Ep. 147: What Behavior Really Is

Club members: The All Behavior Makes Sense infographic and the Parenting When Your Partner Is Not on Board masterclass (which helps with anyone in your kid’s life who isn’t quite on board) are in the Club library. Not a member yet? Come join us at robyngobbel.com/theclub.Resources mentioned in this podcast:Why Sticky Behaviors Stay Stuck {EP 268} → RobynGobbel.com/allbehaviormakessenseStart Here! → RobynGobbel.com/starthereFind a practitioner who has graduated from the Immersion Program → RobynGobbel.com/DirectoryRead the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/toomanyexpertsRegister for the last webinar of 2026!How Do I Stay X calm X REGULATED?! on November 19, 2026 at 8pm eastern.RobynGobbel.com/StayCalm 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/bookJoin us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClubSign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/ImmersionFollow Me On:FacebookInstagramOver 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 ResourcesOngoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The ClubYear-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

You finally found something that explains your kid’s behavior, and you can’t wait to tell your person (your partner, your kid’s teacher, your mom). Then comes the eyebrow raise...”Sure, but what does the research say?” It’s a completely reasonable question, and you don’t need a neuroscience degree to answer it.Want to hand this to the person asking? Have them start around minute 11. That part is for them!In this episode you’ll learn:Why “show me the science” can shift you into protection mode, and what to tend to before you respondHow the science behind “all behavior makes sense” speaks to the worry that we’re just excusing behaviorHow to get on the same team with someone who’s skeptical, without taking on the job of finding all the science yourselfMentioned in this episode:All Behavior Makes Sense {EP 198} → RobynGobbel.com/allbehaviormakessenseFind a practitioner who has graduated from the Immersion Program → RobynGobbel.com/DirectoryClub members: The All Behavior Makes Sense infographic and the Parenting When Your Partner Is Not on Board masterclass (which helps with anyone in your kid’s life who isn’t quite on board) are in the Club library. Not a member yet? Come join us at robyngobbel.com/theclub.Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/showmethescienceRegister for the last webinar of 2026!How Do I Stay X calm X REGULATED?! on November 19, 2026 at 8pm eastern.RobynGobbel.com/StayCalm 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/bookJoin us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClubSign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/ImmersionFollow Me On:FacebookInstagramOver 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 ResourcesOngoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The ClubYear-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

I recorded today’s episode just for our practitioners! But parents- you’ll want to listen in, too.I remember how hard it was at the beginning of my career to recommend to a parent that I thought they could use some support, too. I often felt so uncomfortable making that recommendation- I didn’t want parents to feel criticized! - so then I’d really hedge on the why (because the last thing I want is for that parent to feel blamed), and they’d leave confused about what they’re even supposed to be looking for. And if you’re the parent hearing that recommendation, you’ve probably wondered what it says about you.In this episode, you will learn:Why a recommendation for parent work so often feels like blame, and what to tell families from the very first contact so it doesn’tHow treatment planning changes when it starts with a nervous system’s capacity and state instead of the behavior written on the planWhy the parent’s stress response system belongs in the treatment plan, and why your own reactions to a client do tooToday’s free webinar for practitioners, Working with Parents Who Aren’t On Board, goes deeper into the map, the tools, and where we get our own support. Register, or request the recording if you’re listening later, at robyngobbel.com/freewebinar. Already know this is how you want to work? Apply at robyngobbel.com/apply. Parents looking for a practitioner trained in this approach can search robyngobbel.com/directory.Resources mentioned in this podcast:The Basics of Attachment (Part 1 of 6) {EP 34} → RobynGobbel.com/basicsofattachmentRead the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/treatmentplanRegister for the last webinar of 2026!How Do I Stay X calm X REGULATED?! on November 19, 2026 at 8pm eastern.RobynGobbel.com/StayCalm 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/bookJoin us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClubSign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/ImmersionFollow Me On:FacebookInstagramOver 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 ResourcesOngoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The ClubYear-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

When life with your kid is this hard, asking for help can take more energy than you have. And the people who love you often don’t know what to do, so they offer advice, or they stay away. This conversation with Rose Lapiere is one you can hand to them (just send the link, no explaining required). In this episode you will learn:Why “I have no idea what would help, and I’m here anyway” does more for a struggling parent than any piece of adviceWays to lighten a family’s load that have nothing to do with parenting, like doing the laundry or sending a text that doesn’t need a replyWhat to do when a child gets dysregulated while you’re visiting, and how leaders in faith and community spaces can make room for families who are afraid to comeHard things are less hard with people who get it. Come find them in The Club.Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/supportpeopleRegister for the last webinar of 2026!How Do I Stay X calm X REGULATED?! on November 19, 2026 at 8pm eastern.RobynGobbel.com/StayCalm 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/bookJoin us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClubSign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/ImmersionFollow Me On:FacebookInstagramOver 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 ResourcesOngoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The ClubYear-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

