In this special 200th episode, we’re exploring how to bring compassion, curiosity, and gratitude to our kids’ (and our own) “Watchdog” and “Possum” parts as overworked companions trying their best to help us survive. With acceptance and understanding, we can help these parts rest and integrate, creating space for true change.

We also look at the unique challenges parents face, especially when dealing with intense behaviors, and how building compassion for these protective parts—not the behaviors themselves—can help us navigate parenting with more calm, empathy, and hope. 

Believe it or not- over time, this practice of seeing our inner worlds differently can transform not only our lives but the lives of our children and our communities.

Main Takeaways:

• Recognize Protective Parts with Compassion: Our “Watchdog” and “Possum” parts, which are defensive instincts, need compassion and gratitude, not elimination. Understanding these parts as overworked rather than problematic can lead to healthier integration and self-acceptance.
• Parenting from Compassionate Curiosity: Challenging behaviors in children can often lead to frustration. By developing curiosity and compassion for our kids’ protective parts, parents can respond with empathy and help these parts feel safe, which reduces the intensity of the behaviors over time.
• The Power of Community and Practice: Change takes time and commitment, and practicing compassion and gratitude—even in small amounts—can lead to significant transformations in ourselves, our relationships, and our communities. The journey is gradual, but even small shifts create powerful results.

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

• EVERYONE Has A Watchdog and Possum Brain! {EP 178}
• All Behavior Makes Sense {EP 198}

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/gratitude

Teaching Kids about their Owl, Watchdog, and Possum brain is one great way to help GROW their owl brain!

And I can teach you exactly how!

Head to RobynGobbel.com/TeachKidsTheBrain for information and registration.https://robyngobbel.com/training/teachkidsthebrain/

We are waiting to read your application for the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals! 

RobynGobbel.com/immersion for every detail about the program you could be curious about! 

Grab a copy of USA Today Best Selling book Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors robyngobbel.com/book

Join us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClub

Sign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/Immersion

Follow Me On:
Facebook
Instagram

Over on my website you can find:
Webinar and eBook on Focus on the Nervous System to Change Behavior (FREE)
eBook on The Brilliance of Attachment (FREE)
LOTS & LOTS of FREE Resources
Ongoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The Club
Year-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

The brain is the brain is the brain. All behaviors have their origin in the brain. But for some behaviors, it is easy to lose sight of this important truth.

Behaviors that would be easy to label as manipulative or controlling or selfish just feel so personal! But if we can remember that even relational skills are brain-based skills, we can reclaim our empathy, set boundaries, and offer the scaffolding or accommodations necessary to help our child be successful.

In this episode, you’ll learn

• How to break down relational skills as brain-based skills
• How to scaffold or accommodate relational brain-based skills

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

• NEW!!!! Brain-First Parenting Podcast! With Eileen Devine

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/relationalskills

Teaching Kids about their Owl, Watchdog, and Possum brain is one great way to help GROW their owl brain!

And I can teach you exactly how!

Head to RobynGobbel.com/TeachKidsTheBrain for information and registration.https://robyngobbel.com/training/teachkidsthebrain/

We are waiting to read your application for the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals! 

RobynGobbel.com/immersion for every detail about the program you could be curious about! 

The new Guided Journal for Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors hits the shelves on September 21!

AND! If you pre-order TWO or more copies, you can come to Baffling Behaviors LIVE! - a day-long live event for parents and caregivers in Richmond, VA on September 21. 

RobynGobbel.com/LIVE

Grab a copy of USA Today Best Selling book Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors robyngobbel.com/book

Join us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClub

Sign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/Immersion

Follow Me On:
Facebook
Instagram

Over on my website you can find:
Webinar and eBook on Focus on the Nervous System to Change Behavior (FREE)
eBook on The Brilliance of Attachment (FREE)
LOTS & LOTS of FREE Resources
Ongoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The Club
Year-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

