This latest episode unpacks the advanced parenting strategy of 'Match the Energy, but not the Dysregulation', a technique rooted in insights from polyvagal theory and interpersonal neurobiology. It’s a nuanced approach that requires resilience and patience, but when applied consistently, it can offer a remarkably accurate emotional mirror for your children and pave the way for improved connection.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The advanced parenting strategy of ‘Matching The Energy, But Not The Dysregulation’
• To better identify how far down the Watchdog or Possum pathway your child is
• Advanced techniques and strategies need practice, you won't be an expert at them immediately

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

• Lisa Dion Podcast - Regulated Does Not Equal Calm {Ep 31}
• The Club - robyngobbel.com/theclub
• Start Here Podcasts - robyngobbel.com/starthere

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/matchtheenergy

We're kicking off 2026 with a LIVE webinar- Creating Felt Safety! Attend live and watch the recording- PLUS get a huge folder of digital resources including a workbook all about how to impact YOUR felt safety!

Register at -----> RobynGobbel.com/FeltSafetyWebinar

Get access to over 25+ free resources in our brand, new Free Resource Hub! RobynGobbel.com/FreeResourceHub

:::

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 you're thinking about joining The Club (between now and October 3), let me fill you in on some of the details!

In this bonus episode you'll learn:

• The real reason The Club works
• What you get when you join The Club
• Club bonuses
• How The Club could help your family
• How easy it is to leave The Club when you're ready

Check out all the details and register to join at https://RobynGobbel.com/TheClub

We're kicking off 2026 with a LIVE webinar- Creating Felt Safety! Attend live and watch the recording- PLUS get a huge folder of digital resources including a workbook all about how to impact YOUR felt safety!

Register at -----> RobynGobbel.com/FeltSafetyWebinar

Get access to over 25+ free resources in our brand, new Free Resource Hub! RobynGobbel.com/FreeResourceHub

:::

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)

Marshall Lyles is here with me today to help me reflect on the journey of bringing Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors into the world.

I knew Marshall was just the person to ask to help me with this. He asked questions I was so grateful to reflect on.

Thank you for witnessing this experience for me and allowing me to accompany your journey.

Book!!!-
Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors released September 21. CLICK HERE to order now!

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/talkaboutwriting

We're kicking off 2026 with a LIVE webinar- Creating Felt Safety! Attend live and watch the recording- PLUS get a huge folder of digital resources including a workbook all about how to impact YOUR felt safety!

Register at -----> RobynGobbel.com/FeltSafetyWebinar

Get access to over 25+ free resources in our brand, new Free Resource Hub! RobynGobbel.com/FreeResourceHub

:::

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)

Happy happy birthday to Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors.

I wanted to celebrate with you! Y'all mean soooo much to me and resonating in the excitement of the book with you felt really important.

This episode contains a short reading from the book that I hope you enjoy!

If you've received the book already and have had a chance to read it, will you take a moment to leave a review on Amazon? Even if you didn't buy it there!

It's the #1 way to help Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors reach the folks who really need it. A lost, struggling, hopeless parent. An educator who is open to new ways of being in the classroom. A play therapist looking for a new way to be with parents and kids.

You can CLICK HERE if your podcast app lets you or just head to Amazon and search for Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors.

We're kicking off 2026 with a LIVE webinar- Creating Felt Safety! Attend live and watch the recording- PLUS get a huge folder of digital resources including a workbook all about how to impact YOUR felt safety!

Register at -----> RobynGobbel.com/FeltSafetyWebinar

:::

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 best way to love your child’s watchdog and possum parts is by loving your own.

Today, as I move toward wrapping up this writing-and-publishing-a-book chapter in my life, let’s talk a little more about the neuroscience of owls, watchdogs, and possums, why the science matters, and how my work has surprisingly become more about helping the grown-ups love their own owl, watchdog, and possum brains.

Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors uses metaphor, story, and science to strengthen your owl brain (ventral vagal complex) and increase your window of stress tolerance. It is my hope that in reading this book, you will feel held by my owl brain.

Thankfully, I have owl wings wrapped around my watchdog and possum brain, too. You can read about those folks in my acknowledgments. 

I have so many owls who have knit themselves into my neurobiology and strengthened my own owl self so that I can offer compassionate gratitude and nonjudgmental presence to you and your child.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The science of the owl brain through the lens of Interpersonal Neurobiology
• The science of the owl brain through the lens of polyvagal theory
• The best way to strengthen YOUR owl brain
• How strengthening your owl brain is the best way to strengthen your child’s

Resources mentioned in this podcast:
Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors released September 21. CLICK HERE to choose from a variety of pre-order bonuses, including a signed copy or 20% off.
Free Resources! -  robyngobbel.com/freeresources

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/lovingyourwatchdog

We're kicking off 2026 with a LIVE webinar- Creating Felt Safety! Attend live and watch the recording- PLUS get a huge folder of digital resources including a workbook all about how to impact YOUR felt safety!

Register at -----> RobynGobbel.com/FeltSafetyWebinar

Get access to over 25+ free resources in our brand, new Free Resource Hub! RobynGobbel.com/FreeResourceHub

:::

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)

You’ve probably wondered how you can know the neuroscience of behavior and have a toolbox full of tools…and still struggle to actually USE those tools.

Most parents have the thought “If I know what to do, why aren’t I actually doing it???”

It’s not because you’re a bad parent.

