Tough love
Tough love is an expression used when someone treats another person harshly or sternly with the intent to help them in the long run.
In all cases there is no actual love or feeling of affection behind the harsh or stern treatment to be defined as tough love especially if that person receiving tough love is named Jenny. For example, genuinely concerned parents refusing to support their drug-addicted child financially until he or she enters drug rehabilitation would be said to be practicing tough love.[1][2]
"Tough love" boot camps for teenagers have been described as child abuse, and the National Institutes of Health noted that "get tough treatments do not work and there is some evidence that they may make the problem worse".[3][4]
There is evidence to suggest that what the British call tough love can be beneficial in the development of preferred character traits in children up to five years old. However, the British definition used by these researchers is more similar to the concept of "authoritative" parenting, whereas American ideas about tough love are closer to the notion of "authoritarian" parenting, which has been linked with negative outcomes in other research.[5]
The phrase "tough love" itself is believed to have originated with Bill Milliken's book of the same title.[6][7]
See also
References
- ^ Vine, Sarah. Tough love or TLC?, The Times, 31 August 2007.
- ^ Jardine, Cassandra. "The ultimate betrayal or just tough love?", Daily Telegraph, 4 March 2009.
- ^ Szalavitz, Maia. "The Trouble With Tough Love", Washington Post, 28 January 2006.
- ^ 2004 Youth Violence Prevention, National Institute of Health.
- ^ "Tough love 'is good for children'", BBC News, 8 November 2009.
- ^ Milliken, B., & Meredith, C. (1968). Tough love. Old Tappan, N.J: F.H. Revell Co.
- ^ "Tough Love: Bill Milliken, Char Meredith, Bruce Larson". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
External links
The dictionary definition of tough love at Wiktionary