In this episode, I unravel how to extend connection to our children while acknowledging that some might see this connection as a threat. I offer insights on toning down the demand for connection, enabling our children to relax in it, and thereby strengthen their stress response system. I also reference the previous episodes in this four-part series by talking about the science of opposition, some practical strategies, and tackling kids stuck in protection mode, all with the aim of providing a comprehensive understanding of making connection a safe experience.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• That providing too much connection can often be overwhelming and feel more like danger than connection
• To titrate connection and supply only as much as the child needs or wants
• Showing your child you think of them when are not together like buying their favorite snack, titrates connection by showing that you are thinking of them and you see them

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

• Exploring Low Demand Parenting: Shifting Power Dynamics And Nurturing Trust {EP 142}

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/oppositional4

Teaching Kids about their Owl, Watchdog, and Possum brain is one great way to help GROW their owl brain!

And I can teach you exactly how!

Head to RobynGobbel.com/TeachKidsTheBrain for information and registration.https://robyngobbel.com/training/teachkidsthebrain/

We are waiting to read your application for the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals! 

RobynGobbel.com/immersion for every detail about the program you could be curious about! 

The new Guided Journal for Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors hits the shelves on September 21!

AND! If you pre-order TWO or more copies, you can come to Baffling Behaviors LIVE! - a day-long live event for parents and caregivers in Richmond, VA on September 21. 

RobynGobbel.com/LIVE

Grab a copy of USA Today Best Selling book Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors robyngobbel.com/book

Join us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClub

Sign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/Immersion

Follow Me On:
Facebook
Instagram

Over on my website you can find:
Webinar and eBook on Focus on the Nervous System to Change Behavior (FREE)
eBook on The Brilliance of Attachment (FREE)
LOTS & LOTS of FREE Resources
Ongoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The Club
Year-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

If offering safety and connection is the antidote to oppositional behavior, what do you do if connection isn’t experienced as safe or regulating by your child?

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How connection and protection can get tied together
• How to keep offering connection, even when it’s consistently rejected by your child
• The science behind why YOU need to be receiving connection - and how you can do that even if you don’t have a lot of extra time or supportive people in your life

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

• Regulated Does Not Equal Calm {Ep 31}
• Match The Energy, NOT The Dysregulation {Ep 155}
• Free Resources - robyngobbel.com/freeresources

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/oppostitional3

Teaching Kids about their Owl, Watchdog, and Possum brain is one great way to help GROW their owl brain!

And I can teach you exactly how!

Head to RobynGobbel.com/TeachKidsTheBrain for information and registration.https://robyngobbel.com/training/teachkidsthebrain/

We are waiting to read your application for the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals! 

RobynGobbel.com/immersion for every detail about the program you could be curious about! 

Grab a copy of USA Today Best Selling book Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors robyngobbel.com/book

Join us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClub

Sign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/Immersion

Follow Me On:
Facebook
Instagram

Over on my website you can find:
Webinar and eBook on Focus on the Nervous System to Change Behavior (FREE)
eBook on The Brilliance of Attachment (FREE)
LOTS & LOTS of FREE Resources
Ongoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The Club
Year-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

Last week we talked about the science of oppositional behavior. This week, let’s look at strategies to help children rest into felt safety so their nervous system feels better and their oppositional protective strategies can decrease.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• An invitation to consider some of our cultural beliefs around opposition in the parent/child relationship
• How to use our grown-up brains to invite connection and cooperation
• Strategies for creating felt safety in the child's inner world
• Strategies for creating felt safety in the child's environment
• Strategies for creating felt safety in the relationship

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

• When Your Nervous System Is Fried {Ep 139}
• Neuroimmune Disorders And Big, Baffling, Behaviors With Dr. Qazi Javed {Ep 97}
• What To Do After We Mess Up {Ep 80}
• Parenting Superpower! X-ray Vision {Ep 13}
• Self-Compassion Will Change Your Brain {Ep 8}
• Neuroimmune Podcast Series!~ robyngobbel.com/neuroimmuneseries

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/oppositional2

Teaching Kids about their Owl, Watchdog, and Possum brain is one great way to help GROW their owl brain!

And I can teach you exactly how!

Head to RobynGobbel.com/TeachKidsTheBrain for information and registration.https://robyngobbel.com/training/teachkidsthebrain/

We are waiting to read your application for the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals! 

