For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for February 13, 2024

Well, Elly, quiet equals to more work for you. You gotta bathe both.

Sometimes noisy fun is better fun…

Should have just sent them both outside.

Quiet little kids are often little kids getting into trouble.

Elly’s regular, pompous “stupid pronouncement” facial expression + hand gesture always make me grin. :-)

Serves her right, the stuck-up snob!!

BTW, why isn’t April in daycare with Becky?

Panel 1. I’ve heard of whack a mole, but really, whacking a dog with some kind of spinning wheel to make him bark is kind of on the cruel side to innocent animals even for the Patterson household!

Silence is golden. Unless you have kids, then it’s suspicious.

Be careful what you wish for, Elle.

Must be remarkable food there the way everything grows so fast.

April is a P.I.TA.

When she’s making noise, at least you know where she is instead of being out back unattended, say playing in a stream?

Quiet until the chemical set explodes!!

You did this to yourself, El.

April is very articulate for a not quite 4 yr old. Good job, Farley! Good boy!

The dog was not whacked. The whacking was the item hitting the floor. Farley barked at the sound. Farley was never hit.

Ah, parenthood — we only keep doing it because we suppress the memories. :-D That’s the only explanation for why we forget stuff like “be most worried when they’re quiet”!

Every Mum has said ’’Why is it so quiet?" …. Awww, jeez!

Well, Elly, you did tell April to have quiet fun with Edgar.

That’s the kind of fun you DON’T want because while you’re not distracted by playful noises, April could be doing some SERIOUS damage!

Ask and you shall receive, ask without giving directions and you shall receive a mess to clean up.

Edgar here first shows the features that would separate him from Farley in appearance: the big nose, the batwing ears, and the extended long neck. These little changes move Edgar from being Farley-like marketable to Edgar-like unmarketable, as Lynn Johnston would eventually learn (and hopefully tell one of her stories about).

Careful what you ask for…..

It is not easy being a mom. It would be preferable like this:

Michael: Yes, I will get that done right away.

April: Yes, I will be quiet and tidy from now on.

Elizabeth: Anything you want, Mistress Elly and Massa John!

First of all, she was just spinning what looks like rope or something, not a wheel. And she wasn’t hitting him either

Pay attention – she WASN’T whacking the dog but the FLOOR in front of him

Demon kid!

The time to worry about kids or dogs is when they’re quiet.

Edgar is growing FAST!

be careful with what you wish for