I'm struggling with this right now. My father was the alcoholic abuser, and my mother let him physically and emotionally abuse herself and us kids. (She had multiple opportunities to leave, but didn't.) I turned out pretty well; unfortunately, my brother has behavior similar to dad's.

Dad is dying, but he is still verbally abusive; if he had the strength, he would be physically abusive. My mom can't understand why my brother and I still resent Dad's abuse, and her neglect to do anything to save us. She also engages in a fair amount of revisionist history in discussing the past (and no, she does not have dementia).

I've been working with a counselor on this topic, and what we've decided is that - no matter Dad's or Mom's behavior - I have to be able to handle things in a way that I can look back and be proud of my behavior. Maybe someday I'll get to a place of forgiveness, but as for now, I am settling for behaving in a dignified and decent way towards my abuser and his helpmate.

We know a mother of 5 children who lost her youngest baby to SIDS. She had one of these very life-like dolls, and dressed it in her dead baby's clothes. She carried that doll around just like a baby. We did feel enormously sorry for her, but still, it freaked us out. About a year or so later, she finally stopped carrying it around all the time.

The kid has the classic look of someone who takes a lot of steroids for a medical condition. The really red cheeks are the give away.

Hey, I breastfed both my boys for a long time. And my mother breastfed my siblings and I. But I would have flipped my lid if she or my mother in law did this to one of my babies.

Why? Because it's not about the breastfeeding -- it's about the mother in law trying to insert herself into the relationship between her grandchild and the mom.

I'd bet my last dollar that the mother in law tied to insert herself into or constantly control some aspect of the young couple's lives.

Mooseman, it sounds to me like you are ignorant of the subject. Just because someone had special needs, doesn't mean that they're are any less deserving of life.

And who are you to decide what constitutes "making a difference" in the world? I'd say that the physicians who treated this child (and my child) have learned a heck of a lot from them. I'd say that people who know and love children with special needs have learned a lot about love, patience, and tolerance.

How dare you say that these children don't make a difference?