Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for April 21, 2010

If Max is 3, he should be talking by now.

That is true, how long has he been three years old? Six?

What is in that drink of yours, Val? I hate it when parents try to rationalize their kids bad behavior.

Max talks.

At least, he did for that run last year when he fell out of the tree and landed on his head.

Max some sort of problem where he won’t speak for some reason….He looooves Wally though.

“Why can’t they be like we were Perfect in every way, What’s the matter with kids today?”

I will tell you what the problem is with kids Lewreader..or at least with teenagers

Aliens, that is all I can figure, some scary alien creature takes over the poor unsuspecting teen then wham bam you have some hormonal raged, cranky know-it-all storming through the house.

Geez I miss those younger days.

Max can walk and even run. He’s just now loving Wally knowing he did something bad. I agree about most children being sweet. Depends on parents children learn what parents teach them. Parents smoke, talk bad, or drink guess what kids will do. Also kids will pick up what others do in classrooms. For kids parents who don’t do that guess where their own kids pick it up. I am fortunate when mine where small they may have picked up at school but didn’t bring it home. Although with my daughter she got so tired of being blamed for something she didn’t do because another girl would whisper just loud enough to get my daughter in trouble and it worked every time the teachers never caught on no mater what my daughter would tell them and this was in hs she was so glad to get away from her. She like it so much better in college.

Not all kids talk when they are 3. My youngest didn’t talk until he was 4, but learned to read shortly afterwards. My husband said our son would sit under the table and move his lips practicing to talk for months before he spoke. The first time he spoke, it was a sentence. He’s fantastic at spelling & reading now, but always likes to plan what he’s going to say, before he begins to speak. Main things to watch for when you have a child who isn’t talking yet - Can they hear (and not just read lips)? Do they comprehend what you are saying (without motions)? If so, don’t get worried if they are slower than most, although it doesn’t hurt to get them checked out by a professional, if you think there could be a problem.

I agree w/Rmom. My younger one skipped experimenting with walking. She took her own sweet time and then one evening got up and walked across the room as if she’d been doing it for years.

Some kids just hit these developmental markers when they’re good and ready. Deal with it….

First of all, Albert Einstein didn’t talk until he was 4. They thought he was retarded.

Secondly, Max CAN talk. He’s said a few words here and there in the strip.

Is this a rerun? Or does this strip still come out?

Tinker Me said, about 11 hours ago

If Max is 3, he should be talking by now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My son is 5 (almost 6) and does not talk very well. He has been diagnose with Speech Apraxia (Apraxia of Speech) and speaks at about a 1-2 year old level. This goes along with some of the other delays he has. He has a small computer which we program for him which can speak when he touches the screen and has a good sign language vocabulary. He just cannot tlak as a normal 5-6 year old. However, he is quite inteligent and can understand when people talk to him. Whether he chooses to listen is another story … .

“parents spend the first few years teaching their children to walk and talk and then spend the next decade telling them to sit down and shut up.” anon.

Maybe Max just doesn’t have anything to say…

I’ve heard stories that the first words that came out of my grandfather’s mouth were the Lord’s Prayer

That last panel is cute with the little boy smiling.

Rachel7, this strip’s still going strong :)

and lightenup, remember Max isn’t Val’s kid but Joan’s. She’s probably being sarcastic too…