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1. 

   Macushlalondra said, 3 months ago

   That’s right. Then they find out it’s work and it’s not that much fun.

2. 

   Sheila said, 3 months ago

   Shoulda’ saved it for when he’s a teen

3. 

   mcveinot said, 3 months ago

   Meh, it never worked the first time here, the trickery, that is. They can smell work a mile away, lol!

4. 

   kfaatz925 said, 3 months ago

   I think it worked pretty well on me. I guess I didn’t have my work-radar tuned properly. ;)

5. 

   FishStix said, 3 months ago

   Old School: Give the kid the jobs you want him to do and he knows he’d best do them. Simple. Both sides know the rules.

   Modern: Scheme and trick and hope the kid does what he’s asked to do. And if he doesn’t, try to reason and cajole him into it.

   I like old school!

6. 

   EarlWash said, 3 months ago

   One thing to remember is, when they do as they are asked, be sure to follow up with complements even if their first try may not be all that perfect. Future acknowledgements with gentle corrections will help them feel good about themselves and may want to try even harder. Good first start, Elly.

7. 

   Ash said, 3 months ago

   flightsuit, this wasn’t supposed to be about you.

8. 

   legaleagle48 said, 3 months ago

   Old School: Give the kid the jobs you want him to do and he knows he’d best do them. Simple. Both sides know the rules.

   Modern: Scheme and trick and hope the kid does what he’s asked to do. And if he doesn’t, try to reason and cajole him into it.

   The problem with “Old School,” fishstix, is that it doesn’t really teach children to respect the importance of work. Telling a child that he has to do chores simply “because I said so, period” doesn”t make him or her more willing to work or appreciate its importance more; in fact, if anything, it can have the exact opposite effect; he or she will simply resent it and use any and every opportunity to avoid doing any work the minute his parents’ backs are turned. Trust me on this one.

   On the other hand, if you teach a child to LOVE work by making him feel that it makes him an important part of the family (which is the approach that Elly took), you won’t have to resort to standing over him or her armed with a razor strap and a “do it or DIE” look on your face. Your child will do his or her chores because he or she genuinely WANTS to do them – and, in fact, he or she will come to love them so much that he or she may even start doing other chores without even being asked.

   So, don’t knock “Modern School” methods until you’ve tried them!

9. 

   FishStix said, 3 months ago

   legaleagle48 said: Trust me …So, don’t knock “Modern School” methods until you’ve tried them!

   You assume a whole lot. I’ve had plenty of experience with old school and I see the sad results of “Modern” in so many other kids. It’s pathetic. Please do this, please don’t do that, convince, cajole and hope in every conceivable way to avoid actual discipline. But you go ahead your way. By the time your kid was convinced and cajoled into doing something, mine already had the job done ‘cause he simply knew he’d better. It’s easier for everyone involved that way. And he’s now a very successful business man.

10. 

    ireg said, 3 months ago

    I think you are both sort of saying the same thing in different ways.
    
    Kids need to contribute to their family. This is how they learn to contribute to society when they are older instead of thinking society has to contribute to them.
    Yet pointing out the job is well done and you letting them know you appreciate their work will encourage them to do even better. We all learn better with kindness than with force.

11. 

    Jackknife15 said, 3 months ago

    flightsuit, you’ve already made it clear you don’t like this strip. So, why are you still here?

12. 

    Burgundy2 said, 3 months ago

    flightsuit you need to understand that every comic strip reader has a different point of view and different experiences. So this strip appeals to some of us, like myself, but not others, like yourself. Personally, I can never see the humour in the strip F-Minus, and yet I know others who consider it hilarious.

    As I said before, you are certainly entitled to your opinion, and to post it, but I doubt very much that it will change anything.

13. 

    Doctor Toon said, 3 months ago

    flightsuit - I hate to tell you this, but around here a person who posts comments intending to upset others is called a Troll.
    Just wanted you to know what people mean when they start calling you that.
    To the rest of you - Feeding Trolls attention makes them come back, it’s what they really want..
    I know, I did it, but I won’t do it again.

14. 

    pearlandpeach said, 3 months ago

    Doctor Toon - thats what I said yesterday….

15. 

    summerdog said, 3 months ago

    Old school works better. You know why? Because when a kid grows up, enters the work force to earn a living, he is going to be told to do the work or else! No reasoning and no cajoling. Better to learn that lesson now.

16. 

    Bill Duckworth said, 3 months ago

    If ” they ” don’t do their chores, beat ‘em a few times & they will do the chores vs. being beat. I certainly got the point when I was a kid.

