For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for August 06, 2011

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    hsawlrae  over 13 years ago

    OK, now, where’s the trash barrell?

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    Francine Long  over 13 years ago

    Couldn’t they have left them with a grandparent or two or put them in a boarding school arrangement? So far as I can see they have made the trip a very unpleasant, tension filled endeavor. Glad I wasn’t part of the trip.

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    harmgb  over 13 years ago

    In 1960 I made a similar trip by train with my parents…. (Ann Arbor to Seattle) My brother and I, ages 3 and 6, didn’t make the trip terribly unpleasant (say my parents), but they kept us on a fairly tight rein. We also didn’t have beds, just the reclining seats. Puppybreath, this IS a comic, with obligatory exaggeration….

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    Allan CB Premium Member over 13 years ago

    Puppy and martin … they are going to Vancouver to visit the grandparents. why would they leave the kids at home?! .. ladyfinger – no, spanking (for discipline, not out of anger) is a good method of teaching a child to behave. DO NOT over do it … no more then 10 swats with a bare hand is MORE than enough. I know, I was spanked, and I was beaten with wooden spoons… the bare hand was the one I remember the most. Children today are too coddled and over protected. Family & Children Services should be called “We over protect children, so we can have a job Society.”

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    keltii  over 13 years ago

    Childrens services was called last year by my nieghbour, because i was yelling at my daughter! My daughter is 15 and didn’t come home, hows that for a society when I can’t even do that!

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    arye uygur  over 13 years ago

    If a child does something wrong, ask, “Which hand did it?” When the child shows you that hand, give it one slap. That should be an onject lesson. When I was a kid, my mom would destroy something of mine, say a 78 RPM record. THAT was WORSE than a beating!

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    Francine Long  over 13 years ago

    Hi SUSAN NEWMAN. Usually I agree with everything you post. You are a pretty incisive person (lady, I’m supposing) but in this case I really think the kids were generally out of control and roaming the train bothering people and making things stressful not only for the parents but for other passengers. Of course, the parents should have kept a tighter rein on the kids.

    Ladyfinger No, spanking is NOT child abuse unless it becomes abusive. An open palm on the fanny a few times has shock value but does no damage to the child. I received a few swats when I was growing up as did my friends. It wasn’t child abuse, it was then considered “good parenting”.

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    sbeavin  over 13 years ago

    BS

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    tuslog64  over 13 years ago

    Don’t know why disipline draws such a crowd. By the time I came along, spankings were no longer allowed in schools, but I received a number of switchings at home. As a result, I was a bit rough on the first one, but due to influence of Spock etc, became easier on them as time went on. Now for the results: Oldest: (#1 m) is now a mechanical engineer with degree from Univ. Illinois. (#2 f) is now an RN (#3 m) has a degree in education from Western Illinois University and is a high school teacher. (#4 m) Barely made it through High School, failure to launch.

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    psychlady  over 13 years ago

    About time something vaguely resembling discipline came to the surface.

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    ChappellGirl5  over 13 years ago

    “Spanking = child abuse.”actually it doesn’t, a friend was investigated for child abuse because her kids were screamers & a neighbor called child welfare, when I was interviewed I was asked if I’d seen any sign of abuse, I told the man that all I’d seen were some swats on the behind & he told me that spanking on the behind was not considered abuse

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    anschimpf  over 13 years ago

    Some times the threat of a spanking works wonders too. When I was about 5 & my brother 7 we were near St. Rose du Lac in Manitoba and my brother swore at my dad. Dad, driving our camper down a narrow 2 lane highway, slammed on the brakes, hopped out, walked around the truck to where my brother was sitting, hauled him out, spanked him & shoved him back in the truck before continuing on our way.After that all dad had to say was do you want a St. Rose du Lac? It was the shock value that did it.

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    TexTech  over 13 years ago

    Not if you ask nicely.

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    kathrynismerry  over 13 years ago

    Ladyf: I’m not quite with you, but not quite apart from you either. Spanking is not equal to child abuse. However, JA’s angry comment coupled with his God-Complex avatar definitely would make you think that if he were the one administering the spanking, it would be abuse.

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    lightenup Premium Member over 13 years ago

    About discipline, I think it depends on the child. I was over-spanked when I was a child (with hands, yardsticks, spoons, switches, whatever was convenient). I didn’t learn a thing other than to avoid my parents and lie a lot. I don’t think I was a terrible child, I just was normally curious and tried stuff.My older child is calm, kind and mostly rational. I never spanked her, partly due to her nature, partly because I wanted to try everything else before spanking. She mostly does the right thing and I feel good about how I raised her. My younger one has a lot more energy and seems to do the opposite of what she’s told. She’s gotten a couple of swats (she calls them spankings, but it was really only one or two swats per incident and there have only been probably less than 10 incidents), but I don’t think they were really effective. Honestly, people who think that spanking is the only answer for well-behaved children are really just lazy. It takes a lot of energy, patience and creativity to raise good kids. If you don’t figure out what the real problem is and address it in the right way, you won’t get the results you want with spanking. I get compliments all the time about my kids’ behavior, and I consider myself a non-spanker. But if that works for others, fine, I don’t judge what others do as long as you are happy with the results. Quit judging, everyone!

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    Gretchen's Mom  over 13 years ago

    I wouldn’t put up with an arguing either. But if I were Elly, I’d be asking Michael and Lizzie that if they loved these toys enough to bring them along on our trip, then why would they want to leave them behind when they get off the train in Vancouver? Because that’s exactly what would happen if they weren’t packed and ready to go by the time we reached our destination.

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    MitmanArt  over 13 years ago

    Spanking is not abuse. Sheesh — this is what our nanny government is coming to.

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    alviebird  over 13 years ago

    I’m all for spanking. But only as punishment, not retaliation. If you are angry, wait a bit. The waiting can be pretty effective in itself. It gives the child time to consider what is about to happen, and why.

    On a side note: Have you ever noticed that you do not have to hurt a child to make them think they are hurt? With some children, just a little swat will make them scream and carry on. All they need is just the idea that they have been spanked.

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    solticeart  over 13 years ago

    uh.. this is a comic.. not real… did ya all forget that.. that wasn’t real kids on a train it was her imagination.. shesh

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    psychlady  over 13 years ago

    This is a Rerun!!!

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