The Monster at the Dinner Table
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Laura still wonders how different things would be if she and her husband, Mark, had simply chosen another camp. It was June 2021, and after months of virtual kindergarten, they sent their then-almost-6-year-old daughter to a summer program at a local school. The camp would be a brief reprieve before Amelia, an only child, started first grade, and Laura was sure she would love it. She was outgoing, the kind of kid who didn’t hesitate to approach someone new on the playground and start a game.
So Laura was surprised when, after the first day, Amelia told her she didn’t want to go back. At pickup a few days later, she pleaded again not to return. She said the woman who ran the camp often yelled and, at lunchtime, wouldn’t let Amelia leave the table until she finished all her food. Laura spoke to the woman — Amelia didn’t need to eat every morsel, she told her — and assumed the problem was resolved.
