For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for June 24, 2020

John is being naive here.

definitely cannot be too careful

They are 15, they probably already have…

They can’t remain babies forever El (even though as a mother you’d want that). ;D

Very true El.

That ship has already sailed. Back last October 14, Elly stopped Michael as he was going out to see Martha at night after going out with her 3 nights in a row. When pregnant Elly confronted Michael about this same subject, Michael gave her a zinger which was basically that she knew less about birth control than he or Martha did. Michael has been going on dates unsupervised with this girl for 3 years now. Elly’s fears are about 3 years too late.

SPOILER the rest of this. Don’t read if you don’t want to know.

In few years when Michael starts dating Rhetta, Elly repeats this same line about how Michael is spending too much time with Rhetta and things might happen. It seems to me that Elly would prefer an arranged marriage where Michael would not meet his wife until their wedding day.

Honestly, this is why so many young couples never stay together

It comes with a manual??!!

Mama Nature don’t care ‘bout no manuals! It’s GO, baby! Hormones trump consequences.

Then give them a useful manual: birth control!A friend of mine just told his teenage-son that he would put condomes in a “secret spot” in the bathroom. And talked to him about what becoming a young father would do to his (and her) life, ofcourse.

I think I know where this is going

It may not be easy, but one of the best things a parent can do for their child is have a frank talk about birth control, how to use it, and why it must be used every time. It’s about respecting your partner and yourself. Girls too often feel like they have to do the heavy lifting here – parents who drill this respect and good sense into their sons will make everything better for everyone.

That is always a worry with teenagers.

If both of their parents took the time to educate them about “the birds and the bees” there shouldn’t be issues. They would know what happens when things happen and the consequences. Have a little trust in your own parenting skills El!!

“They’re just children!”

“From such children come more children!”

From Fiddler on the Roof

The way Michael is holding onto Martha, they’ve been “serious” for some time. :)

The only manual I had came from reading Ann Landers.

The “manual”? I wish I had a manual when I was 15. At least one other than the last months Penthouse magazines they threw out behind the drug store. Though, in truth, I suppose I did learn quite a bit from them.

They learn “the manual” in school. For my grandkids, it was explained in Junior High Health Class. I do believe the more time spent together, the more likely they will get “friendlier”. In many states, a teen girl can get birth control without a parent’s knowledge.

At 15 they should have already had the Talk. I raised two boys. Even though their father was still very much in the picture they chose me to enlighten them. I brought out my college books including Anatomy and Physiology and began in depth education on the female body and the male body and the reality of sex. “If you’re old enough to unzip your pants for sex you’re old enough to father a child.” Telling a young person to wait until marriage isn’t sex education. It’s delusional.

Um…didn’t she just have a surprise pregnancy? Maybe she should reread the manual?

My girlfriend ( now my wife) and I never had sex before marriage. I did not want to lose the respect she had for me. I was also FAR too afraid of what her father would do if we did and he found out. Fathers can be a real good deterrent.

Martha’s father is a good deterrent. An even better deterrent is the shotgun of Martha’s father.

Mom’s can have a lot of difficulty in this area. A friend of mine down the street got his girlfriend pregnant at 16. My mom kept telling me that there was plenty of time to have a girlfriend when I was older because she was so worried about that happening to me as a teenager. Skip years ahead to when I came out to my parents. She then said it was a mistake to discourage me from sex with girls as a teenager. Until she died I could not convince her that it had nothing to do with my being gay.

Didn’t John and Elly have their own problems with fornication? How about the strip where John learns he has a half-brother (from his father getting another woman pregnant) and travels to see him. I believe the brother’s name was Herb.

John: “This is my wife Elizabeth Senior, whom is often called Elly. And here are my three children, Michael, Elizabeth Junior, and April.”

Herb: “All born in wedlock?”

John: “Yes…”whispering to his brother “Though the boy was a close call.”

Is this the start of the arc where the son gets sent to the farm for the summer?

RTFM?

Maybe Elly should remind them of the six feet rule.

I was “operating equipment” when I was eleven (11). Enjoyed it ever sense. It’s called taking precautions.

There is a manual?.. I thought it was always “the talk”. Micheal’s parents remember how it was when they were 15 when relationships did not happen till much later.

It’s pretty simple – insert tab a into slot b.

There’s a manual? Where was it when I needed it?

Ew! I don’t wanna hear about 15 year-olds “equipment”!

Actually Elly as parents it’s your job to read them he manual, explain what could go wrong, and let them think for themselves.

There’s a manual???

I don’t remember this strip about “reading the manual” but I do remember one where Ellie said something to Michael about spending too much time with Martha or being too close. It was before April was born and Michael looked pointedly at Ellie’s belly and said, “Are you trying to talk to me about birth control?”

In earlier times that would be the prime time for marriage and babies. In some cases a year or two earlier for old men.

She’s right on target John.

Forget to say many girls in my HS were pregnant at 15 and 16.

“I can see Paradise by the dashboard lights!”.

In this story arc, doesn’t Michael marry Lawrence?

150 years ago, they’d be planning the wedding and building the house.