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DEAR MISS MANNERS: My new home happens to have a perfect spot for bonfires in the backyard. I mentioned to an acquaintance that I’m eager to host a summertime barbecue and bonfire, and indicated that guests would be welcome to bring their families. I assumed that roasting marshmallows around a bonfire would be fun for the children and would save the parents the trouble of finding child care.

This particular acquaintance has two daughters, ages 3 and 4. She responded by commenting that I would, of course, childproof my home in preparation for the event, and asked exactly how I would keep the children from the fire: Was I planning on a fence, or would there be supervision?

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Miss Manners: I want to wear my wedding dress, and I’m hurt that they call it tacky Actually, aside from the obvious, like ensuring that bleach and knives were out of the reach of the little ones, I hadn’t really planned on any childproofing, and I have to admit that I had the expectation that any parents bringing children would take responsibility for watching them.

She does bring up a valid point: I have invited guests to bring their children, and therefore, it follows that I have an obligation to accommodate these young guests. On the other hand, I’m not running a day care.

I’ve clearly indicated the nature of the event to my guests, and believe that they may judge for themselves whether the event is appropriate or not for their young ones. It’s not unreasonable for me to expect them to assume that my childless home will not be fully childproofed, is it?

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GENTLE READER: Your assumption is not unreasonable, although Miss Manners suspects your acquaintance would disagree. Unless childproofing appeals to you as a design aesthetic for your new home, your problem is not how to dispose of every conceivably dangerous temptation to small hands, but how to dispose of an already-invited guest.

The solution is to gently confirm her fears by agreeing that perhaps she is right that this is not a good event for children since there are so many things that you will not be able to childproof completely. It would be rude to rescind an invitation, once given, but your apologetic concern for her children can only be appreciated.

DEAR MISS MANNERS: My husband and I are both doctors (myself an M.D., he a Ph.D.). Often when we receive wedding invitations, the RSVP card has a line that starts with “M” and then a blank, presumably to write your name, followed by the space to accept or decline.

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I never know what to do. It seems wrong to write “Mr. and Mrs.” especially if the invitations were addressed to “Drs.,” but nor do I want to seem pretentious writing “Drs.” over it. I truly panic every time this happens! Help!

GENTLE READER: It is always interesting to see what makes other people squeamish. As an M.D., you are no doubt familiar with the phenomenon. Miss Manners herself has no qualms about crossing out a stray letter in the interest of correcting a careless form.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.