A North Carolina family forced their children to do sit-ups and push-ups if they wanted to eat, AJC reported on Friday.
A mother was accused of abusing her children in a number of ways, according to search warrants.
Their father uncovered the abuse when the children went to visit him in Florida and he noticed they were very skinny.
Ronkia Bell, the childrens' mother, and Deron Cuthbertson Jr., a cousin, were arrested last month, My Fox 8 reported. In September, the children were hospitalized for malnourishment.
The oldest child, a 10-year-old girl, said her and her younger brothers were locked in a downstairs bedroom inside a home outside of Charlotte.
When they asked for food, they were hit with belts and made to do sit-ups or push-ups for extended periods of time.
But the young girl said there wasn't a shortage of food at the house, and the search warrant says there were Pop-Tarts, beans, crackers, cookies and cans of vegetables.
The children said cereal with water would be the only meal they were allowed to have.
Their father said they are receiving counseling and are on the road to recovery.
