Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for October 15, 2018

Mom wants her kid healthy and someone else’s problem.

Or maybe the doctor, since he was okay with Calvin this time.

A children’s illness is Calvin’s weakness.

That’s what teachers are for.

The pediatrician sure is a fun guy when Calvin’s not well… unlike the time he joking said his otoscope is a cattle prod and Calvin fainted (“kids have no sense of humor,” the doctor said to the fourth wall).

All are good this time!!

That was what we always heard from the doctor: “Oh it’s going around, there’s nothing I can give you, it’s just a virus.” Mom finally stopped paying for office calls and followed the protocol at home: bed rest, room-temp sevenup, white rice and clear broth when the vomiting stops. At my age, now I hear, “It’s an age thing, nothing we can do really, you’ll get used to it, walk more, eat more fruit.”

That’s when you know Calvin is sick: when he doesn’t have his edge.

Bill Watterson did a great job here of making Calvin look miserable.

It would be nice if whomever attends to this site would run all of them together like they do with other things like the babysitter ones.

Miss Wormwood probably has a whole room full of sick kids.

And I’m sure Miss Wormwood appreciates that, Mom…

A rare appearance by a non-core character.

Mom has a point. It’s probably one of the rare times that Calvin isn’t a terror.

I’m no doctor but IIRC at one time the diet for post severe vomiting was often (in this order) bananas, then working up to rice, next step applesauce, and finally toast when the patient could handle it – in this case fittingly referred to as the BRAT diet.

My sister was a substitute teacher and she has some real horror stories.

You mean the principal to deal with Calvin. A virus is miserable.

Nothing like a little sociopathy from your kid’s pediatrician…

A preview of Calvin as a teenager.

Sad comment from Calvin’s mom, in my opinion. I would understand that sentiment if he were feeling well, but he’s sick, and won’t be a problem… he’ll just be in bed resting,and needs his mom to love him and take care of him. Just sounds plain mean and selfish.

That concerned look on Calvin’s mom’s face says so much more than her words. She is not being selfish. What those words mean is she would rather Calvin was healthy and being himself. If she weren’t being a good parent, she wouldn’t be taking care of him at home, and she wouldn’t have brought him the pediatrician.

Like most parents….don’t want anything to do with THEIR kids.

Such a sad commentary from a parent. Kids should never be the teacher’s problem, parents should rear their children to be respectful of others, not little terrors for others to deal with.

I believe a lot of posters are taking Mom’s comment too literally. A bad parent would have sent her child to school sick.

Is it just me, or does that doctor look a little bit like Garfield’s owner? Take away the mustache and imagine the glasses were bug-eyes.

Just don’t send your sick kid to school. Germs shouldn’t be shared.