For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for July 03, 2018

geee.. what was his first clue?

Why hasn’t Elly toddler proofed the home? She knows how, since she did it for Mike! Cupboards should have locks, tables should have soft edges, etc. – but she knows this.

Elizabeth has just learned to walk? She is very talented then. Toys and books left out I can understand, but some of these things are amazing:

1.Raccoon prints up the wall going up to heights that are even with Elly’s waistline and including up on the couch and on the window behind the couch.

2.Elizabeth has developed a desire to listen to Jazz albums on vinyl. Very hipster of her.

3.She has managed to get a bowl of chips to eat while sitting in front of the television.

4.Between Elly and Connie on the floor is a bowl with what appears to be a can with a cherry on top and a spoon to eat it with.

5.She has gotten a drink, put it into a cup, and spilled the cup on the coffee table and onto the floor.

6.Under the coffee table, she appears to have successfully seeded some grass into the carpet.

Rugrats

This is why you baby-proof the house BEFORE the baby starts walking!

Wow! How did Lynne manage to draw an almost exact picture of our living room when the girls started walking?

You shouldn’t have to “baby proof” a house, other than not having dangerous things around. Teach a child what they can and cannot do, or don’t let them in a room unsupervised where they could get hurt. And if you’ll look closely, a lot of the mess on the floor is Elizabeth’s and came out of a cabinet. Time to start teaching her to put stuff back when she gets it out.

I’d say Elly’s done all the necessary childproofing. If you look you’ll notice there’s nothing breakable on the lower shelves and tables. Short of putting locks on the cabinet doors, what else could she do? Elizabeth can pull out records and books, but they won’t hurt her.

The forecast is for several more years of Hurricane Elizabeth.

Remember this comic strip takes place in the 80’s. There was not much baby proofing back then

BUNNY!

Isn’t the current version of this strip all “looking back”? So this is like a second layer of looking back, a dream within a dream?

@Rosette: you are missing the point of today’s memory strip: everything has a toddler’s imprint which are the hand prints. As I’m remembering when my kids were that age, it is an apt observation. My kids did the same, when they learned to walk: they used the surrounding furniture, cabinets and walls as support for one hand, and then pull down everything else to the floor with the other hand. Then they would sit down for a while and play with whatever was in the way and proceed to another point in the room, all over the main floor… and yes, there were plenty of tiny hand prints at that level all around the walls and counter doors, and the coffee table, etc…And yes, I child proofed the house, so that they wouldn’t hurt themselves with anything heavy, sharp or poisonous, etc