For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for March 29, 2013

Bravo, Elle!

I think Elly’s comment was a ‘double entendre’…a veiled comment that she didn’t trust her husband in Sue’s presence. Judging by the continued unabashed leer on John’s face, I’d say Elly had had enough of his drooling and wanted to end the situation in a very nice manner. She handled it well….in public; however, behind closed doors, thinks could get very heated at home.

John lacks character, he is unfaithful and does not deserveElly, at all. She would make it if he left. Elly has a lotmore on the ball than she realizes.

It’s as long as Elle can trust her husband around the young, attractive librarian. And leaving an 8 yr old home alone is a little irresponsible.

My parents did that when I was 7 or 8, at a similar era to Michael’s. I was on my own after school by 9, and it was more the rule than the exception. A lot has to do with where you live. Our neighbours were out & about and looked out for each other. Anyone strange had been near our house and there would have been loads of people finding out why. It’s less safe nowadays, now that we’re more “cautious” but have lost so much of the community that used to look after us.

every kid is different. Michael seems a lot like my son and I would not leave him home alone for more than a few minutes.

I’m thinking it is John she doesn’t trust.

There is not a law in many states that says a child can’t be left home alone. Florida has the strictest guideline (not law) at age 18, which seems very conservative to me. Most of it depends on the maturity of the child and how the parents feel about it. Many of my child’s friends were left home starting at age 8, for an hour, and no one has ever complained or reported them.The ones who are usually reported are the kids who are put in charge of babies and toddlers at age 9. They’re too young to be left alone with babies at that age.

As a mother, I feel leaving an 8 year old alone at home while I was out of reach, is shocking behavior.

My sister and I were left alone overnight when I was 12 because my parents were divorced and my mom worked the midnight shift. We never gave it any thought either. I walked to school on my own starting in kindergarten and no one thought anything of this, all my friends did the same. Nowadays this would never happen.

when i was 15 i was all by myself for one morning. it was awesome. too bad it when i was sick…

Things have changed since I was a kid (I’m 55). I lived in a smaller town and my parents allowed me to be home alone (inside the house, locked) from about the age of 8 on up. I could also go out on my bike all day as long as I showed up for dinner. And my parents were older than most, Mom had me at 45, and they were actually VERY overprotective. But they also allowed me some responsibility at a young age and disciplined me when I screwed up (and when I did it was MY fault, not the teacher’s or anyone elses). There wasn’t the extreme “helicopter” parenting that you see today. I’m not a parent, I don’t know the answer to what is a correct age for leaving your child home alone, but overprotecting them doesn’t help either; I took some bumps and bruises in my early jobs from what overprotection my folks gave me. I can’t even imagine what it’s like for young people today with parents getting involved in job interviews and their kid’s positions. There has to be a balance where the child has to do things on his/her own and pay for their own mistakes to really grow up and be a responsible adult.

WHICH in point of fact, he did NOTHING wrong by LOOKING. and what he said to her was a fact.

John wasn’t just simply LOOKING. He was leering and drooling . . . and doing it in front of his wife too. It’s completely disrespectful. It’s one thing to notice someone who’s extremely attractive — that’s just human nature (after all, we’re married, not dead). But it’s a completely different matter to practically have your eyes popping out of your head in the process! And to do that in front of your significant other too . . . especially when you know they’ve got insecurity issues? It’s disgusting. THAT’S the part that the majority of the women here have a problem with.

Spot on Ellie!

My parents had a business and weren’t around when I came home from high school. I’d do my homework and odd jobs till they came home. I went to a Junior High near their business and went there when school ended.

Back when my grandparents were young in the 50’s, their parents didn’t think a thing about them going trick or treating late at night without an adult with them and eating popcorn balls and candy apples from the neighbors. Too bad we can’t do that now.

I would not have left my two daughters alone for anything. Just not a good idea at all.

My parents left me to babysit when I was 9, but I worked for Child Protection and learned just what a mistake that can be with many children. Number 1 issue — they panic in a real emergency (fire, stranger at the door, etc).

Stranger abductions are actually quite rare. Most child abductions are by family members or friends. The media has blown the danger of abduction by strangers entirely out of proportion.

In the process, we are raising a generation of kids who are overweight, out of shape, not streetwise, poorly socialized, overly dependent on technology, and exposed to a huge amount of inappropriate media. The ice cream man won’t kill them, but a heart attack at 16 just might.

The way we were raised decades ago had its own set of problems. There were certainly times I wished I had adults around more when I was home alone, largely because walking home from school ended up in a lot of bullying for me. But I wouldn’t give up the freedom of roaming around the fields, walking down to the store, going bicycling by myself, etc., either. Kids today really miss out on a lot because we smother them. There’s a happy medium between neglect and being Norman Bates’ mom.