Beeping Nina

On the genuine importance—and pain—of caring about your child’s emotional life

My daughter, S, who is five, has a special stuffed unicorn who she received for her third Christmas. Once white, she is now gray: the color of love—and drool. Once replete with a magnificent mane of pale pink yarn, she now boasts a tangled, grizzled, dishwater-colored ‘do. Once festively clad in a pink floral sundress, she now sports a threadbare and cr…