Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for January 18, 2019

She would kill you but her husband is a patent attorney, not a criminal one.

What’s really odd is that one early Rosalyn arc hinted there was a second car. (“We can get in the other car and learn how to drive!”) But here, Mom says Calvin made Dad late for work, which wouldn’t happen if there was a second car.

Did Calvin wreck it or something?

… because Dad can’t drop Calvin off on his way to work? Ahhh, the 1980s.

At least Calvin misses a little bit of the school day.

Where does the spanking come in?

She should be proud that he’s learned a famous quotation.

His meds are starting to wear off. Mom should double the dose.

Mom is presented as being pretty mean, almost evil. The father, not so much. Why is that so?

Let’s see what fantasies Calvin can indulge in at military school.

Calvin, er Spaceman Spiff, it may be best not to provoke the Zogwarg queen.. she has superpowers you don’t want to find out about!

Hey! No seat belts or kiddie chair.

Panel 5: “But Judge, he asked for the death! I just gave it to him!”

Why can’t dad drive him to school???

My impression is that while Calvin’s dad does OK as an attorney, he is a skinflint at home with his family… they keep the thermostat low, they don’t have a VCR (in an era when they were cheap enough to have one in just about every home), and they drive what looks like the cheapest hatchback offered… I’d even bet it has roll-up windows and manual locks… :-P (now will all the “frugal cheapskates” will come out in his defense?) ;-)

The universe revolves around Calvin; haven’t you learned that yet?

No jury would convict her.

Calvin is shrinking his chances of reaching retirement age.

That grimace in the last panel is becoming her default expression.

hmmmm!!! what a brat this kid is!!! wonder if he and hammie are related!!!

Why can’t Dad drive him and then go to work?

unlike so many kids today, calvin has parents who actually seem to care about him getting an education

I remember this arc from a Calvin and Hobbes book my brother had. I can understand her being upset. My mom would be pissed at me for missing the bus unintentionally. Often it was because I would forget what I wanted to bring for show and tell, my lunch, my bus money (a city bus took us to school in Indiana). Once it was because I’d forgotten we didn’t have to wear our uniforms so I went to change and another time, I didn’t see the other kids there and I thought I’d missed it. Of course, that was in the earlier grades when I was shorter and didn’t have as good a stride for running all the way back home and back to my stop in time to catch the bus. Later, I was able to make it back.

It’s understandable that Calvin’s mom is shown as getting very angry and sometimes threatens him with dire consequences. Because of my wife’s health problems and the fact that I’m retired I am the primary caregiver for my 3 young very active (that’s putting it nicely) boys. They make me very angry sometimes and I do not hit them. I have been known to threaten them with horrible punishments such as "I will cut off your toes and feed them to the crows! " . I haven’t done that-yet. It’s a little disturbing to me the number of commenters that casually refer to hitting Calvin. Violence just teaches kids that violence is an acceptable solution to their problems. I find that withholding treats, YouTube time or toys is very effective. The punishment I remember the most from my childhood is not being allowed to watch the final two episodes of “The Fugitive” .

“What have you got to say for yourself?” Translation: “Let’s see you bury yourself deeper.”

With her kind of parenting, you can understand why Calvin behaves the way he does.

Well he learned SOMETHING in school!

Calvin’s mom often has a hard time dealing with him. This is bad news for her since Calvin is eternally a kid in this strip. She needs an exit strategy.

The other car may have been wrecked while Dad was driving Rosalyn home.

Rotten child-icide should be allowed by law. But then, wouldn’t the parents raising the child be somewhat responsible too? I sez wipes out all da humans. They just messing up a pretty planet anyways. Leave dwagons in charge. We fix it up nice. : )

You might want to reconsider those options, Calvin.