Mommy

Abstract

Sarah is the bright and gifted daughter of two caring parents who maintain optimal health and fitness through diet and regular exercise. Her somatotype, like that of her parents, is slender and fit, with below-normal levels of body fat. Sarah has maintained an aggressive schedule of extracurricular activities to complement her academics, and she excels at almost everything that she attempts. Last year, however, Sarah’s parents noted a precipitous decline in their daughter’s physical, cognitive, and emotional performance. Fearing the worst, they had the child screened for a variety of potential disorders, and also had her examined for a panoply of affective disorders that may be responsible for her debilitations. As the assessments returned negative, Mom and Dad were ambivalent: they felt the conflict of encouragement regarding their daughter’s health together with the bewilderment over their daughters stunted development.