Chapter 15 - Lily’s Hunger
Lily’s missed meals were investigated separately.
No evidence Reena systematically starved her.
Important.
The children had normal growth curves until recent months.
Food was in house.
Reena bought groceries.
The problem was disciplinary withholding.
Drew described:
If you steal food, dinner waits.
If you don’t apologize, no snack.
If Lily cries during quiet room, food comes after she stops.
On escape day, Reena had not fed breakfast before basement confinement.
She expected to return from pharmacy within twenty minutes.
She was gone thirty-eight.
Children escaped during that period.
So when Drew said:
“She hasn’t eaten,”
he likely meant since previous evening.
Serious for a three-year-old.
Not multi-day starvation.
Grounding mattered.
Reena’s lawyer tried to minimize:
“One missed breakfast.”
But combined with punishment logic, it showed a pattern.
Food used as leverage.
Therapists worked with both children.
At my house food became predictable.
Breakfast.
Snack.
Lunch.
Snack.
Dinner.
A basket with approved snacks they could access.
At first Drew hoarded crackers under bed.
I found seven packs.
I almost said:
“You can’t do this.”
Stopped.
Instead:
“You don’t need to hide food here.”
He stared.
“Can keep?”
“One pack upstairs. Rest in basket.”
Boundary.
Not unlimited chaos.
Safety plus structure.
He slowly stopped hoarding.
Lily never did.
She simply asked:
“Snack?”
Approximately every eleven minutes.
May you like
Healthy three-year-old behavior restored.
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