Feeling insulted by overreaching(?) couples therapist
My husband & I have been in couples counseling for 2 months, at which point I also began to see the couples therapist individually. For the issues between my husband & I, I have found her pretty helpful, but I also find her prescriptive at times. It hasn’t been a huge issue so far because I just take what resonates and leave the rest.
My husband and I have a 3 year old and a 4 month old. I am a SAHM and have been home since my 3 yo was 1.5. I have had my 3 yo in a few activities since that time, and in the warmer months, we go to the park and pool daily and see lots of little kids, we have lots of family nearby, etc. Her socialization is good, IMO. She missed the cutoff for preschool this year, and was waitlisted for the upcoming fall. I’m also okay if a spot doesn’t open up and she is home still since preschool is not a requirement.
We were talking about division of responsibilities between my husband and I generally, and my therapist suggested putting our 3 yo in day care because in her words, it’s hard to “entertain” a 3 yo all day long, and she may not be receiving enough stimulation.
Paying for day care with me at home is not financially feasible, nor do I want her to be gone all day. Taking care of the kids is my job, I understood that even when deciding to have an additional child, and it’s hardly unusual for a child not eligible for school to be at home still.
She then went on a rant about how private schools are bad & hide issues, homeschooling makes kids weird (I’m not homeschooling!), that her grandchildren in daycare are the most well adjusted kids ever, and gave an anecdote about a child she knows who did not go to preschool or daycare and did not adjust well to kindergarten, couldn’t emotionally regulate, expected to be the center of attention, etc.
I felt pretty angry by this point. I felt that my ability to parent was being questioned, felt judged for not being 100% into making preschool happen (such as, finding a private one or something), and felt insulted by her anecdote about the kid who took time to adjust. It certainly felt like she was insinuating that our daughter will be a little nightmare if she’s not out of the house ASAP. Whatever schooling we choose should up to us… no?
For a day afterwards, I felt pretty depressed and insecure about the job I was doing. I would like to bring this up in individual therapy in an open way. Did she cross a line?
TLDR; therapist insinuated our 3 yo will have problems if we don’t put her in preschool or daycare although I’m a SAHM. We have never discussed our daughter having behavioral issues.
Posted Mar 4, 2026, 10:42 PM UTC