For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for February 18, 2024

For the original with Elizabeth doing the same thing:

https://Www.Gocomics.Com/forbetterorforworse/2015/05/31

We have entered the age where April has started to get hand-me-downs from Elizabeth.

This is hilarious.

What is John doing, anyway??

From Lynn’s Comments: My husband was a do-it-your-selfer, so we always had a good supply of tools around the house. One day I found my daughter undoing all the screws she could find. The following day, I caught her trying to take the license plate off the car. It was then that I realized she was going to be a handy person, too. We just had to wait until she was old enough to figure out how to put things together as well as take them apart!

Gee. Maybe you should keep an eye on your kid.

My sister was at work when her phone rang, saw it was a call from mom so she answered it with, “Hi mom!” The first thing our then 80yr old mom asked was, “Where is the sledge hammer?” Of course little sister responded with a surprized, “What!?!” To which our dear sweet mother replied, “Oh! Never mind, I know where its at, Bye!” And hung up leaving my sister just muttering to herself, “Oh no! Oh no!” Tru story!

What DIS is for? It’s for DISassembly.

OMG…

This is the sign of a smart child.

Now, what is she going to do with that saw? Perhaps behead all her dolls?

My dad was over at a friends home. His 4 year old daughter saw his keys and picked them up. On the key ring was a P-38 can opener. He showed her how to use it. Hours later it was too quiet. Into the kitchen they found she was sitting quietly opening every can she could reach.

Reminds me of a VRBO we rented. The toilet leaked, too.

A little more parental supervision would be in order here. :P

Now teach her how to put the screws back in.

Better not. Chaos will ensue.

When my neice was 3, she would go around any house they visited, looking for loose screws or knobs, which she would then remove. “What have you got, honey? Crap. She found a loose knob. Check for missing hardware!”

Use your newfound power to use tools wisely, young one. My first thought was ‘get that kid an Erector set’… and her own assortment of Band-Aids.

Elly: “NO!!!”

This is just plain hilarious!

NO!!!!!

Yeah Dad show what the saw does, there is still furniture standing.

APRIL MAY IN JUNE START MOWING GRASS!

Just wondering how April got to the upper kitchen cabinet?

Oh, dear, someone gave April a wrench or a screwdriver.

I wouldn’t want her within 100 feet of that saw

Okay this one made me laugh out loud. I was thinking “well that is quite a lot of coincidences adding up to one bad day….”

I use to do similar. Remove screws from kitchen chairs and table. I once took apart the old wind up alarm clock. No one appreciated that talent. And yes, out my self thru college as a mechanic to become a teacher.

I am the oldest of 7. 5 boys.

Dad would hide his tools from us. Sooner or later, we’d find them.

“Oh. ?? Dad, put his hacksaw on top of the ductwork. Wonder why he left it there?” Now I know.

When something went missing…“Not me. I didn’t have it.”

Next week: April asks John how to operate his sports car.

Monster kid at it again. How did she do all that especially the toaster, with no one watching her?

Before Lynn wrote this, perhaps she should have learned how and where one can and cannot use a hack saw.

Doesn’t anyone keep eye on what she is doing that young?

I did the same thing as a child.

I see her calling in the future as the host of a Home Make-Over disaster show on HGTV!

Does he build his patients replacement teeth in his workshop?

I don’t know why some people gripe about Lynn Johnston’s portrayal of the Patterson family. To borrow a phrase from the Discovery Channel: “Life unscripted” applies here. How many people you know go through life with everything peaches and cream?

John shows april how to use a tool (screwdriver) and she goes around the house unscrewing everything she finds

Next thing to learn, impulse control

Aww, nuts!

I remember a news story back in the 80s about a two year old kid who got his hands on some power tools, and wrecked a lot of his house. His mom thought it was funny.

That poor woman doesn’t know her own strength.

Oh boy! :-D This reminds me of one of my brothers, who was mechanically adept from an extremely early age — although frighteningly, he required no assistance in mastering the screw. He figured that out all on his own, before figuring out how to walk. There were a lot of dismantled things in our house.

Note the screwdriver by April’s OTHER hand.She’s been running amok with it.

My grandfather had 4 boys and didn’t really know what to do with the first grandchild being a girl, so he taught me to use tools! Best grandpa ever!