In this episode, Nicole Shallow sits down with Leanne Page, M.Ed., BCBA, to talk about compassionate caregiving, especially for behavior analysts who are also parents. They explore what compassion really means, how to practice self-compassion, and how personal values shape the way we parent and support others. The conversation dives into balancing professional and personal roles, emotional regulation, and the influence of social media on parenting expectations.
Leanne shares insights from her work with Parenting with ABA and offers practical tools for both caregivers and professionals. Together, she and Nicole highlight that compassion is not just empathy; it is empathy plus action. They discuss how even five minutes of focused attention can strengthen a parent-child connection, and how modeling self-compassion helps children build emotional awareness and resilience.
Key takeaways include: self-compassion is a skill we can develop, BCBA parents often face unique challenges, it is important to recognize the emotional weight of parenting, building therapeutic relationships starts with asking caregivers how they are, and values-driven parenting matters more than perfection.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
The Calm & Connected Journal for Moms (kids version coming soon): https://parenting-with-aba.myshopify.com/products/the-calm-connected-journal
Compassionate Parent Training Workbook and professional downloads: https://parenting-with-aba.myshopify.com/collections/resources-for-professionals
Free Self-Compassionate Practitioner Worksheet: https://www.parentingwithaba.org/self-compassionate-practitioner-2/
CARES Framework for Structuring Parent Training Sessions: https://www.parentingwithaba.org/cares-framework/
Leanne Page, M.Ed., BCBA, is the founder of Parenting with ABA, an author, and a leader in compassionate parent training. Her work helps families and professionals bridge the gap between behavioral science and everyday connection through empathy, flexibility, and action.