17. 

    JanCinVV said, 3 months ago

    Isn’t it amazing how “old school” worked for hundreds of years, producing functioning rational well-adjusted adults, yet now our “enlightened” generation has decided that teaching children the old way will stunt their little psyches.
    While I agree that the old ways worked better, adding a little explanation instead of just “because I said so” helps the child understand how and why he is helping the family. I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s, and my folks used this “combination” on my brothers and me. It seems to have worked well enough, so we tried it on our own kids. Wow. It still works.

18. 

    Nelly55 said, 3 months ago

    mom gave us a set of chores, a time they needed to be done and a checklist. If they weren’t done by said time, it was curtains

    of course when we became teens it didn’t work so well anymore ;-)

19. 

    summerdog said, 3 months ago

    My mom just wished we would all go away. : (

20. 

    Susan001 said, 3 months ago

    The final frame is a perfect example of Elly’s negative attitude.

    BTW, today’s strip reminds me of a much later one. Elizabeth was seven years old, and she set the table and kept her room tidy. Elly then gave her the responsibility of watering the house plants, but as Elly never taught her how to do it properly, water dripped from the hanging plants all over the sofa. It was funny.

21. 

    Burgundy2 said, 3 months ago

    That’s sad, summerdog

    As a person without children, I’m a wretched outcast with no right to an opinion of such a tender and delicate subject…

    But: it seems to me that if a parent can convince a child that he wants to do his chores, and that he will derive satisfaction in doing same, that’s all to the better. hence, a nod to “new school”.

    However, if that same child finds a particular chore too odious, he needs to know that no matter what, he still has to do it. thus, old school.

    I think it’s the combination that will produce, in the end, if all goes according to plan, a young person with a decent work ethic.

22. 

    thebird55 said, 3 months ago

    “Old school” teaches that there are consequences to their actions (or inactions), a very valuable lesson in life.

23. 

    EarlWash said, 3 months ago

    Burgandy 2, you said it very well. Bullying builds strong resentment. Tact with love wins out with honorable respect. And we must remember also that each of us is God’s fingerprint. What tactic may work for one, may well not work for the other.

    Having been an early day animal trainer, the same goes for them as well, dogs, horses or whatever. We found it necessary to always enthusiasticaly compliment that being every time they did a task as we asked of them. “Good boy”! Often times when a sharp correction was needed for one animal, that same tactic could cause it’s sibbling to fall apart. Therefor the more soft touch was needed.

    Unfortotunately, parenting being the most responsible occupation in life, all too often takes place without proper previous training. Those who were unfortunate to grow up in a disfunctional home are most apt to pass those same disfunctions on to their children..hence possible 4 generations of curses.

    Whether parenting or being a boss on the job, most anyone can have either of these jobs but it requires being a responsible leader to be respected…not a pushy punk.

24. 

    kittylover2 said, 3 months ago

    Please don’t answer the troll other than with a “flag”. Please that is what keeps them alive, all the attention. Resist, don’t do it, just “flag”.

25. 

    harmgb said, 3 months ago

    Burgundy2, good quote from “A Christmas Carol”……
    ‘Flightsuit’ is looking for a comic with a laugh track so
    he knows when to laugh.

26. 

    Susan001 said, 3 months ago

    Who is the troll here? I thought these messages were all well-thought and intelligent.
    Now, click onto “State of the Union”. THERE, you’ll find trolls!

27. 

    Burgundy2 said, 3 months ago

    LOL harmgb!!

28. 

    FishStix said, 3 months ago

    Troll is the euphemism used by the comix clique that seems to think anyone out of their special circle is not worthy of posting here.

    Don’t mess with their elite imaginings lest you also become known as a troll.

29. 

    hildigunnur said, 3 months ago

    FishStix, heh, do you really think Troll was invented here, by a clique? Read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet) And yes, there’s one here…

30. 

    FishStix said, 2 months ago

    You gotta be kidding me, hildigunnur!

    Troll, in internet forum parlance, is used as in trolling. Ever trolled for fish? Dragging a lure behind the boat hoping for a bite? That’s what is meant here. Anyone posting other than what the clique thinks is appropriate is deemed to be looking to stir up debate. And so they call you a troll or troller or accuse you of trolling.

31. 

    hildigunnur said, 2 months ago

    FishStix, nope, it has connotations both ways and is used quite a bit like this, not only here. I come from a fishing place and know what trolling means too…

32. 

    hildigunnur said, 2 months ago

    (AND I’m an old hat on the net - saw troll used this way all the way back on UseNet)