For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for January 31, 2014

Wreck-It Richard.

Oh my God! Hope it doesn’t fall on his head.

Asking a four-year-old to babysit a two-year-old? I didn’t think that even Ellie was that dumb. And when the inevitable disaster happens, she’s probably going to scold Lizzie.

Now there’s a great idea!! LOL And who will watch Lizzie?

Richard looks so large.

Good job Lizzie! Momma is proud of you.

yep, watching him break things….NEVER leave a child in charge of another child. It never works

Don’t worry, by the time Liz is a school teacher, she will know how to watch kids.

For the first time I will agree with the Elly bashers. This is the dumbest thing I have ever seen her do. Leaving Lizzie to baby-sit a toddler????

Just as well as you are…

My just-turned-five-year-old daughter was very bright and responsible for her age, and I once asked her to watch her baby sister (who I had just put on a bed to change) while I ducked out to grab something for an instant. The ensuing WAAAAAH! told me that that wasn’t such a hot idea.

However, my mom said that one day when she was six, she was left with her two-year-old sister while the rest of the family worked in the fields. After awhile Mom realized that her sister needed changing, so she did it. She said it took all afternoon. Mom was very responsible.

I was 6 years older than my little brother and I remember my parents having me watch him as an infant waiting in a hot car while they did the weekly shopping(after church). My parents did things that I would never do with my kids. needless to say, they did not babysit our kids.

That’s a bad mothering and bad babysitting. Wonder why Lynn draw Elly in that light….not very flattering.

He’s a little big for a 2 year old isn’t he? A 2 year old wouldn’t normally be able to reach so high.

Ellie could use some watching her own self

A 5-year-old looked after me for some minutes in my infancy. When I cried, she rocked my stroller gently until I fell asleep.But I would’ve been a tougher customer at age 2.

I MOSTLY agree with you. Yes, Elly should’ve been extra attentive with someone else’s small child if for no other reason the potential for getting sued if something went wrong (although I’m guessing Canadians in the Eighties were less lawsuit-happy than we Yanks are), but Richard WAS foisted off on her without warning so his own inconsiderate mother gets a large share of blame if something happens.

Probably not. Richard ended up rather ordinary sized. Remember that Elizabeth was rather petite when she grew up, so a baby boy would probably be evenly matched with Elizabeth at 4 years of age.

Why should Lizzie watch the brat. Elly agreed to watch him. Not Lizzie