For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for March 10, 2015

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    Ol Skool  over 9 years ago

    deprived my butt. get out there and mow the lawn

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    Robert Nowall Premium Member over 9 years ago

    Ranks of the depraved.

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    Wren Fahel  over 9 years ago

    To think, if he did that nowadays, some nosy neighbor would call Child Services on the family. I read a story once about a family that was reported because the mother let her children play in their back yard…WHILE SHE STAYED INSIDE! Never mind the fact that she had a clear view of the back yard from a large kitchen window. Another family was reported because they let their children walk 1/2-block away to a playground. These are not babies, either, but kids around 10 years old-ish.

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    freeman1952  over 9 years ago

    In the “olden days” children were taught and presented with responsibility at an earlier age. Nowadays some government entity dictates “children” are the responsibility of their parents until 26 years of age! Assuming, of course, that their parents take any responsibility for them at all and not just leave it to the State.

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    flagmichael  over 9 years ago

    My mother was a schizophrenic (by today’s standards, but not at the time) and profoundly neglectful. Police were called to investigate a couple of times but nothing ever changed. Truly a different time.

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    Can't Sleep  over 9 years ago

    So many of you take this strip seriously.I see the joke (yes, it is a joke), as Mike having a great time being in what some people consider ‘deprived’ conditions.-(Hmmm. A kid home alone…Wonder what would happen if burglars showed up… I know! A hit movie.)

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    summerdog86  over 9 years ago

    I wasn’t neglected, it was more like…ignored.

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    JanLC  over 9 years ago

    Lynn’s Notes:

    Michael, being five years older than Elizabeth, was allowed to stay at home alone for a couple of hours after school — before his mother came home from work. The sitter (and good friend) lived next door and kept an eye on him, but still, I got complaints about this “unhealthy situation.”

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    USN1977  over 9 years ago

    I had been a latchkey kid for certain times during my childhood. My father was also in the Navy and could be at sea for extended terms. My mother worked as well, selling underwear and ladies’ lingerie in a department store. In the morning I would get a “to-do list”, such as “scrub the toilets”, “wash the dishes”, “feed the puppy” and so forth. If not everything got done, I was often disciplined when mom & dad found out. Many of my friends had one or both parents at home because there were many home businesses in my community. So they were always greeted by their folks when they got home. They thought I was lucky and thought being a latchkey kid meant I could skip homework, blast loud music, eat unhealthy food, play video games, et cetera. They were seeing it through Michael’s jaundiced eye. In actuality, it often got lonely for me being in the house by myself, and today I thank my parents were demanding I help out around the house when they were working.

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    poodles27  over 9 years ago

    Awwww…..poor baby!

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    K M  over 9 years ago

    It’s my understanding that the term “latchkey kid” is actually a little later than WWII, more like 50s or 60s, as kids who had their own door key were insulted for it by kids who had stay-at-home moms. Known at the time as “doorkey kids,” the term devolved into the adjective dorky and further into the pejorative dork. The term “latchkey kid” was supposedly invented to remove the dorkiness from having your own door key.

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    Tin Can Twidget  over 9 years ago

    I notice in today’s comments that apparently nobody noticed that Gordon hung up on Michael (panel 3). I wonder how long it will be before Gordon is at Michael’s house.

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    USN1977  over 9 years ago

    Imagine if Michael’s parents overheard him. It would be something like this…Elly and John are glowering at MichaelJohn: Your mother and I work our butts off at the clinic to provide you a roof over your head and you think you are deprived??Elly: You have got free meals, free laundry service and two built-in slaves in this house! Exactly how are you “among the ranks of the deprived”, Your Highness?

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    amber71  over 9 years ago

    When there’s a click in the third cel, Michael is turning on the TV using the remote. Then there are lines indicating sound coming from the TV.) The remote is in his right hand, and the phone receiver is held between his right ear and shoulder. At least, that’s what I see! And the TV Guide is propped up by the bed.

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    amber71  over 9 years ago

    When there’s a click in the third cel, Michael is turning on the TV using the remote. Then there are lines indicating sound coming from the TV.) The remote is in his right hand, and the phone receiver is held between his right ear and shoulder. At least, that’s what I see! And the TV Guide is propped up by the bed.

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    masnadies  over 9 years ago

    I was a latchkey kid at about the same age as Michael (from age 8 on), and very similar situation. We knew some of the people in the neighbourhood, in case I’d needed help, but I was on my own.

    Those were the best times EVER! I did my homework, made my own snacks, watched TV or read with no people in my house to stress me out.

    The term “latchkey kid” was pretty well-known in the late 70s/early 80s, and I think I might have known it was considered a sad situation by some, but I don’t think I could process why anyone wouldn’t LOVE to be home alone <3. I still can’t understand it. I love my mother very much, but too much of other people in the house was always hard on me, and my best days always included an hour or so that were all mine, and I could be myself.

    I totally got this!

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    Asharah  over 9 years ago

    I walked home from school by myself from the time I was seven. And frequently had to bang and yell to get in the house because my senile grandmother would lock all the doors and then go take a nap. I didn’t have a key until she actually died, which would have been 6th grade. That was over 40 years ago. And you know what. I SURVIVED! And now we claim kids can’t walk half a block without supervision? STUPID!

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