REPLAY: Strategies for Oppositional Behavior- Part 2

REPLAY: Strategies for Oppositional Behavior- Part 2

Author: Robyn Gobbel December 26, 2025 Duration: 51:17
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 relationshipHow to use our grown-up brains to invite connection and cooperationStrategies for creating felt safety in the child's inner wor...

Robyn Gobbel, an internationally recognized expert in children's mental health, hosts The Baffling Behavior Show {Parenting after Trauma}. This podcast serves as a compassionate guide for parents raising children whose nervous systems are vulnerable due to past trauma, toxic stress, neuroimmune disorders, or sensory processing differences. Each episode is dedicated to decoding the confusing and often overwhelming behaviors that can leave caregivers feeling isolated and unsure. Robyn translates complex neuroscience and attachment theory into practical, relatable insights, moving beyond simple behavioral tips to address the root causes of family stress. You'll find a sense of community and understanding here, a place where the struggle is acknowledged without judgment. The conversations in this podcast offer more than strategies; they provide a framework for building safety and connection, helping to shift your perspective from "what's wrong with my child" to "what happened to my child." It’s a resource for anyone exhausted by conventional advice that hasn't worked, emphasizing that you are not alone on this journey. Through stories, expert interviews, and Robyn's own grounded wisdom, the podcast fosters resilience and hope, empowering you to create a family life grounded in co-regulation and mutual understanding.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

The Baffling Behavior Show {Parenting after Trauma}
Podcast Episodes
EP 272: Where Do I Even Start? A Brand New Listener's Roadmap [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:19
When life is overwhelming and your kid's behavior makes no sense — and feels like it's getting worse — even the best resources get hard to use. You're too dysregulated to sort through 270 episodes or an almost 300-page b…
EP 271: 4 Functions of Behavior, FBAs, and a Nervous System Approach [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:14
For years, "the four functions of behavior" has been the go-to framework for understanding why kids do what they do: attention, escape, access to tangibles, sensory. It's not wrong, but it's not the whole story either. I…
EP 270: What is Your Kid's Nervous System Predicting? (Part 3 of 3) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:10
We've been in a three-part series on sticky behaviors (behaviors that don’t seem to change, no matter WHAT you do!), and today we're doing the detective work: what is your specific child's nervous system actually predict…
EP 269: What Actually Changes Sticky Behaviors (Part 2 of 3) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:36
Part 1 was about why sticky behaviors stay stuck. Part 2 is where the hope lives. We're diving into the two mechanisms that actually change sticky behaviors at the neurological level. This is the episode that makes the h…
EP 268: Why Sticky Behaviors Stay Stuck (Part 1 of 3) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:28
If you've tried everything and a behavior just won't stop…that's a sticky behavior. Let's dive deeeeeep into the neuroscience behind the behaviors that feel impossible to change. We'll touch on how the brain stores predi…
Ep. 267: Boredom Triggers Dysregulation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:41
When kids can't tolerate boredom, it's easy to forget to put on our X-ray vision goggles and chalk it up to too much screen time or even not enough gratitude. Our kids’ reaction to boredom triggers OUR watchdog brain! If…
EP 266: When Things Are Genuinely Impossible: One Dad’s Story [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:27
A dad - who is also a former foster youth and the director of non-profit supporting foster and adoptive families - shares an honest and tender conversation about what it's actually like to parent kids with big, baffling…
EP 265: Nothing Changed & Everything Changed - A mom interview [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:14
A single mom who adopted boy-girl twins through foster care shares about her slow, almost invisible journey from survival mode to genuinely delighting in her now-13-year-old kids. Nothing shifted in one big moment. Yet s…
EP 264: Responding to the Judgement and Advice from Others [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:11
Parenting kids with big, baffling behaviors is hard enough. THEN someone has opinions about it. This episode breaks down why people say the things they say, what's actually happening in you when judgment lands, and how t…
EP 263: The Framework That Works on Everyone in the Room [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:39
Whether you're supporting a dysregulated eight-year-old, a parent who's convinced nothing is working, or the version of yourself driving home after a really hard week, the science is exactly the same. Let’s look at how t…