DEAR ABBY: We are a group of women who meet each week to play cards. Last week one women mentioned she had promised to baby-sit her 2-year-old grandson while her son and daughter-in-law go away for the weekend.
She indicated she really wasn't looking forward to caring for the child, and that if he resisted her attempts to put him to sleep, she would "give him a little something" to make him sleep. This woman's husband is a dentist and they have any number of drugs available to them.
When we expressed our shock over what she was planning to do, she brushed us off and said it was perfectly all right, because she and her husband had done the same thing to their own children when they were small.
We are tempted to notify the child's parents. Please help us decide what to do. -- LONG ISLAND CANASTA LADIES
DEAR LONG ISLAND LADIES: Children are not miniature adults; their bodies are developing and they respond to medication differently than do adults. Children should never be given alcohol or any medication unless prescribed by a pediatrician.
Grandma needs to be educated before she is entrusted with a 2-year-old. Tell her that unless she changes her mind, you will feel compelled to inform the child's parents.