Urban Myths--Medea

“Caitlin is such a well-behaved child. I take all the credit for that. Jason left us when Caitlin was two, and even before that he never paid much attention to her. Now that he’s remarried, he hardly has time for her at all. He has her on Saturdays, and last time he brought her back within two hours.

“He claims Caitlin went berserk when she saw his new wife. Of course, I’ve trained Caitlin to be wary of strangers. One has to these days. Parents have to arm their children against predators. But Caitlin never behaves that way around me. Jason just doesn’t know how to control a child.

“His parents are the same. They have grandparents’ visitation rights one day every two months. Last time they tried to take Caitlin with them, she started screaming and hid in her bedroom. She was so frightened. In the end they gave up and went away.

“Caitlin’s pre-school teacher called me in to talk about Caitlin’s shyness around strangers. She recommended a child psychologist. Caitlin will be the first one in her play group to see a psychologist. She’s such a sensitive child. She gets that from me.”