For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for February 08, 2013

The beginning of the ‘latch-key kid’, of which I was a member. ;)

Yeah, Right!!

Or so we thought!

they should have talked about this before she went to work,on a “just in case” type of thing. Since I was a single mom my kids all knew to go to a neighbors house until I got home, which was only about 10 minutes after they did. The oldest also had a key to the house “just in case”.

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I bet she’s pretty angry with him now.

Sadly, if a child goes to the wrong neighbor’s house, that child is never seen again.

Time to get the kid his own house key!

He could’ve gone to Connie’s couldn’t he? Or Mrs. B (I can’t remember her name). Don’t they live close?

duh

I’d have to remind my son what to do everyday

Could have been that Elly’s lessons of not talking to strangers came back to bite her. Michael probably avoided going to a neighbor’s house because he did not know them. (Though I wonder how come Lawrence did not invite him over, maybe Lawrence needed to get going to the ophthamologist or somewhere).

Did she ever TELL him to go to a neighbors if she were to be late? She seems be assuming he would know to do it. He isn’t old enough to figure that out. Besides, you can’t count, and shouldn’t, on neighbors even being home!When I was a little girl (in the 60s) a friend used to come over everyday after school to “play.” Turns out her mother worked and told her daughter to come over to my house. My mother finally caught on and talked to the mother, since my mother was not free childcare!

He could go to Anne’s. Elly has more friends than just Connie. Or Mrs. Baird’s (she still has her house at this point).

He’s John’s son for sure!

You people are way too serious to be reading comics. This isn’t an advice column just a mosaic of life

We had an emergency key to the back door. To get it, you had to hop the 5-foot chain-link fence, brave the affections of our St. Bernard and 200lb Newfie-mix, and fetch the key from it’s magnetic container attached to the underside of the Newfie’s water dish, usually requiring you to refill said dish in the process.

Common sense may not be as common as you think. :-D

“Kids, if you want some funMr. LaPage is your man…”.- Steely Danhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahmvHAGb6pc

I hope Ellie feels guilty!

One way guilt trip for Elly.

http://youtu.be/Uer8DD-3MYY

Since it’s doubtful that a "Just in case I’m not home from my job yet before you get home from school, this is what you should do . . . " conversation ever took place, Michael probably never even thought about going to a neighbor’s house to wait because he was too panic-stricken at getting home and finding his mother not there (like she always had been), he was locked out of the house and he didn’t know what else to do except stand there and wait, hoping she’d get home soon.

So one of two things are most likely going to happen now: Elly’s either going to feel guilty that on her first day on the job, her kids are already being neglected by her or she’s going to yell at Michael for not having enough common sense to go to a friend or neighbor’s house until she got home — even though she most likely never told him to do that.

I’ve always been the old one out, when I had to get glasses I was really excited. the first time I was called four eyes, I was quick with the comeback. Better four eyes than no brain. Since I was quick like that I didn’t get bothered much anymore.

My parents didn’t think I needed a door-key while Grandma was still alive. The problem was Grandma had the habit of locking all the doors and would then go take a nap right around the time I would come home from school. It is not fun to have to bang on the door and scream at the top of your lungs for what seems like an eternity before she gets there to let me in. And it is an eternity when you’re like 8 years old and desperately in need of a bathroom.

I’ve been on both sides of this situation. So I couldn’t help but laugh at the comic strip. Stuff happens!

Yes, but Mrs. Baird was obviously very close to the family despite not being mentioned much. Just look at the series later on when she sells her house and moves to a nursing home.