Lots of great thoughts here, thank you for sharing them. The line between parent support and parent coaching and behavioral health requires great care in navigation - I agree with you. Before I started Trustle, I worked both as a child psychologist in a traditional capacity, and provided video-based parent coaching. There are a LOT of parent support organizations that don't use credentialed providers because of the nuances here - and many parent coaches don't have any credentials in the space. I think instead that the licensed providers should be in the space of provided remote support, for many reasons, but also because they know when a referral for more intensive support is needed. Having licensed professionals helps to ensure that we refer when we need to. And, we often work with parents who have in-person therapists as an additional support.

I think the service replaces parents who turn to google searches, facebook groups, and blogs for advice. This advice isn't always evidence-based, and it can't be tailored to the family. Zero to three reported from their national survey that 84% turn to articles specifically aimed at helping parents, but only 49% find them helpful.Parents do want guidance from child development professionals. 54% of parents say they would like information from a “special web site or blog from child development experts.” Additionally, 63% of parents overall say “I am skeptical of people who give parenting advice and recommendations if they don’t know my child and my situation specifically.” And this instinct is right. Trustle aims to fill this need.

Also, as a child psychologist, I spent SO much time speaking to friends and family who wanted support (and to know which advice was evidence-based), but the challenge didn't call for a professional (potty training, typical tantrums, etc).

I would love to hear more about what you think!