Kicked Out of Two Daycares? You Don’t Want There to Be a Third.
Intensive therapy for parents of toddlers and preschoolers in Indiana
✔ Virtual therapy across Indiana
✔ In-person or virtual in Bloomington, IN
✔ Services in English or Russian
You love your child.
You know your child is a good kid.
But lately, their emotions and behaviors have become so big that daycare doesn't know what to do anymore.
Maybe you're getting calls to pick them up early.
Maybe the daycare has told you they don't have enough staff to support your child.
Maybe you've already been asked to leave one daycare.
And then another.
And now you're thinking:
“What are we going to do?”
You can afford a nanny. You can find another childcare arrangement.
But that's not what you really want.
You want your child to learn how to be with other children. You want them to make friends. You want your kid to learn how to handle frustration, disappointment, conflict, and all the other hard things that come with being a person.
And you want to know:
“How can I help my child?”
You've tried to figure this out.
You've read the books.
You've listened to the podcasts.
You've taken parenting classes.
You've tried to be patient.
You've tried talking your child through their feelings.
You've tried consequences.
You've tried being firmer.
You've tried being gentler.
And sometimes it works.
Until it doesn't.
Then your child's emotions become a tornado.
Your kid melts down. They scream. They hit. They kick. They refuse. They throw things. They can't seem to stop themselves.
And you can feel yourself getting overwhelmed, too.
You try to stay calm.
You tell yourself:
“I am not going to yell.”
“I am not going to parent the way I was parented.”
But sometimes you freeze because you genuinely don't know what to do.
And sometimes you yell anyway.
Then comes the guilt.
“Why did I do that?”
“Am I making this worse?”
“Why can't I handle my own child?”
Meanwhile, daycare is calling again.
And now you're scared this is becoming a pattern.
You aren't just worried about today's tantrum.
You're worried about what happens next.
What if we lose another daycare?
What if nobody can handle them?
What if they can't learn how to be part of a group?
What if something is wrong with my kid?
What if I'm doing something wrong?
What happens when they start kindergarten?
You may even find yourself thinking:
“How is this normal if my child is getting kicked out of daycare?”
You know your child is bright.
You know they’re loving.
You know there is a wonderful kid underneath all of this.
And yet, in certain moments, their emotions completely take over.
And you may be discovering something about yourself, too.
Maybe you didn't grow up with great examples of what to do with big emotions.
Maybe you learned to push your feelings down, hold it together, criticize yourself, and keep moving.
And that worked.
You're driven. You're successful. You're good at solving problems.
But parenting has brought you into territory where problem-solving alone isn't enough.
Some of your child's emotions may even trigger something in you that you don't fully understand.
You want to do better than your parents did.
You just aren't always sure what “better” looks like in the moment.
And that internal conflict can leave you frozen.
You know what you don't want to do. You just don't yet know what to do instead.
You can learn how to help your child.
You don't need another list of parenting tips.
You need to understand what is actually happening underneath the behavior for your child and for you.
That's the work I do.
I help parents of toddlers and preschoolers understand their child's emotions and behavior, respond differently in the moments that matter, and build the skills their child needs to have healthier relationships with themselves and other people.
And I don't just tell you what to do.
We practice.
Working with me is a lot like taking an intensive graduate-level class in understanding your child and yourself as a parent.
You will learn a LOT.
You'll learn how to recognize what's happening when your child becomes dysregulated.
You'll learn how to respond depending on what's happening in that moment.
You'll practice the skills with your child.
And we'll look at what gets in your way, too.
Because sometimes you already know what you're “supposed” to do.
The problem is that something happens inside you when your child is melting down, and suddenly that strategy you've read about is nowhere to be found.
That's where the deeper work begins.
If you're ready to stop guessing
and start understanding what's happening,
let's talk.
Your child doesn't need to be “fixed.”
And you don't need to become a perfect parent.
Your child may be struggling with emotions, impulse control, communication, frustration, transitions, relationships, or something else that isn't immediately obvious.
And sometimes the behavior looks very different at daycare than it does at home.
That's part of what we need to understand.
Rather than simply asking:
“How do we stop this behavior?”
we ask:
“What is this behavior telling us?”
What happens before it?
What happens during it?
What happens afterward?
What is your child trying to communicate?
What does your child need from you?
And what happens inside you when your child is overwhelmed?
Because when we understand the pattern, we have much more to work with.
How I Help Families
There are two types of treatment I use:
Parent-Child Therapy
I coach you in real time as you interact with your child, either virtually or in the office.
You'll learn to recognize what your child's behavior is communicating, respond in ways that support regulation and connection, and practice new ways of interacting together.
You'll also practice a short therapeutic play activity at home each day.
These small, consistent moments of connection matter enormously.
For children with significant behavioral and emotional challenges, therapeutic interactions need to happen in everyday life—not just during a therapy session.
Parenting Therapy
This is an important part of what sets my work apart.
