For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for June 14, 2021

Maybe the food needs more texture to it?

When my brother’s granddaughter J was a baby, her mother would be so inconsistent. One day J would be playing with her food & her mother would find it hysterical; the next day, J’s mother would get upset and yell at J for playing with her food; the NEXT day, it was funny again. (Long story short, J’s mom was abusive, & eventually my brother & his wife legally adopted J & raised her. Their son, J’s dad, is definitely in the picture, but J’s mom is pretty much not. J was eventually diagnosed on the Autism spectrum, and graduated from high school this past weekend.)

even if it is all over the place.

Now you just have to get them to EAT the food..

Don’t mean to sound like a voyeur, but in panel 4, does mom have her fly zipper undone?

Get a cheap kiddie pool and put the chair in the center!

Lynn’s Comments:

I just loved drawing the baby. Adding her to the strip added so much to everything. It gave all of the characters a whole new energy…even the dog!

As a parent I would tell Elly about this newfangled thing they have that they use for babies called a bib. I used one with my kids when they were eating and it was amazing how well it worked.

Toddler’s love playing in food just how much eaten?

My sister would stick her hands in soup, lick them and then wipe her hands in her hair. She was a hot mess as a little kid. LOL

Just feed them outside on the porch and hose them off afterward.

Definitely stretching the definition of “enjoying a good meal”……

She’s looking on the bright side- – -I think she needs to.

Farley will take care of that mess.

My kids never behaved like that when they were 1 year old. I gave them some guidance about how to eat though. Elly mostly ignores this kid.

Lynn ripped off the Simpsons, oops I mean took inspiration from the Simpsons, as they had a baby as well and the show was at the apex of its popularity when April was introduced.

When my kids were this age, I found it was better to wipe off and strip down the messy baby before you pick up the messy baby, or you will get a mess all over your own clothes. This doesn’t seem to bother Elly one bit.

Just put a plastic drop cloth under the high chair. That’s what I did with my two boys. Easy peasy clean up and NO mopping of the kitchen floor or cleaning of the carpet!

Side One, Band Two of the Ramones’ first album comes to mind……

A war buddy of mine was a bachelor his entire 20 years in the service. Following his retirement he got married and soon afterwards had a baby. People were gossiping “Why is a man in his 40s chasing after a baby, is he out of his mind?” Well, he still had the physical stamina to take on this challenge, and besides, it was none of the gossipers’ business when another man decides what point in his life he should take care of a wife and kids.