Sometimes you work so hard to stay ‘calm’ but then realize- it feels totally fake. Yeah, that’s because sometimes calm makes no sense!Sometimes the behavior is serious, and you are mad, and of course you are. Regulated doesn’t have to mean calm, and there’s a four-step process that can help you hang onto your owl brain by one sharp talon even while your watchdog is starting to get really active.In this episode you’ll learn:Why working to look calm when you aren’t is hard on your nervous system and confusing for your kid (insides and outsides that don’t match are a cue of danger)The four steps for staying regulated while you’re mad or scared: notice, acknowledge without judgment, self-compassion, and getting grounded in the here and nowThe six stages of learning this skill, including the frustrating one where you can see yourself flipping your lid and still can’t stop it, and why that stage is progressThe Club is open for new members through the end of the day today, October 13. Come practice these four steps with us, live, in early November.Resources mentioned in this podcast:EP 84: Focus on the Nervous System to Change Behavior → RobynGobbel.com/changebehaviorWebinar & eBook: Focus on the Nervous System to Change BehaviorRead the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/regulatednotcalmRegister for the last webinar of 2026!How Do I Stay X calm X REGULATED?! on November 19, 2026 at 8pm eastern.RobynGobbel.com/StayCalm 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/bookJoin us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClubSign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/ImmersionFollow Me On:FacebookInstagramOver 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 ResourcesOngoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The ClubYear-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

Does hearing “no” or “not right now” or “stop doing…” seem to bring your child’s back-off watchdog or shut-down possum out? Or even worse??Almost every family I’ve ever worked with has had some sort of struggle with their child tolerating frustration, or disappointment, or not getting what they want. These kids look ‘spoiled,’ and the judgment from others is REAL. But accepting no and tolerating frustration are owl brain skills that can be scaffolded. There’s a pretty lengthy ‘skill stack’ underneath accepting no, and if your child doesn’t have a lot of those skills, then of course they are going to go from 0-60 when they don’t get what they want. In this episode you'll learn:The skills hiding underneath "accepting no" (regulation, relationship, time, and agency- just to get started with) and why spotting the ones your child is missing changes how you respondWhy "not right now" feels like "never" to a dysregulated brain, even for a kid who understands perfectly well what later meansWhy holding the no while your child melts down takes a skill stack of your own, including tolerating other people's judgmentThe Club is open for new members this week! Come join us for the full accepting-no skill stack and for help working out what all of this looks like in YOUR family. Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/acceptingnoRegister for the last webinar of 2026!How Do I Stay X calm X REGULATED?! on November 19, 2026 at 8pm eastern.RobynGobbel.com/StayCalm 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/bookJoin us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClubSign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/ImmersionFollow Me On:FacebookInstagramOver 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 ResourcesOngoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The ClubYear-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

I know how intensely we want a checklist. Do this, this, and this, and the dysregulation will end, and your kid will be OK. This episode is the story of chasing exactly that list (Dr. Sears' Attachment Parenting checklist that I worked to check off one by one) and finding something else entirely in Dan Siegel's Parenting From the Inside Out. He didn’t give a checklist at all, just a way of being. So, I can’t give you a checklist, but this episode is the closest thing I can give you: a stance to hold as your foundation, and three relational moves that cycle on top of it, out of order, again and again.In this episode you will learn:Why attachment (and regulation, and connection) resist a tidy checklist, and what to reach for instead when the flowchart doesn't existThe difference between the stance underneath everything (curiosity, compassion, non-judgment, staying with uncertainty) and the three moves that sit on top of it: noticing me, noticing you, noticing weWhy losing the stance in a hard moment doesn't mean anything failed; actually, noticing you've lost it is itself the stanceResources mentioned in this podcast:Parenting from the Inside Out → drdansiegel.com/book/parentingfromtheinsideoutThe Attachment Parenting Book: A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your BabyRead the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/beingRegister for the last webinar of 2026!How Do I Stay X calm X REGULATED?! on November 19, 2026 at 8pm eastern.RobynGobbel.com/StayCalm 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/bookJoin us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClubSign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/ImmersionFollow Me On:FacebookInstagramOver 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 ResourcesOngoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The ClubYear-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

