I'm entering new territory in this issue, hoping to start a more active reader relationship. I hope you'll participate and let your opinion be heard.

I'm pleased to include a reader submission in this issue of ParentingDay. Michael T. Powers has sent me a charming story that reminds us to be patient with our kids. I think that's as good a New Year's resolution as I can imagine. If you haven't made one yet, now's the time.

If any other readers have submissions that would be appropriate material for ParentingDay, I hope you'll send them to me. They should be 300-500 words long.

Parental Rights

This year has seen a number of challenges to the rights of parents to decide what is best for their children. Or, from the other side, this year has held a great many advances for the rights of all people, even those who are too young to speak. In England, the parents of conjoined twins lost their court battle to prevent their daughters from being separated--the surgery, they knew, would cause the death of one of the twins, but not doing it would cause both to die.

A pregnant woman in Massachusetts was taken into custody so that she would get pre-natal care. Her religious convictions that childbirth should take place without medical intervention is neglectful, according to that court.

Medical science has pushed the limits of viable pregnancy terms to the point where babies as little as 2 pounds are being cared for in neo-natal intensive care units. Sometimes, the treatments that keep a child alive can't compensate for the risk of severe brain damage.

I'd like to start a forum, of sorts, about this issue. Where do you stand? At what point do the rights of parents and children split, and when they do, whose should be supreme? Send your thoughts to me at Betsy@ParentingDay.com

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The other night I wanted to take a nice hot bath and finish a good book that I had been reading. I was tired and a little stressed, and all I wanted to do was lie in the hottest water I could stand and lose myself in the book's pages. The problem with this little "getaway" for me was the fact that "Aqua Boy" lives in our house in the form of Caleb. There is not a bath that is taken in our neighborhood that he doesn't know about. When he realized what I was going to do, he started asking to take one too. Of course I said no.

"Oh Pleeeeeeeeeeazzzzzzzzzzzze Daddy?"
"Caleb, I said no."
"But I wannnnnaaa!"

After a couple of hundred no's, I told him that I would think about it. Then I put my finger on my cheek and tapped it a bit (to show that I was thinking) and then said no. I probably shouldn't have done this, but hey, we parents can have a little sarcastic fun right? The problem was that Mommy saw me do this. Not good. I know better than to mess with the head of my wife's offspring. Now I knew I was in trouble.

I climbed into the bathtub and turned on the water. Ahhhhhhhh!! This was going to be relaxing... Suddenly there was Caleb. He had asked Kristi if he could take a bath with me after I had read for awhile. She told him to go ask Daddy, so there he was with big old puppy dog eyes that still had tears in them. "Daddy, can I take a bath with you when you are done?"

I knew I was trapped. "OK." I said. "When Daddy is done reading, you can come in here with me."

His eyes lit up and he said, "That'll be great!"

I went back to my book. The next time I looked up he had taken all his clothes off and had plopped himself up on the toilet. He wasn't in a comfortable sitting position either. He had his feet on the seat and he was squatting down like a catcher. I looked at my naked son and asked him, "What are you doing?"

"I'm waiting for you to be done."
"Caleb. When I am done I will call for you and then you can come in. OK?"
"OK, Daddy."

Back to my book.

Once again I heard him come into the bathroom. This time he was carrying his toy fishing pole that he had gotten for Christmas from his Aunt Jana.