For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for April 12, 2013

John . . . just . . .just shut up! Not helping!

Actually, he’s right. It IS a competition!

BenderSastre seems to have hatred-of-men issues.

And that right there is why so many women from that generation ended up hooked on legal narcotics.

“Open mouth, insert foot.”

I remember when birthday parties became a competition like that. I felt kind of left out ‘cuz I knew I’d never have something that cool. Of course, now: I don’t care.

This generation as well! If you get cheap (or no) goodie bag stuff, have a bad craft, aren’t super-creative and don’t have 10-20 kids at $20 per kid, your party is no good. Many parents are nice about it, but it is all a competition and I am NOT the best Mom.

i see that in Canada in this comic they have the same ideas aka ,competition as in America that competition is what is “life” concept. n,ever about smell the roses and live and love for today, but “mine is better than yours” bs. that is most of our lives and society’s misconstrued sense of values.what a waste of life. the one with the most toys wins!

Why does Michael have a receding hairline?

I agree the whole thing becomes a competition to see who can throw the best party (in other words spend the most money). It’s so frustrating when you don’t have the money to spend. Even a church potluck becomes this way with the women trying to outdo each other as to what they bring. I’m a competitive person but some things ought not to be a competition!

I think it all has to do with their initial reaction and being able to relate to Ellie in certain moments. I am married to a wonderful man and I took his comment as simply that: a commentary on the issue of how mom’s feel the need to impress one another. It was funny. But I am generally happy and satisfied… BUT, if you are unhappy in general, you will see this with a negative p.o.v. and will view John as an @$$ pointing out something that is stressful for Ellie. People superimpose their own beliefs/reactions onto the characters!

Pony rides! I want pony rides! And video games for prizes, and a store bought 10 layer cake with sparklers on it, and fireworks at dark…that it spells out “Happy Birthday” to me.

You want to pay for a magician, John?

Man, did you hit the nail on the head. That is so true!!

I would go retro and have hotdogs,potato chips and soda. play some games and the winner gets a prize. I used to get a huge cake so everyone could take a piece home. Good times!!!

And now over-the-top birthday parties are the norm. My neighbor has a business that does parties specifically for children. The child version costs $625 and is 90 minutes for 12 children. It includes tables, linens (yes, for a child’s party), cupcakes and beverages. It also has a craft activity. There is also a 1st birthday party for $750, which includes a monogrammed bib for the birthday child.Unbelievably, her business is booming. I think it’s ridiculous.

That’s the same question I’ve been asking myself about b-day parties here in Argentina. Why the h… do the parents’ work colleagues have to be invited to a two-year-old’s party, complete with sushi and a DJ? What ever happened to “let the kid have a nice day”?

‘Lots of thin skins here’

This is also the strip where Michael sprayed the dog with a a hose and commenters wanted him flayed for animal abuse, so, yeah. Lots of thin skin.

El, THIS IS NOT ABOUT “TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE JONES”! IF YOU WANT MICHAEL TO HAVE FRIENDS WHO DON’T GET BORED THEN THROW A PARTY FOR THE KID! HIRING AN ENTERTAINER OR THROWING A PIZZA PARTY IS NOT OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE!!! IF YOU’RE WEALTHY ENOUGH TO HAVE KIDS, YOU"RE WEALTHY ENOUGH TO GIVE THEM SOME OF THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE!!! YOU’RE NOT SPOILING THEM UNLESS IT BECOMES EXCESSIVE AND IT IS DONE CONSTANTLY!!!! DON"T BE A PENNY PINCHING CHEAPO PARENT!!!!

GREAT observations Jpipard, couldn’t have said it better myself. I only read the comments on this one strip just to see how ridiculous the comments are for the day at hand. Chill out people and enjoy the humour – that’s what it’s for.

My son had 2 friends who put on big birthday parties each year. One had a mom who micromanaged everything, coming up with themes, hiring entertainment, etc. The other just invited a bunch of kids who hung out, played games, whatever, until the cake and presents, no parent involvement other than serving food and general monitoring for safety.

Guess which one my son preferred?

“May the best mom win” sounds like tacit approval to spend what it takes to win. John doesn’t have a clue how women’s minds work.

Just remember John, you’re footing the bill in this competition.

John won’t have such a cavalier attitude once he gets the bills.

Touche’ John!

You said what I have been thinking for quite a while.

Looks like Michael is losing his hair already…

Jon, Jon, Jon, Jon, Jon!!!…No, no, no, no, no!!!

my son just turned 18 this week … his “party” was several friends meeting at Taco Bell – his fav place of eats – and he was the suggester of it … he had 3 “schoolmates” show up early but left because they did not want to wait 15 min for him – he was running late with his sister … well, the rest of us did fine. I was very proud of him … told him I was happy he was able to live this long … because infanticide is against the law and orange jumpsuits clash with my hair style. ;-))

Looking back it really depends on the party and effort. One of the best remembered birthday parties for me was where a magician was hired who did neat tricks such as drive a nail through a mirror or burn a $20 bill then hand it back unscathed (he marked the $20 with a star to prove that he did not switch them out). Being a kid, I had no idea how expensive it was, but the value of having both astonished kids and parents alike was worth it.