Frazz by Jef Mallett for August 22, 2012

Frazz and Caulfield appear to be on the same wavelength.

priceless

My kids never had any tantrums. In order for your kids to have them, YOU have to teach them. I don’t think most people should be allowed to have kids…and anybody who thinks their ‘sanity’ is saved by an electronic sugar tit to placate their homegrown bullies aren’t really very bright AT ALL.

Rechargeable batteries and a car charger.

Or the parents who get tired of the kid asking “Are we there yet?” while inflicting 4 to 6 hours of “car games” that were inflicted on the adults when they were growing up. And do not bother with the “books” idea, because quite a few people get car sick when reading books in the car.

Gotta agree with tigre1 here: if the kid’s throwing tantrums that can only be remedied by the application of electronic distractions, then the parents haven’t done their primary job. One of the most important lessons kids learn as they grow up is that the universe was not created for their personal convenience and comfort. Sorry. There will be times when there’s “nothing to do” and you will just have to amuse yourself. There will be times when you have to do what somebody else wants rather than what you want. Like drive across the country to see your great-aunt one more time before she dies. Parents who take the easy way out and distract the kids with electronic baby-sitters are shirking their duties.

The comment Frazz made about tantrums being entertaining, shows a lack of maturity on his part. Being a parent myself, I feel bad for other parents when I see a tantrum. Depending on how it is handled by said parent, I sometimes feel bad for the future of the child.RE: my comment to zoidknight yesterday. I was simply trying to point out that video games are not and should not be the only source of entertainment for kids. Yes if you put any child in a car of 4-6 hours, they will get bored. Electronic gadgets have their place in this world and my child is not banned from games, TV or movies. He is limited on these things for his OWN good. As a parent that is my job. I don’t like when someone acts like it’s ‘creul and unusual punishment’ for me to want to raise a well rounded individual.

Sir, your reply was fantastic: well thought and well written… that is until the last two sentences, when you decided to insult fellow board members. You should really take a couple of deep breaths before posting.

I still think this is gonna mess up Frazz’s karma….Kids don’t have to throw tantrums to drive other people, parents, siblings, pets crazy. From silence to sarcasm, they have a full tool belt!

Kids who grow up doing whatever they want tend to turn out bad. They have parents for a reason. Too bad so many parents let them down.

Notsoastute: When my daughter was just past toddler, we were grocery shopping. A kid threw a tantrum and was rewarded by getting his way. You could see her gears whirring and soon she threw one. I picked her up, put my hand over her mouth, walked to the car, and asked, “That didn’t work, did it?” She tearfully agreed it didn’t and I never had any such problem again, except for the occasional, “Do you want to go to the car?” Even at that age, kids understand logic.

… or you could make frequent stops to see attractions on the way to your destination. Granted, that can only be done on a route with such, but still. ;-)

Tantrums might not be cool, but as you know, having no portable video game device isn’t going to kill the kid. In fact, it will help him have a more “real” experience on the trip. He’ll forget about the games soon enough.

To all those saying that they were able to amuse themselves in the car for 6 or more hours when they were growing up — were you also strapped into a car seat or shoulder belt for that length of time? I would venture to say that the answer to that is, “no”. Most of us were able to get up and move around in the back of the car while on a trip. Now, allowing children to do that would make us evil parents and also subject to tickets and fines. I’ve got no problem with a child amusing himself with a video game or other entertainment while restrained in a car on a long trip. Interaction is still possible and happens quite frequently even in those cases.

The fact that Frazz took it upon himself to put a dead battery in the game system of a child who trusted him betrays a lack of maturity.

Be sure to remove all paper and pencils. You don’t want kids drawing cartoons or creating art when there’s trees to see. Everybody knows cartooning isn’t a valid occupation, like say computer programming or game development, which is why you should deprive all kinds of their tech so they never develop an interest in them and become social outcasts.

Yup, looking at an endless stream of blurry trees while trapped in a car forced to go places that you have no input in choosing is SO much better.

Must agree. Have a 5 year old grandson .. you think you’re going to do a lot of interactive stuff with them, until you find out you don’t have the energy. Frazz is a little judgemental in the passive-aggressive way. In the real world you can get real grief for that.

Congratulations you proved yourself the brat with the name calling.

@bigpuma Thought you should know that someone else agrees with you, even if I don’t take the time to comment. Started reading this comic when I lived in Michigan 10 years ago and would probably have stopped if not for readers’ comments. Keep up the commenting, I enjoy your contrarian commentary

“I have never been in an arena in which people were less open to seeing others’ points of view.” Most of the people here are open to other points of view; just because they don’t agree with yours doesn’t make them wrong. “I’ve hung around, thinking that one day I’d find at least a few people who see things as I do. Well, today’s the day.” Okay, you got your wish. Unfortunately, that does’ seem to be enough for you; you’re still around in 2017 beating the same dead horse. If that many people disagree with you, just MAYBE the problem isn’t them.