tough love
Stern but supportive
Tough love is an approach to helping someone by being strict or withholding comfort rather than being nurturing.
The idea is that sometimes the kindest thing is to let people face consequences or struggle through difficulties: Her parents practiced tough love, refusing to bail her out of financial trouble.
The term often appears in discussions of addiction, parenting, or relationships where enabling behavior has become a concern.
Resistance to deformation
- boundariesLines marking separation
- consequencesResults of actions taken
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- strictnessInflexibility in enforcement
enforcement · rules · structure · correction · standards · authority · expectations · consistency
Lines marking separation
- nurturingSupportive care-giving
- guidanceAdvice for decisions
- unconditionalWithout limits or qualifications
- protectionGuarding against harm
responsibility · upbringing · discipline · sacrifice · patience · mentorship · attachment · commitment
Support spurring continued effort
- challengeTest of ability
- perseveranceSustained resolve despite obstacles
- resilienceCapacity to recover quickly
- determinationFirmness of purpose
empowerment · growth · pushing · potential · improvement · grit · breakthrough · transformation
firmness
Resistance to deformation
- boundariesLines marking separation
- consequencesResults of actions taken
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
strictness · enforcement · rules · structure · correction · standards · authority · expectations · consistency · intervention
boundaries
Lines marking separation
- nurturingSupportive care-giving
- guidanceAdvice for decisions
- unconditionalWithout limits or qualifications
protection · responsibility · upbringing · discipline · sacrifice · patience · mentorship · attachment · commitment · intervention
encouragement
Support spurring continued effort
- challengeTest of ability
- perseveranceSustained resolve despite obstacles
- resilienceCapacity to recover quickly
determination · empowerment · growth · pushing · potential · improvement · grit · breakthrough · transformation · self-reliance
- family dynamicsfamily dynamics, family roles, family therapy, sibling rivalry, parenting
- disciplinemisconduct, violation, time-out, timeout, grounded
- parentinggentle parenting, child, mom, children, kids
- fatherhooddad, daddy, papa, father, pa
- therapypsychotherapy, therapist, session, counselor, group therapy
- candorfrankness, directness, bluntness, candor, straightforwardness
tough lovecoddling
Overindulgent, protective treatment
mollycoddling · unconditional acceptance · pampering · kid gloves · soft touch
tough lovepermissive parenting
Low-demand, high-responsiveness approach
enabling · overindulgence · spoiling · overprotection · helicoptering
love, tough, loving, lover, beloved, lovingly, toughness, tougher, toughie