I'm trying to figure out if they're trying to discourage people from having abortions after 20 weeks in cases where the fetus has severe abnormalities and is likely to die soon after birth (or something similar). Like an "are you really, really sure the baby will die or be severely deformed?" kind of thing. Which is…

I did a damn fine performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" and a few other Les Mis songs and my kid thought the over dramatic crescendos were the best. My husband thought I should stop singing depressing stuff, but considering that my son can't speak yet I suspect it isn't doing him any harm.

I swear that I own only one belt and I barely ever bother to put it on. Therefore, the chances that I will put a belt on a child who is still in diapers are essentially zero.

On a desperate night I'm sure more than a few parents have thought "actual lithium might be helpful right about now, for the baby or for us." :-)

Good point. My son wears hand me downs all the time and I'm always confused when I meet someone who buys all new clothes for small kids.

And I bet even when you are 100, you will remember every word of that song. :-) I suspect I could recite 16 Going on 17, backwards and forwards, on demand for the rest of my life.

I think that is the key - you really have to COMMIT to the song. I now do a spirited Grease medley, followed by a "Wheels on the Bus" that is full of hand gestures, and I finish with the chicken dance. It's a very popular performance in my house. :-)

As a newborn my son would only be soothed by a rousing rendition of "16 Going on 17" from The Sound of Music. Why I decided to sing him a song performed by a misogynistic Nazi I'll never know. I blame hormones and sleep deprivation.

I can barely be bothered to change my kid out of his pajamas. Fancy hats, shoes, and sunglasses? That is some next level shit.

Really, all things considered, it's not the worst suggestion I've ever heard.

I believe this video is proof that someone out there loves me and wants me to be happy.

Exactly - it's a very important point. Suicide is complicated but this is something that was raised in all the books that I read after my family member's suicide. There is a very strong chance that he made the decision just hours or even minutes before completing suicide.

I can't speak to everything, but studies do suggest that there are some suicides thst simply wouldn't occur without the presence of a gun. Also, other methods of suicide are less effective, for lack of a better term. So, the person is less likely to die in the attempt without a gun present.

Exactly. I was so frustrated because I thought - there isn't enough information in the world to convince you, is there? And yes, it feels like Lake Woebegon - I have never heard of a gun owner who didn't think that he/she was the above-average "responsible" gun owner. Also, none of that does much good if the owner is…

I thought the exact same thing - showing your hand there, Darla. You're supposed to mutter a bunch of stuff about patient safety and then hope that the rest of us don't have access to, you know, INFORMATION that exactly contradicts your point.

I know I wasn't really a person until I got married and had a son. Until then I was just called "You There." Now I get a whole identity - as "(BabyName)'s Mom"!

I've said it before and I will say it until I am blue in the face - I have a son and I love him more than anything, but being a parent is no joke. I spend a considerable amount of my time and money trying to raise him well and I would not want to put mother and child in the position of Parenthood By Default.

This depresses me greatly, but I tried pointing this out during a gun control discussion and the response I got back was basically "well show me the raw numbers because I bet the overall chance of getting shot is still low, that probably still mostly happens to people who are irresponsible and don't properly lock…

I never had a curfew or many real rules at all as a teenager - BUT I never gave my parents a reason to worry about my judgment. Since I was doing all the things they really cared about - good grades, not getting into alcohol or drugs, etc., they were content to let things go as long as I kept up the pattern. I once…

I remember that my mom once tried to read The Deep End of the Ocean, about a family that reunites with a son who was kidnapped. She made it through two chapters and had to stop - as a mother she couldn't handle reading about losing a child like that.