Whew. Every single thing about these 'strategies' is making the hair rise on the back of my neck. Talk about delusional parenting in a nutshell. The narrative tone makes Kathleen sound genuinely naive and well-meaning - and a monster of narcissism. This would be a killer character summary fit for a piece of original fiction, with the economy and elegance you employ to nail a certain kind of human blindness: laziness that calls itself soft-heartedness, stupidity masquerading as indulgence, and selfishness that insists every indefensible choice is only trying to do what's best for you, baby.

Weirdly, I still feel sorry for her. But I feel a hundred times sorrier for her boys. (I also wonder how many boys she'll produce by the time she's no longer fertile, and pray there are no girls, whose childhoods would be a nightmare.)