Rub-a-dub-dub, a problem in the tub

DEAR AMY: What is your thinking about an 18-year-old aunt taking a bath with her nephews -- one boy almost 2, the other almost 3? If the genders were reversed and the 18-year-old was a male and the children were females, the teenager would probably be arrested. This old granny will respect your opinion. A Concerned Granny

DEAR GRANNY: I think this is completely unacceptable.

In addition to the sexual overtones, there are safety concerns here. An adult should supervise every second that these young children are in the tub -- and not from inside the tub, but from the edge of the tub, where the adult can swoop in for the rescue, if necessary.

You don't go into detail about this family, but the red flags are flying high over this and as the responsible adult, you should act immediately to put a stop to it. These young children are at risk.

If you aren't able to intervene successfully to mentor the parent or parents involved to be more responsible and if you continue to be concerned about their welfare, you can call your local office of Child Protective Services and discuss your concern anonymously with a caseworker.

DEAR AMY: Every time I hear about children being allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve, I giggle. When I was a kid, I knew my beloved grandmother had sewn me a sock monkey, and I was determined that that would be the gift I opened on Christmas Eve. Imagine how carefully I rifled through the gifts, squeezing and shaking each one until I found my monkey. Now imagine how totally shocked and disappointed I was when I tore open the gift wrap not to discover a sock monkey, but to discover actual socks! I had opened the wrong package! My parents were nearly hysterical with laughter. While my brother got to play with the toy that he'd unwrapped, I just sat on the couch, bereft, clutching argyle socks! Still Laughing