For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for November 21, 2011

That never happened in my house. I think I’m better for it. (I was the youngest)

Dominos is not a game for Elizabeth yet! Poor Michael!

It teaches nothing to let the other win. And it isn’t fun to play to lose.

Oh, sure, then as Elizabeth gets older, she’ll think she’s entitled to win and succeed at everything she tries. Kids are messed up enough today. Don’t make it worse!

Teaches nothing if they always get their way, Plus what r they learning if they always win. No wonder a lot of kids don’t get a long even as adults…

No fun being the biggest…until you are an adult; unless biggest means grossly rotund.

I’m waiting for the middle kids to chime in now. The oldest gets to do everything first and they get everything new. The youngest might get away with more. It all evens out eventually. Personally, I think the important thing is that both kids learn how to treat their siblings with respect and kindness, even if they disagree with each other. That’s all I expect from mine, especially since my sister and I don’t get along at all, even now that we’re adults. Sad…

game rules for redarmrest’s household:play fair, no cheatingno quitting the game just because you are losing.be good sports (I taught all six of my nieces and nephews to shake hands and sincerely say “good game.” I’ll soon be teaching the seventh to do the same.)and the winner is not allowed to gloat.

Letting kids win – and even worse coercing elder siblets to let younger ones win – is some of the worst parental advice this comic has delivered til now. Hope your newly-born grandchild never will have to live with something like that in real life, Lynn Johnston.

I usually like this strip—a lot!—but this one couldn’t leave me colder. That little girl is going to grow up believing a fantasy, and when reality hits, it’s going to be very hard. Mom’s not doing her any favors.

I’m not entirely out of this zone yet; I’m 14, with a ten year old brother. So get used to it, Michael.

family dynamics. what fun.

We already know how Elizabeth appears as an adult…comments?

So Michael is supposed to beat her everytime because Lizzie is just too young to win, and totally destroy any sense of self-worth? It is not to let her win every time, but only to recognize that you don’t have to run up the score just because you are stronger/bigger/brighter.

This is excellent parenting advice and the way a parent needs to live in relation to their own children.

I am SHOCKED by the criticisms of today’s strip!

EWW!, PANNEL TWO. WASH HAND MIKE!! CUZ MOMMY HAVE TROUBLE WITH KIDS :/

I hear ya Michael! :)

Being the youngest by 11 years, I also got hand me downs. Only problem was, the olders were twin girls! OK, I got new undies, but got the jeans and shirts.

I think that’s your negative impresssion, Duck. (That it’s bad parenting.) The humor, in my opinion comes from everyday situations that are often frustrating and/or painful in a way that helps us laugh at them. I know you have spent a great deal of time studying FBOFW, essentialy, as literature and may know more about Lyn than I do, but I find that in most cases her characters have done a pretty good job of raising kids and becoming responsible adults. They have faced many of the same questions we in the real world have faced and made some of the same mistakes, but to blanketly call FBOFW bad parenting is I think terribly unfair and inaccurate.

If Lizzie is too young for the game of dominoes then they should play something more suited for children her age that she actually has a chance of winning. Forcing Michael to cheat in her favor by deliberately losing will only make him resent her more than he already (sometimes) does and it sends the wrong message to Lizzie that the world revolves around her and that everyone is always going to let her “win” no matter what she does.

dsom8 said, about 5 hours ago

“So Michael is supposed to beat her everytime because Lizzie is just too young to win, and totally destroy any sense of self-worth”

What an absolute load of pap! Knowing and acknowledging failure is a part of human development. Without it, what is “self-worth”, really worth?

The right way to handle this, Lynn, is to get them playing a game that Elizabeth has a fair chance of winning on her own, such as Chutes and Ladders. Parents, if you want to play a game with your children and give them a good chance to win, try the old game Concentration, with a deck of cards. They’ll focus on it better than you or I would and remember where the cards are, and that’s the key to winning.

Baloney. This is how you create a weak, whiny girl. She has to learn how to beat him herself, and she needs to learn to respect other people’s property.

I had a daughter and two sons. My older two never let the youngest one win. I thought he had to be taught to play fair and square, not throw tantrums if he lost.

There is always a down side for being the older sibling…

@gobblinupYAY for middle kids!!!! :-)

I can’t recall being told this with my brother – but I don’t recall us playing together much. I was in school by the time he was old enough, and we didn’t do board games that I remember. Plus – dominos are too small for someone that young!