When my kids started coming home sick after visits with their grandmother, Eileen, I brushed it off at first. But deep down, I felt uneasy. Nathan, my husband, always downplayed my concerns, saying, “It builds character.”
One Saturday, I dropped Alex and Ben at Eileen’s house and headed home, only to realize I had forgotten their bag. When I returned, I heard Eileen through the open window, instructing the boys to do push-ups in the freezing cold, wearing nothing but their underwear. My heart sank. I rushed inside, demanding an explanation. Eileen, unbothered, claimed it was to “build character,” insisting I was too soft on them. “They need to be strong,” she said. My boys’ faces were red from the cold, and it broke my heart.