RobynGobbel.com/immersion for every detail about the program you could be curious about! 

The new Guided Journal for Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors hits the shelves on September 21!

AND! If you pre-order TWO or more copies, you can come to Baffling Behaviors LIVE! - a day-long live event for parents and caregivers in Richmond, VA on September 21. 

RobynGobbel.com/LIVE

Grab a copy of USA Today Best Selling book Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors robyngobbel.com/book

Join us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClub

Sign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/Immersion

Follow Me On:
Facebook
Instagram

Over on my website you can find:
Webinar and eBook on Focus on the Nervous System to Change Behavior (FREE)
eBook on The Brilliance of Attachment (FREE)
LOTS & LOTS of FREE Resources
Ongoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The Club
Year-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

What if oppositional behavior is a normal response to feeling unsafe? In this episode, we unfold the layers of oppositional behavior and its roots in the nervous system. We look into the diagnostic complexities of Oppositional Defiant Disorder and dive into how our own state of the nervous system is important in helping our children navigate their Watchdog and Possum pathways.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• That even oppositional behaviors make total sense
• Spending a lot of time in protection mode is hard on the body
• Changing the behavior is not the goal- regulation, connection, and felt safety is
• The diagnosis of Oppositional Defiance Disorder is just a label- we have to stay curious about the causes for treatment

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

• Start Here Podcasts - robyngobbel.com/starthere
• When Your Nervous System Is Fried {Ep 139}
• Focus On The Nervous System To Change Behavior {Ep 84}
• Connection or Protection {Ep 7}

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/oppositional1

Teaching Kids about their Owl, Watchdog, and Possum brain is one great way to help GROW their owl brain!

And I can teach you exactly how!

Head to RobynGobbel.com/TeachKidsTheBrain for information and registration.https://robyngobbel.com/training/teachkidsthebrain/

We are waiting to read your application for the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals! 

RobynGobbel.com/immersion for every detail about the program you could be curious about! 

The new Guided Journal for Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors hits the shelves on September 21!

AND! If you pre-order TWO or more copies, you can come to Baffling Behaviors LIVE! - a day-long live event for parents and caregivers in Richmond, VA on September 21. 

RobynGobbel.com/LIVE

Grab a copy of USA Today Best Selling book Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors robyngobbel.com/book

Join us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClub

Sign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/Immersion

Follow Me On:
Facebook
Instagram

Over on my website you can find:
Webinar and eBook on Focus on the Nervous System to Change Behavior (FREE)
eBook on The Brilliance of Attachment (FREE)
LOTS & LOTS of FREE Resources
Ongoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The Club
Year-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

All behavior makes sense and no behavior is maladaptive- in the moment that behavior emerges.

Of course, the IMPACT of the behavior might be maladaptive and absolutely many behaviors need to change.

But understanding that all behavior makes perfect sense at the moment it emerges is the lynchpin in offering folks co-regulation, connection, and felt-safety.

In this episode, you’ll learn

• How all brains create reality
• The brain’s most important job
• The most effective path to take if you want to see behavior change

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/allbehaviormakessense

Teaching Kids about their Owl, Watchdog, and Possum brain is one great way to help GROW their owl brain!

And I can teach you exactly how!

Head to RobynGobbel.com/TeachKidsTheBrain for information and registration.https://robyngobbel.com/training/teachkidsthebrain/

We are waiting to read your application for the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals! 

RobynGobbel.com/immersion for every detail about the program you could be curious about! 

The new Guided Journal for Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors hits the shelves on September 21!

AND! If you pre-order TWO or more copies, you can come to Baffling Behaviors LIVE! - a day-long live event for parents and caregivers in Richmond, VA on September 21. 

RobynGobbel.com/LIVE

Grab a copy of USA Today Best Selling book Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors robyngobbel.com/book

Join us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClub

Sign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/Immersion

Follow Me On:
Facebook
Instagram

Over on my website you can find:
Webinar and eBook on Focus on the Nervous System to Change Behavior (FREE)
eBook on The Brilliance of Attachment (FREE)
LOTS & LOTS of FREE Resources
Ongoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The Club
Year-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

It’s really important to me and my team that you have all the information you might need when making the decision to join The Club- or not.

