Tough love

Tough love is an expression used when someone must treat another person harshly or sternly in order to help them in the long run.

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In most uses, there must be some actual love or feeling of affection behind the harsh or stern treatment to be defined as tough love. 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.

The rise in numbers of death of teenagers participating in tough love–based programs has questioned the principle of tough love. [1]

Noam Chomsky has invoked the expression "tough love" to describe the United States' economic policy vis-a-vis the working class.