"Drugging someone so that they behave in a way that is more acceptable to your personal goals and wishes is not only unethical but immoral. Isn't this the same defense men use when administering date rape drugs?"

I realize a lot of people are anti-drug across the board but...come on!

When men use date-rape drugs, they are taking clear advantage of women and harming them in a number of ways. The women would have been able to give consent, and the men are overriding their right to consent.

When a parent sedates a child on a flight it is for everyone's benefit (including the child), there is no issue of overriding of consent, and there is no harm afterward.

Also, keeping your child quiet and under control by any means on public transportation isn't done to force him/her to adhere to a capricious standard of ideal behavior. It's just good manners.

I applaud everyone who has had good experience travelling with children. However, we are talking about toddlers and you only have so much control over a toddler. A parent cannot make a two-year-old stop crying at the drop of a hat. If a parent has a good pre-emptive strike at hand that poses no harm, he or she should consider using it.

Aside from being a bad metaphor,

Most (not all) couples who marry are sexually active prior to marriage. This would seem to refute this metaphor, which probably wasn't true when it was first coined. Moms just liked saying it.

is that they make quite a few claims to be about "supporting" those with eating disorders (there are pro-bulimia sites too, btw, Google pro-mia and you'll see what I mean). But when you enter them, they're all about keeping the disorder alive. I've learned a lot about tips and the whole mindset of someone with ED (if you eat a bright food like blueberry pie at the start of the binge, it can serve as a marker to let you know when to stop vomiting when you purge) but there is no doubt in my mind: going to these sites for support is like having an AA meeting where everyone talks about how to hide the bottles.

It's informed ME a lot but does it help the young women? I don't think so.

At our house we keep trying to make the other person decide.

I did take the morning-after pill once and it does make you sick as a dog...I mean SICK...but I never hear that brought up in most discussions about it. I wonder why? Would it ruin someone's argument?

I agree with others: you're happy to have it that one time, but after that you'd never think of it as regular contraception.

As for the pill being OTC, I see the argument but the pill is associated with some health problems, especially in women who smoke or are very overweight, so it seems to me that it should be taken after consultation with a doctor. You only have to go once a year.

And yes, having Plan B OTC would be a lot better than ferreting out a doctor on a Sunday morning, getting a script called in and possibly having the pharmacist refuse it. I think a lot of young women are too misinformed or intimidated to do it. If I were young and single again, I'd probably buy one and keep it on hand.

except that I would suggest writing "return to sender" on those letters and give them back to the mailperson without opening them. But that might be a little passive-aggressive.

Plenty have said what I thought at first: having your dad somehow involved in your sexual future is just strange. Now that I think about it, it seems equally strange that if you're going to celebrate a quality, why virginity? I would much rather celebrate my daughter's good grades, or reading skills or athletic prowess or independence and resourcefulness or whatever qualities she has or turns out to have. It is very telling that the focus is solely on sexual abstinence, rather than all the factors that might help a girl or woman make good sexual choices.

My own dad taught me how to drive a car, ride a horse and be resourceful under adverse conditions. That has prepared me for life a lot more than any virginity lectures would have done.

I am no fan of the belly shirts for pre-teens but let's keep things in perspective. Another story in Broadsheet mentions that the teen pregnancy (and both birth and abortions for teens) rates have been steadily going down, stats which have been reported elsewhere earlier. Besides, I grew up in the 70's, the era between the Pill and AIDS and of string bikinis and I can't see that current culture is any sluttier.

I also have to confess that my daughter loves Bratz dolls and I try to emphasize that their style is "funky" (which is part of the packaging). OK, they have denim miniskirts and high heels, but I prefer them to that prissy Barbie crap. (Sorry, Barbie fans!). I can live with funky a lot better than I can with prissy.

"Look, condoms are what, 80% effective?"

Condoms are about 97% effective if used properly (i.e., follow the instructions on the package). Those stats come from scientific studies, not Google. Furthermore, if 3% is too much chance for you, combine two forms. A condom and a over-the-counter form for women such as vaginal foam is approximately as safe as tubal ligation.

There are arguments that could be made for delaying sexual activity until a committed relationship, of which the ultimate is marriage. The biggest reason, I think, is that it's easy for one party to grow a lot more attached than another in a casual relationship and end up being hurt (and that can be the man or the woman).

But if a couple wants to have sex without getting pregnant, that can be done 999 times out of 1000.