Was Mrs. Carling... an almond mom with Horse? 🤨
nah he got his issues from choosing to do ballet (or at least that's where it started) and her biggest mistake in that regard is not taking him out before he left himself.
I think Mrs. Carling attempts to make up for all that by insisting that he's fine as he is and encouraging him to eat more at mealtime but isn't the best at really addressing it directly. Especially since I think he'd hide it from her because he knows it worries her. And of course after moving out they don't talk as much, and especially after he becomes captain at PE.
In short, she did not push him in that direction herself. She never wanted him to essentially treat his body like a machine to be maintained, and it's one of her biggest regrets with him that she never pulled him out of that environment until it had already taken its toll.