For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for September 21, 2023

Cut to the bone

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Contrary to what Dawn said, it appears that not only would Elly have not talked her out of getting the haircut, Elly would have approved of the haircut were she there at the haircutters watching Elizabeth get the cut.

So how many posters are disappointed Elly didn’t have a conniption?

When you get older April, you’ll understand how a haircut can hurt. ;/

I like the new ‘do. It’s way more fun and teenager-ish than the middle-agey no-style long hair Elizabeth had before. A bit of of gel and some highlights and her hair would look even better.

@Asharah- That’s why Elly is such an exceptional mom! Many adults don’t take the attitude of “been there, done that”, type of attitude with their children. They think that because they’re adults that they can walk on water!

I wonder if a little layering would help. The way it lays is terrible, while I usually like a blunt cut this just looks terrible.

Unlike a tattoo, hair mistakes fade away in a few months.

The only problem is it looks chopped off and not styled. Brush the bangs to the side….fix the hair so it’s turned under or layered. The length is cute but the cut looks like a friend did it, rather than a professional.

Panel 2: Yeah, that’s the absolute worst thing you could say to a young teen with angst.

SPOILER ALERT:

This same scenario will be repeated some years later when Elly decides to get a haircut.BTW, anyone notice that Elizabeth is developing physically?

As I’ve commented, Liz’s hair’ll be drawn right back the way it was. In real life, after many years, it doesn’t always happen that way…

When my daughter was about 14 she asked if she could color her hair. I told her that it was her hair & she could do as she liked. The only stipulation was that she had to pay for her own kits and clean the bathroom afterward. She’s 20 now. She’s been a redhead, has had black hair, black with different colored ends, and now she’s blonde. And she’s kept up her part of the bargain.

I did the same thing at 17. I cut off my almost to the belly button, dark brown/black hair into a punky asymmetrical cut up to my ears – shaved neck and sides, with long, covering my eyes and lower than the nose asymmetric fringe, that was bleach blonde in front and dark burgundy at the back.

My mom had the same reaction as Elly.

None.

This was 1980/81 and she had rocked the pixie cut since the early sixties, so she thought my hair was “cute”. I could have barfed lol!

I didn’t cry like Elizabeth, though. I just pulled on my Doc Martens, army jacket and Sex Pistols t-shirt, stuck a ciggy in my mouth and off I went downtown lol! Ahh, how I miss the eighties! ;-))

That’s the last thing she wants to hear from her MOTHER. :D

Leave it to April to say something so amusing.

Something that I observed during thirty years of teaching high school children -

Most boys are proud when someone tells them that they really look and act like their dads.

Most girls react strongly to being told that they look and act like their moms, saying (maybe to themselves), “I’m NOTHING like my mom! I will NEVER be like my mom!”

Fifteen or twenty years later, the girls say, “Hey. I’ve become my mom.” And they’re happy about it.

I love comics where little pre-school kids turn out to be wiser and smarter than the grown-ups.

The one time I DID cut my long hair short (Marine high and tight, from below butt length, rad, loved it! for a whole week.), it did hurt! Also took me a month to figure out how much shampoo/conditioner NOT to use…

April has a point there.

Elizabeth, it is from action, experimentation and living life to its fullest that gives one the best eduction. It also explains why there are so may dumb people in this world today.

Wow, self-inflicted insult to injury. Bad day for lizard breath.

Panel 2 is exactly the WRONG thing for Elly to say! Ouch.

Nice outfit on Elly, by the way./Teens don’t want to be told they look like their middle aged Mother.At least,not at first

Could Cru-Elly be any more cruel? Telling Liz that she now has a haircut that went out of style in the 19th Century!?

I like April’s hairdo much better than Elizabeth’s.

If Michael saw Elizabeth like that he might also be understanding. He might say something to the effect of “that picture of you with that hairdo will never be on the internet, if you don’t post certain pictures of me on Facebook”.

Liz’s haircut is so bad it makes her look younger than April!

Poor Elly. The ultimate shame!

And that’s how to handle it. She’s right, it is her hair, and she’s old enough to be making non life-threatening decisions for herself. 100 years or so ago she’d be considered old enough by everyone, including herself, to run a household. Well, maybe 150 years in the US at large, but 100 in some places including where I was born.

That’s the difference between a teenager and a tiny tot.

For cryin out loud, hair grows! In a few weeks, she’ll have figured out how to style it and gain confidence. My mom NEVER let me have long hair; cause it was easier for her! Fitting in and being in style was never a factor in my parents decision about me or my clothes. Its why I moved out at age 18. (my sister & brother, on the other hand, had free rein, go figure)

She could have done that at home and saved the money. The stylist should have at least feathered it some and made it not look so “lopped off”.

Enivabeff !!! The best