It’s because you’re dysregulated, have a sensitized stress response system, and probably have some implicit memories that leave you vulnerable to being triggered.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• How very little of our behavior comes from conscious thought
• Why your sensitized stress response system leaves you vulnerable
• Why regulated, connected parents who feel safe parent the way they want to

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

• Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors released September 21. CLICK HERE to choose from a variety of pre-order bonuses, including a signed copy or 20% off.
• When Parenting is Traumatic {EP 95}
• Beginning of the memory series: Trauma, Memory, & Behavior Part 1 {EP 90}
  
  

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/knowwhattodo

We're kicking off 2026 with a LIVE webinar- Creating Felt Safety! Attend live and watch the recording- PLUS get a huge folder of digital resources including a workbook all about how to impact YOUR felt safety!

Register at -----> RobynGobbel.com/FeltSafetyWebinar

Get access to over 25+ free resources in our brand, new Free Resource Hub! RobynGobbel.com/FreeResourceHub

:::

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)

Instead of responding or reacting to challenging behaviors, think about it as calming the watchdog or the possum brain. Once you understand how your child’s behaviors correspond to their level of dysregulation and lack of felt safety, you’ll be able to use strategies (for regulation, connection, and felt safety) that really work.

In this episode we’ll discuss:

• How challenging behaviors are the result of the stress response system
• Why some kids have sensitized stress responses that lead to baffling behaviors
• Strategies to calm the watchdog and possum brain

Resources mentioned in this podcast:
Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors released September 21. CLICK HERE to choose from a variety of pre-order bonuses, including a signed copy or 20% off.
Free Resources! -  robyngobbel.com/freeresources

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/calmwatchdogpossum

We're kicking off 2026 with a LIVE webinar- Creating Felt Safety! Attend live and watch the recording- PLUS get a huge folder of digital resources including a workbook all about how to impact YOUR felt safety!

Register at -----> RobynGobbel.com/FeltSafetyWebinar

Get access to over 25+ free resources in our brand, new Free Resource Hub! RobynGobbel.com/FreeResourceHub

:::

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)

Wondering how to tackle your child's baffling behaviors effectively? Join me as I share insights from my comprehensive framework, as well as practical tools and an understanding of your own nervous system. We'll break down how three elements interweave to address complex behaviors and also discuss the subtitle behind my book, "Brain-body-sensory Strategies That Really Work."

In this episode you’ll learn:

• Why the approach in Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors is an approach that ‘really works’
• Why Growing the Owl Brain is a more important place to focus than Responding to Watchdog and Possum Brain behavior
• The three things to address to Grow the Owl Brain

Resources mentioned in this podcast:
Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors released September 21. CLICK HERE to choose from a variety of pre-order bonuses, including a signed copy or 20% off.
Scaffolding Is A Form Of Co-regulation {EP 82}
The Connected Therapist by Marti Smith

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/growtheowlbrain

We're kicking off 2026 with a LIVE webinar- Creating Felt Safety! Attend live and watch the recording- PLUS get a huge folder of digital resources including a workbook all about how to impact YOUR felt safety!

Register at -----> RobynGobbel.com/FeltSafetyWebinar

Get access to over 25+ free resources in our brand, new Free Resource Hub! RobynGobbel.com/FreeResourceHub

:::

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)

Understanding what behavior really is helps us:

• Stop playing behavior whack-a-mole
• Use strategies and tools that really work
• Stay more regulated so we can use our thinking brain to make good choices about what to do next

We’re going back to basics with today’s podcast episode with a short exploration of the neuroscience of behavior- especially the most baffling behavior.

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

• Book pre-order/order: robyngobbel.com/book

Read the full transcript at:RobynGobbel.com/whatbehaviorreallyis

We're kicking off 2026 with a LIVE webinar- Creating Felt Safety! Attend live and watch the recording- PLUS get a huge folder of digital resources including a workbook all about how to impact YOUR felt safety!

Register at -----> RobynGobbel.com/FeltSafetyWebinar

Get access to over 25+ free resources in our brand, new Free Resource Hub! RobynGobbel.com/FreeResourceHub

:::

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)

Are you struggling to find common ground with your partner when it comes to parenting? This episode will shed light on this common dilemma as we discuss understanding behavior, creating a support plan, and cultivating authenticity and honesty within the family. We'll explore the reasons behind resistance to paradigm shifts and dive into the intricacies of the owl, watchdog, and possum metaphor. You'll learn how curiosity and connection can bridge differences with your parenting partner, even when they seem insurmountable.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• The importance of addressing underlying issues and supporting your partner with parenting struggles
• How having different parenting styles or philosophies doesn’t mean you can’t be a successful partnership
• About tools needed to navigate these challenges and strengthen the relationship with your parenting partner

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

• Has Trauma Informed Become A Behavior Modification Technique? {Ep 54}
• What if Trauma Informed…Isn’t? {Ep 134}
• But- What About A Consequence?!?! {Ep 56}
• When Your Nervous System Is Fried {Ep 139}
• Self-Compassion Will Change Your Brain {Ep 8}
• Q&A! What Do I Do When My Kid Gets Stuck And Ends Up Flipping Her Lid? {Ep 74}
• Focus On The Nervous System To Change Behavior {Ep 84} (Podcast)

We're kicking off 2026 with a LIVE webinar- Creating Felt Safety! Attend live and watch the recording- PLUS get a huge folder of digital resources including a workbook all about how to impact YOUR felt safety!

Register at -----> RobynGobbel.com/FeltSafetyWebinar

Get access to over 25+ free resources in our brand, new Free Resource Hub! RobynGobbel.com/FreeResourceHub

:::

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)