When my kids started coming home feeling unwell after visiting their grandmother, Eileen, I initially brushed it off, though I couldn’t shake a feeling of unease. Nathan, my husband, always downplayed my concerns, saying, “It toughens them up.”
One Saturday, after dropping off Alex and Ben at Eileen’s, I realized I had forgotten their bag. When I returned, I overheard Eileen through the open window, telling the boys to do push-ups outside in the cold, wearing only their underwear.
My heart sank. I rushed inside and asked what was going on. Eileen calmly replied that it was to “build character,” insisting I was too lenient. “They need to be tough,” she added. Seeing my boys shivering, their faces red from the cold, broke my heart.
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