A Furious Husband, a “Lazy” Son, and the Mom in the Middle

“I’m going to burst” blurts my husband, the planes of his face tight with anger. “Maybe we should stop him working, prevent him going out, or switch off the Wi-Fi.” I can feel the heat of frustration radiating from this normally placid man who is on the brink of volcanic eruption over our son.

“Do you think that would make him more likely to study?” I prompt, knowing that none of these measures will encourage our apathetic senior to apply himself, but will certainly make him cross and resentf...