On the drive home, I asked what usually happened at Grandma’s. Alex shared that they had to sleep with the windows open, do exercises, and only got extra food or blankets if they did well. Ben added, “Grandma says it makes us strong like Dad.”
When we got home, Nathan was surprised to see us back early. I confronted him, upset, and to my shock, he defended his mother’s methods, saying it’s how he was raised. “It made me resilient,” he said. But I disagreed. “This isn’t discipline, Nathan—it’s harmful,” I replied, determined to put an end to it. Nathan seemed torn, but I was firm: our children’s well-being had to come first, no matter what.