Is there harm in bathing with toddlers?

DEAR AMY: I am still in shock over your heavy-handed response to "A Concerned Granny." An 18-year-old girl bathes with 2- and 3-year-old boys and you are criminalizing it? Your suggestion that the children are so at risk that Child Protective Services should be called seems so over the top to me that I am truly disturbed. I'm influenced by European sensibilities, where on many public beaches 1- and 2-year-olds run naked and nobody is concerned about it, least of all the parents. Opinions may differ, but what about an old-fashioned suggestion: "I see this differently" and suggesting to Granny that she have a heart-to-heart talk with the 18-year-old, a perhaps wannabe mom who obviously thought it was no big deal to bathe with the tykes. Sexualizing everyday bathing and criminalizing what may be poor judgment seem unnecessary. I hope your suggestions don't end up traumatizing the girl. Concerned

DEAR CONCERNED: Many readers agreed with you, though your comparison with nudity on public beaches doesn't quite fit this situation.

It is not the little boys' nudity that worried me, but the teen bathing with them in a (presumably) very small and confined space. As "A Concerned Granny" pointed out, if the genders had been reversed and this teenager had been a male and the children female, someone would have called the police.

I think this shows very poor judgment, but I agree that my reaction is also partially a reflection of my own cultural sensibility. I was also reacting (perhaps overreacting) to recent news stories about sexually victimized children where the perpetrators were trusted adults.

In my response, I said the grandmother should discuss this with the teen. I said this situation had many red flags and that if this Concerned Granny talked with the teen and continued to be worried, she should call authorities.