Ep. 34 When Your PDA Child Hurts a Sibling: Parenting Inside an Impossible Bind
About this episode
This episode explores the overwhelming emotional responses parents face when one child hurts another, particularly in the context of hypersensitive or high-needs children.
When one child hurts another, something powerful gets activated in a parent’s nervous system.This isn’t just a “behavior moment.” It’s a moment of protection, fear, responsibility, guilt, and impossible choices — all happening at once.In this episode, I explore why sibling harm is often the most dysregulating experience for parents, especially when one child is hypersensitive, PDA, autistic, or high-needs. We slow this moment down and look at what’s really happening inside the parent’s nervous system when protection takes over.You’ll learn:• why these moments trigger intense fight, freeze, guilt, or rage responses• how trauma, moral responsibility, and “I’m failing as a parent” beliefs compound the reaction• why there are often no good choices — and how to work with that reality• how rupture and repair actually support nervous system healing for all children• how shifting meaning (out of good/bad and into allowance and context) restores regulation and choiceThis episode is not about excusing harm or forcing yourself to stay calm.It’s about understanding why these moments feel so overwhelming — and how to move through them with more clarity, compassion, and nervous system…
More episodes of The Regulated Parent
- Ep. 43 Why “Holding It Together” Is Burning You Out as a Parent of a PDA/Autistic Child
- Ep. 42 When You Want to Feel Hope With Your PDA, Autistic Child… But Can’t
- Ep. 41 When Your Child Swears or Says Mean Things And It Stings
- Ep. 40 Breaking the Anger and Rage Cycle in PDA & Autistic Parenting
- Ep. 39 Why Most Parents of PDA, Autistic Kids Feel Like They Are Not Good Enough
- Ep. 38 When Your PDA Child Hits Burnout — and Your Fear About The Future Starts Growing
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