Most child therapists can give you helpful strategies for supporting your child.
I do that, too.
But I also help you understand what happens inside you when your child is overwhelmed.
Maybe you find yourself thinking:
“Am I doing this right?”
“Should I have given in?”
“Am I too lax?”
“Am I too strict?”
“Why can't I stay calm?”
That internal war can leave you frozen and disconnected from your child.
Together, we'll slow it down.
We'll look at your values, your strengths, your history, your triggers, and the patterns that show up between you and your child.
I'll help you understand why certain things are difficult to implement—even when you already know they're supposed to be helpful.
And over time, you'll develop more flexibility.
You'll know what to do and why you're doing it.
You'll become more confident in your own judgment.
You'll be able to respond to your child based on what is actually happening—not because you found another parenting rule on Instagram.
The goal isn't perfect parenting.
The goal is helping you and your child develop a more helpful way of being together when things get hard.
This work is intensive.
And it works best for parents who are ready to do the work.
You are going to learn.
You are going to practice.
You're going to observe your child.
You're going to notice your own reactions.
You're going to try something new and come back and tell me what happened.
We'll adjust.
We'll practice again.
This isn't passive therapy where you come once every other week, tell me what happened, and wait for the next appointment.
You're an active participant in your child's growth.
You may be a particularly good fit for this work if:
You're ready to attend therapy twice a week.
You're willing to practice between sessions.
You're willing to look at your own patterns, not just your child's.
You want to understand your child rather than simply control the behavior.
You're willing to learn and experiment.
You can do hard things.
You're ready for individualized, high-quality guidance.
You don't have to be perfect.
You don't have to know what you're doing already.
You just need to be ready to learn.
I am here to help.
If your child has already been asked to leave two daycares, you don't have to wait for a third crisis before getting help.
Why Work With Me?
What I'm really good at is seeing your strengths, your values, and how amazing your child is regardless of their behavior.
It's not just cheering you on.
I give you high-quality information tailored to you and your child.
I specialize in helping children from birth through age seven, which means I understand how different young children are from older children and how important the parent-child relationship is during these early years.
I also pay close attention to the deeper patterns.
How were emotions handled in your family growing up?
What did you learn about anger, sadness, fear, and showing emotions?
What happens inside you when your child becomes overwhelmed?
What patterns keep repeating between you and your child?
And how can we shift those patterns?
I help you connect the practical strategies with the deeper emotional work.
You become better able to use what you know.
Parents I've worked with have described becoming more grounded, confident, and connected with their children. They have also seen improvements in their children's ability to manage emotions, interact with peers and adults, accept help from teachers, and participate more successfully in daycare or school.
Professional Endorsements
Because of my commitment to ongoing learning and collaboration in child therapy, I have built strong professional relationships with clinicians, professors, and other professionals in related fields. I asked several of them to share what they believe potential clients should know about working with me.
The following reflections were offered voluntarily and without compensation.
“But isn't this just normal toddler behavior?”
Sometimes, yes.
Toddlers and preschoolers have big emotions. They are still developing the ability to regulate themselves, communicate their needs, tolerate frustration, and navigate relationships.
But when the behavior is repeatedly interfering with your child's ability to participate in daycare, maintain relationships, or stay safe, you don't have to simply wait and hope they grow out of it.
You can get help understanding what's happening.
“I've already tried everything.”
Maybe you've tried a lot.
That's different from understanding why the strategies aren't working for your particular child and family.
Online parenting information is endless and often contradictory.
You don't want another hundred things to try.
You want someone who can look at your child, your relationship, your patterns, and your specific situation and help you figure out what fits.
“What if I'm the problem?”
You're not coming to therapy because you're a bad parent.
In fact, you're here because you care deeply about your child and want to do better.
We'll look at your parenting without judgment.
You don't need to defend yourself.
You don't need to prove that you're a good parent.
We'll figure this out together.
“Is my child going to be okay?”
That's an important question.
And it's one of the reasons I believe in intervening early.
Your child's early relationships are important.
Not because everything that happens now determines the rest of their life, but because these are years when children are learning foundational skills: how to relate to other people, how to handle frustration, how to ask for help, how to repair after conflict, and how to understand themselves.
You have an opportunity to help your child build those skills now.
You can do hard things.
You've done hard things before.
You're capable of learning.
Your child is capable of learning.
Imagine looking back a year from now and realizing that the moments that once felt like emotional tornadoes have become moments where you know what to do.
Imagine your child staying in daycare.
Making friends.
Accepting help from teachers.
Learning how to handle disappointment.
And imagine yourself feeling more confident, more settled, and more connected to your child.
It won't be perfect. Life is lifey.
But you'll have more skills.
More understanding.
More flexibility.
And more trust in yourself as a parent.
You love your child. You’re ready for things to get better. Let’s get to work.
I’m here to help
You are already doing so much for your child. Therapy can help you build more connection and joy together and give you tools for the hard moments.