tough love 
noun [mass noun]
1Promotion of a person’s welfare, especially that of an addict, child, or criminal, by enforcing certain constraints on them, or requiring them to take responsibility for their actions.As so often happens, it requires tough love - an intense two-week regimen called constraint-induced movement therapy....
- Thus, we either let down our minority officers by failing to administer tough love or we retreat into the safety of formal processes.
- I nearly called the firm Reality Life, because some of what we will be doing is tough love: getting people to think about what they have to do so they can make earlier and better choices.
1.1North American A political policy designed to encourage self-help by restricting state benefits.So, Allen asks, Taft is recommending tough love?...
- In the conservative world view, this is just tough love.
- And indeed, when tough love means, temporarily, more starving babies, it's hard to get enthusiastic.