Sometimes it’s the little moments that overwhelm us more than the big, scary ones. The "whatever" muttered under their breath, the stash of snack wrappers under the bed, or they flatly deny something you're 99% sure they did. Sure, these things are frustrating, and it makes sense you’d have a reaction- but for some reason, you find yourself in zero to fury before you even had a chance to think. It can feel so perplexing. There was no meltdown, no real crisis- why is the reaction oh so big? This episode digs into why…and what those $5-reaction, 50-cent-problem moments are actually pointing to.In this episode, you will learn:Why implicit memory isn't just about never forgetting to ride a bike. It's also somatic, relational, and emotional, impacting the reactions we have to all the things that are happeningHow old beliefs (mental models) don't just interpret what's happening; they actually predict it and sometimes even help create itA closer look at the specific mental models - some from parenting, some from being parented - that might be connected to some of your biggest reactionsCurious which of these beliefs might be yours? Chapter 10 of the new Guided Journal walks through the Discovering Our Fears process, with a companion worksheet available as a free download. And if you’re a Club member, you don’t need to go searching for the free download- it’s stored in the Club resource library!Resources mentioned in this podcast:Why Sticky Behaviors Stay Stuck (Part 1 of 3) {EP 268} → RobynGobbel.com/stickybehaviors1Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/parentingtriggersRegister for the last webinar of 2026!How Do I Stay X calm X REGULATED?! on November 19, 2026 at 8pm eastern.RobynGobbel.com/StayCalm 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/bookJoin us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClubSign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/ImmersionFollow Me On:FacebookInstagramOver 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 ResourcesOngoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The ClubYear-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

I know you are working so, so, so hard to hold onto your owl brain.Maybe you're at the stage where you don't even notice you've flipped your lid until hours later. Maybe you're at the stage where you can see it happening and still can't stop it. Either way, there's probably an old, familiar voice telling you that you should be further along than you are by now.I was once exactly there, too. Hollering- literally - at my own therapist for the reality that I wasn’t changing faster. I was MAD. I finally finally, finally had to consider believing what she was offering me- that I was exactly where I needed to be in that moment, and I was shifting and changing as fast as I could.I have had the experience on both sides of the couch- the person who was so angry I wasn’t changing faster AND the therapist who believed with my whole being that my client was exactly where they needed to be- even if that truth was extremely painful.I wrote the Guided Journal from that space between.In this episode you will learn:Why hearing "you're exactly where you need to be" from my own therapist once felt more like a threat than comfort What made a therapist's steady presence more powerful than any of the tools she had, even all her training in about five bajillion techniquesWhy the guided journal was crafted with no agenda, no required order, and nowhere you have to arrive by the last pageThe Guided Journal is out today, September 21 — grab it wherever you love to buy books, or catch a signed copy through Schuler Books. Details on tonight's Grand Rapids signing, the Richmond events, and the October 1st online celebration are all at robyngobbel.com.Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/exactlyrightRegister for the last webinar of 2026!How Do I Stay X calm X REGULATED?! on November 19, 2026 at 8pm eastern.RobynGobbel.com/StayCalm 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/bookJoin us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClubSign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/ImmersionFollow Me On:FacebookInstagramOver 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 ResourcesOngoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The ClubYear-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)

Almost always when I’m teaching or presenting, a parent is finally brave enough to ask: “What if I'm too burned out to do any of this?” And then at least half the other parents in the room look expectantly at me because they, too, are wondering how they could possibly conjure up enough energy to use playfulness. They aren’t even sure they like their kid enough to offer enough cues of safety.This episode looks at the physiology of burn out, why the strategies you already know feel completely out of reach when you're this depleted, and what's actually possible from here.In this episode, you will learn:Why it takes a lot more than pushing through burnout to shift out of itWhy rest (not more effort) is the first real step toward healingHow teeny tiny drops of safety, not big sweeping changes, are what actually start tipping the scale back toward connectionIf you’re looking for a place to start accumulating cues of safety for yourself, come join us in The Club the next time we are welcoming new members!Resources mentioned in this podcast:Felt Safety (Inside) - Part 1 {EP 161} → RobynGobbel.com/feltsafetyinsideFelt Safety (Outside) - Part 2 {EP 162} → RobynGobbel.com/feltsafetyoutsideFelt Safety (Between) - Part 3 {EP 163} → RobynGobbel.com/feltsafetybetweenRead the full transcript at:RobynGobbel.com/tooburnedoutRegister for the last webinar of 2026!How Do I Stay X calm X REGULATED?! on November 19, 2026 at 8pm eastern.RobynGobbel.com/StayCalm 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/bookJoin us in The Club for more support! robyngobbel.com/TheClubSign up on the waiting list for the 2027 Cohorts of the Baffling Behavior Training Institute's Immersion Program for Professionals robyngobbel.com/ImmersionFollow Me On:FacebookInstagramOver 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 ResourcesOngoing support, connection, and co-regulation for struggling parents: The ClubYear-Long Immersive & Holistic Training Program for Parenting Professionals: The Baffling Behavior Training Institute’s (BBTI) Professional Immersion Program (formerly Being With)