Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for August 15, 2024

Jeeze, Brad.

Have YOU so soon forgotten what YOU were like when YOU were a kid?

So YEAH.

YOU and your sister have got some “pay-back” coming when you two finally get to be parents.

At least You are being WARNED ahead of time.

Oh yeah.

And get ready for some crappy Father’s Day gifts like you used to give your dad……., ;-)

You’ll do okay, Brad. Just pray that Toni will be really gifted at parenting, and no one will notice your short comings. ;)

I thought TJ cooked and cleaned the place?

Brad, it’s high time you realized that some people are just not meant to be parents. And there’s NOTHING wrong with not wanting kids—what IS wrong is having them when you don’t want them!

Gotta admit, jumping straight into the parenting river with the piranhas by way of this little Hurricane Shannon isn’t the easiest way to get broken in.

Welcome to reality, Brad.

I’m hoping this experience makes Brad rethink his original plan to have 6 or so kids.

This is for the new Parents: Forget everything you know, and everything you think you know about raising kids. Every kid is different… What works for your first child may not work for your second, third, etc.

At least she’s not saying, “You could never be worse at parenting than your father.”

10 years later:

’Here’s the car keys, Brad’

’Where’s th car?’

First you have to find someone who wants to have a kid.

“Parenting” six pets also keeps you awake…

Don’t be hard on yourself, Brad! It’s hard to correct the six Luann years of horrible parenting Shannon already received!

It’s different when its your child, they’ll mind. At least mine did!

Brad turned out a lot better adjusted than his sister.

eat right?? how can she eat right when she’s fed waffles, ice cream and microwave pizza?

Just make sure you telll them everything because the one thing you don’t mention is the one thing they’ll think up to do!

Any chance the brat will stay in bed until September?

Do you still want to have 4-5 kids Brad? lol

Isn’t he only 21/22 (2/3 years older than Luann) and a first year fireman?

Better than Shannon’s.

Hmmm, I seem to remember Brad being the sloppy one when he was a child…does he not remember this? Child rearing is such a huge chore, a headache and such a big responsibility. Oh, and lets throw in very, very epensive….it truly amazes me why people actually want children.

You’ll be fine, Brad. It just takes a little time to get used to.

Parenting is a 20 year job that requires no qualifications or training.

Take a deep breath, Brad — you’ll be fine!

“The things we do to ourselves, we would never let anyone else do to us”

Nancy is a combat veteran; Brad is still a ‘maggot’.

I should imagine, when you have one of your OWN, the child will be loved, nurtured, and taught right/wrong, and respect/boundaries, and won’t be NEAR as bad as Shannon is.

How easily we forget our own childhoods, and what we put our parents through.

Fantasy, meet reality.

Poor Brad…..

I recall a parent-teacher (me). I had, over time, taught several of their children. Their kids were hard working, athletic, top of the scores in their classes & funny with big diverse friend groups. I asked the parent for their child rearing secrets. They said it was a mystery to them .

You don’t have to be a parent, kid! We gots plenty of people here already!

the problem is, Shannon gets no discipline for her bad behavior. i hate to see her as a teenager.

Couldn’t get her to go to bed? Aw, the big brute…. she must weigh at least 55 pounds.

And no, I’m not advocating violence against children. You pick her up, carry her into her bed, a story or two and you close the door. Nighty night, Shan.

After consoling Shannon, Nancy continues consoling Brad, but with him it’s a little more difficult. I like to see Brad doubting his abilities, he was too sure that everything would be like a game. Now he’s more in touch with reality and knows he can count on his mother’s experience.

So it’s starting to look like Toni will get pregnant and presumably it will be presented in real-time. At the same time, Luann will be taking four courses in different areas (like welding!) to decide on a career plan post-community college. Might they start to age the characters a bit, as they have before?

These characters’ personalities change regularly. Brad has been fine with Shannon in the past, but this particular drama required him to fall into doubt, self-pity and despair, so here we are.

But maybe this is the G&K lead in to nicer, kinder Shannon personality? A Shannon who is sensitive and caring. A Shannon who is considerate and respectful. A Shannon who is……………

What? A person can’t hope??

Those of us that don’t want kids (for the most part) don’t have them.

Lots of readers think B and T should adopt Shannon. Nancy would make a much better parent to Shannon.

I think Nancy’s point is that any parent has to learn over time how to handle each unique child and very few are automatically “great parents” right out of the gate. Gotta take your lumps so to speak. Most children have the perspective that Mom or Dad always knew exactly what to do or say, but they often had to go through the same process.

P.S. My mom’s name was Nancy.

The look in stuffed bear’s face is perfect!

Nancy raised Luann and Brad and we saw how well they turned out*, and yet now the strip is trying to gaslight us into thinking she’s some kind of WonderMom.

*Remember, it took 9/11 to convince Brad to get off the sofa and make something of himself (before then he was happy to loaf around all day). I shudder to think what it will take to motivate Luann to do likewise.

I’ve heard it said that children are the grandparent’s revenge.

Yes, when it comes to things like this, we all hope to be better than “normal.”

Waffles, ice cream, pizza and olives. The four food groups.

Gentle consistent correction. “Spare the rod” doesn’t have to mean to hit but to guide the child.

To be fair – Brad and Toni are getting a ‘half raised kid’ that hasn’t been parented well by her dad.If B&T have kids they’ll be starting at ground zero and be able to parent their child in a way that Shannon hasn’t been.

Nancy is right. That’s just normal for young families.

Moms revenge, a dish best served…… Fun fun storyline, true to life warts and all!

Lesson one about parenting, it’s messy.

Brad will grow into the jiob.

Brad it’s gowing pains and small steps.

Time for a flash back to earlier strips, nobody did messy like the younger Brad.

At least he’s not pretending to know what he’s doing. He knows he needs help, and he’s talking to an expert about it.

And his mom is definitely an expert on the subject.

There is a learning curve to these things.

Thing is that you can do absolutely everything right as a parent…the child does not always turn out good.

A lot of women/people fantasize about how it will be like having kids. Then reality seeps in. If there were no strong biological urge, we would have been extinct a long time ago. I never had that urge ,no kids, best decision I ever made.

Anyone who thinks they are a “perfect parent,” really isn’t.

I wished for have-a-nap service back in the long ago. Some one like a baby sitter, but for mom to get a solid nap without worrying if baby was safe and sound.

The fact that you care matters most.