The Club is open for new members now, October 1-8, 2024, and I recorded this episode based on some of the most commonly asked questions

In this episode, you’ll learn

• What The Club even is and why it’s different than other parenting communities
• What’s included in your Club membership (so much!)
• How easy it is to access and participate in The Club
• How easy it is to step away from The Club whenever you’re ready

Read the full transcript at:RobynGobbel.com/whatsintheclub

Teaching Kids about their Owl, Watchdog, and Possum brain is one great way to help GROW their owl brain!

And I can teach you exactly how!

Head to RobynGobbel.com/TeachKidsTheBrain for information and registration.https://robyngobbel.com/training/teachkidsthebrain/

We are waiting to read your application for the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals! 

RobynGobbel.com/immersion for every detail about the program you could be curious about! 

Grab a copy of USA Today Best Selling book Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors robyngobbel.com/book

Join us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClub

Sign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/Immersion

Follow Me On:
Facebook
Instagram

Over on my website you can find:
Webinar and eBook on Focus on the Nervous System to Change Behavior (FREE)
eBook on The Brilliance of Attachment (FREE)
LOTS & LOTS of FREE Resources
Ongoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The Club
Year-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

Whiplash. You probably know what I mean. You start to be lulled into a life with fewer meltdowns, or less intensity. Then BOOM. An old behavior seems to explode out of nowhere. 

You’re right back to feeling like everything’s awful or it’ll never get better or you’ll have to live like this forever. 

You might even be frustrated with yourself that you let yourself ‘relax.’

All of these experiences are completely normal for folks who love someone with a chronic condition that occasionally flares- which is what a vulnerable nervous system is.

In this episode, you’ll learn

• The whiplash and why we feel it
• Why our kids seem to attack outta no where
• Why these moments feel like everything is as worse as ever- but it probably isn’t
• Why it’s GOOD we can finally rest, even if it does leave us feeling unprotected and whiplashed

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/whiplash

Teaching Kids about their Owl, Watchdog, and Possum brain is one great way to help GROW their owl brain!

And I can teach you exactly how!

Head to RobynGobbel.com/TeachKidsTheBrain for information and registration.https://robyngobbel.com/training/teachkidsthebrain/

We are waiting to read your application for the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals! 

RobynGobbel.com/immersion for every detail about the program you could be curious about! 

Grab a copy of USA Today Best Selling book Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors robyngobbel.com/book

Join us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClub

Sign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/Immersion

Follow Me On:
Facebook
Instagram

Over on my website you can find:
Webinar and eBook on Focus on the Nervous System to Change Behavior (FREE)
eBook on The Brilliance of Attachment (FREE)
LOTS & LOTS of FREE Resources
Ongoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The Club
Year-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

If self-regulation doesn't really exist- then what do we mean when we talk about self-regulation? And why does it matter?

In this episode, you’ll learn

• What self-regulation REALLY is
• How “self” regulation develop
• Why you should still teach self-regulation skills

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

• What Does Co-Regulation Really Look Like? {EP 81}
• Self-Regulation Doesn't Exist!!! (ep 43)

Read the full transcript at:RobynGobbel.com/selfregulation

Teaching Kids about their Owl, Watchdog, and Possum brain is one great way to help GROW their owl brain!

And I can teach you exactly how!

Head to RobynGobbel.com/TeachKidsTheBrain for information and registration.https://robyngobbel.com/training/teachkidsthebrain/

We are waiting to read your application for the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals! 

RobynGobbel.com/immersion for every detail about the program you could be curious about! 

Grab a copy of USA Today Best Selling book Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors robyngobbel.com/book

Join us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClub

Sign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/Immersion

Follow Me On:
Facebook
Instagram

Over on my website you can find:
Webinar and eBook on Focus on the Nervous System to Change Behavior (FREE)
eBook on The Brilliance of Attachment (FREE)
LOTS & LOTS of FREE Resources
Ongoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The Club
Year-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)