For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for June 24, 2010

Question:

If you are preparing supper for someone and they come in and hit the potato chips, don’t you think that is rude?

thebird55 yep just a bit. Depends on how much they eat though. A handful of chips might not harm the appetite and they might be really hungry.

If the kids just can’t wait the 10 minutes until dinner’s ready I give them a few raisins, that’s usually enough.

Bog off spamming halfwit.

I would consider any pre-supper item to be an appetizer.

I think the issue is, it’s a neighbor doing it while mom ain’t around - presumably the kids are over at the neighbor’s house. The only way to control that is to ask the neighbor not to give snacks to the kids. I mean, have you ever heard of a kid who, when offered a treat would say, “No thanks, we’re having dinner in 10 minutes, and I wouldn’t want that ice cream to interfer with my Brussell’s Sprouts.”

I always say…never eat on an empty stomach.

Make a good dinner and if the kids don’t snack all day, one treat before the meal should not make a difference on how they eat.

Mrs. Baird should not give Michael and Lizzie the ice creams. Mrs. Baird is too spoiled on the kids and should be aware that the kids were supposed to have the supper to eat first. Tch!

Today’s “For Better or For Worse” Dinner Menu:

Ice cream bars for an appetizer Chinese Spam for dessert

Mike’s pretty astute to hear sarcasm in Ellie’s voice. I don’t remember paying that much attention to voice tone when I was his age. I’m not sure I understood such a thing as sarcasm. Maybe I misremember but I was quite a literal little brat back then.

Elizabeth’s little smiles are priceless.

Just to be clear. I wasn’t talking about children. And not a one time thing, but a habit.

I was lucky enough to belong to an “eat dessert first family!”

While Mrs. Baird thinks she’s doing something nice for Michael and Lizzie by giving them a special treat on a hot summer’s day, I think Elly needs to kindly (but firmly) talk to her neighbor and request that she not do this — especially when it’s so close to dinnertime.

And if the neighbor won’t abide by Elly’s wishes … then maybe this stay-at-home mom ought to do a better job at keeping an eye on her kids and keep them at home too!

I think all adults that want to give other people’s kids snacks should first ask the parents! I hate it when people do this! Drives me nuts.

arsmall hits the nail squarely on the head.

And kids may not be able to put their finger on what is going on with sarcasm or be able to name it, but many recognize it for what it is. Clearly a plain spoken conversation with Mrs. Baird is what is called for. But the bottom line may be that the kids have to ask Mom before accepting goodies from neighbours.

I know I’m showing my age, but that would have worked when I was a child. We wouldn’t have liked it, but we would have set Mrs. Baird straight, politely. We can’t, until Mom says so.

If the kids get the kind of dinner MY mom made, they’d rather have anything else. I became a really good cook BECAUSE my mom could even burn a TV dinner (and thought it was OK to serve it anyway). I cooked ALL the family meals from at least 7th grade (around 1948).

thebird55, I know and agree - a grown-up ought to be able to wait a few minutes.

About kids and sarcasm, they normally read tone of voice very easily. I can imagine Elly’s tone in that Great!