daughter

The family’s TV setup: timers, platform limits, and why it calms her kid

Using rules to reduce suffering, not to control behavior

Parenting inside disability culture — naming needs without shame

The difference between “parent-imposed rules” and “kid-centered structure”

Letting go of performing “good parenting” for outsiders

Why no one can look from the outside and decide whether what you’re doing is “low demand”

My Guest:

Jessica Slice is the Toronto author of four books about disability and has written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, the Guardian, The Globe & Mail, LitHub, Alice Wong’s bestselling Disability Visibility, Slate, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, and more. She’s also been featured in Vogue, The New Yorker, PBS, NPR, The Cut, the BBC, and more. She lives with her husband, two kids, and two dogs.