Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for July 07, 2009

This is all a setup for dad to display his artistic side. Acting 101.

Well stated, Calvin.

That is a shame Calvin ! Pretend ??? aren’t you really feeling bad ?

Come on dad have a heart Calvin’s punished himself all day long.

I should have used that line with my Dad, when I was a kid.

Binoculars & Calvin. What isn’t ringing right here?

“Dad, now you don’t bother to rub your binoculars, cuz I broke them!” Calvins really sorry, tears…

Oh please, Dad should have known better.

Oh Calvin…. you will be sadly missed!!

Is Dad mad, or what?

Dad settle down Calvin know’s he did wrong. Now you just need to decide on how to disicpline him.

Wow! I actually feel sorry for Calvin……

Calvin, go to your room, now!

Wait until the rest of you see TOMORROW’S strip. :)

Dad’s pay attention here.

For once, Calvin speaks sincerely and truthfully.

You have to feel sorry for the little guy, just look at that tear!

I’ve been lurking for months, thought maybe I should pop in for a change. Hi everyone!

That’s a switch,way to use your head Calvin. We as, adults could take a lessen.

this kid is smart, if not a great actor

This is an opening to insert a big cliche of ‘educational’ cartoons right here. The parent goes “I’m not going to punish you, you’ll have to live with it.” or something along those lines. To which the kid practically begs the parent to punish him. Never works in real life. Ever.

There’s nothing wrong with Calvin that a good old-fashioned, pants-down over-the knee Paddling won’t cure real quick!!

I remember when I was young. I was sitting with my dad and he was lecturing me about something I did wrong. “Didn’t you know that if you did this you would get in trouble.” “Yeees,” I said. The veins in his temple were throbbing and his face turned almost purple. “then why did you do it?” his voice was getting louder and he looked like Calvin’s dad, above. My answer “because I wanted to.” He threw his hands up and said “I don’t know, I just don’t know.” I really thought I was going to end up in prison one day, but by the time we got this far he gave up on punishment. The thing is that I still remember it so maybe that was punishment enough.

Look at Dad’s face in the first frame! He’s fixing to have apoplexy! But I agree with those of you who say it’s his fault for loaning the binoculars to Calvin. He should have gotten Calvin a cheapo pair of his own and kept the $600 ones in a safe so Calvin couldn’t get to them.

..just a little respect Calvin, just a little ….

Thar she blows! If I were his dad, he wouldn’t be sitting for 40 days & 40 nights. Or no allowance til the binoculars are paid for.

Calvin?! Poor dad .. don’t you even have a wee bit of respect for him?

cymbol - Hello and welcome.

@ Ivy0730Lcsq: LOL..would’ve been a good statement…always think positive!

I also agree with those of you who say it’s his fault for loaning the binoculars to Calvin. When my sons were that age, I would never let them handle something worth $600 unless they were in my sight (and probably within my reach) the whole time. Of course, it gets more expensive when they start learning to drive. When they only have a learner’s permit, we’re in the vehicle with them on the road, but on our own property, not always. Our oldest son creamed the hot tub, tore up the SUV, while backing up to the deck (we say he thought “R” meant “race”). Just this weekend, the youngest put a dent in the minivan, trying to get it in the garage. The oldest was upset, since he drives the van to college. I had to remind him that he had a similar (and more expensive) wreck in his younger years, just so he’d quit ragging on his youngest brother. Thankfully, in neither accident was anyone hurt. People are more important than property - or at least they should be.

Since he broke them by tossing them up in the air while running I’d say he doesn’t have respect for other’s property—but maybe he’s getting it now.

That one tear says it all…. I hope that Dad pauses for a second and takes a good look at Calvin. Though, I don’t think he will ever learn….. but hey, who am I to judge?

Pretend ?

What was last week all about ???

PRETEND “Let’s pretend dad… NO how about let’s spank your butt for real!

And Rakkav I wonder if I could ask you a favor… ? Could you please FORGO ~Which the Definition of is:

to give up the enjoyment or advantage of : do without

That which you feel gives you the rite to give advaced information on the goings on in Calven and Hobbe’s world.

Thank You So Very Much,

Paul

RAAmom makes a valid point. He didn’t take them without asking and he’s mortified. The consequences that have taken place in his little mind and heart are enough! My biggest issues are deliberate disobedience, hurting someone else (and feelings are included), lying, and stealing. Stuff happens and if you’re a parent you’d better be prepared to deal with it wisely!

”…don’t need to rub it in” ??—Calvin, you’re lucky if yer dad don’t rub you out.

I think they BOTH should be grounded for a month.

dad should have known better than to give calvin the binoculars with his past screw ups

welcome to the nut house cymbol

This was sooo out of character for the father {allowing the use of the binoculars)! Mom needs to give him ‘the what for’. And Soon.

Calvin is only five years old. He had no idea how much binoculars cost. He probably doesn’t even really understand the value of six hundred dollars. They should have bought him a pair of toy binoculars for his own. Then if he breaks them, its just “too bad, you don’t get another pair” and that is punishment enough.

notinksanymore, Calvin knows the value of money even at his young age. If you read the strips leading to this one, he freaked when he enquired about the cost of replacing the binoculars.

Calvin you should have told Mom so she could intervene on your behave

I think Poor Calvin has torchered his self enough. I deal with some pretty bad little boys everyday. the middle child tossed the youngest off the sofa and made his head blead. He felt so bad seeing his brother hurt and seeing the bload made him relise just how bad he hurt him. he was crying bc he was going to get in trouble, but later that day he told me he felt bad and he was sorry. i know as a kid i punished myself several times. its just something that kids go threw. but dad should have known better then that.

As Suze Orman would say:

“First people … then money … then things.”

While I agree that, yes, Calvin SHOULD have been more careful when it came to his father’s binoculars (whether he knew how expensive they were or not), dad needs to remember that Calvin is just a 5 (or 6) year-old little boy … HIS little boy … and he should have known better then to let him play with them to begin with! Therefore, DAD needs to ALSO take responsibility for having made that bone-headed decision in the first place, knowing (or at least suspecting) what COULD have happened by saying “yes” to his son’s wanting to use them no matter HOW much he promised he’d be careful with them.

You can tell by his tearful, stricken expression that Calvin is very sorry for having broken them and probably feels as though he’s lost his father’s love and respect forever over this mistake. Continuing to lecture and yell at the child is only going to further traumatize him. I think the fear and guilt he’s been feeling ever since it happened has probably been (almost) punishment enough.

I’m not so sure that if I were dad, I wouldn’t just go ahead and take FULL responsibility for what happened and replace them myself (because, after all, he gave his son permission to use them) but by doing so, I’d also be afraid that that would send Calvin the wrong message, giving him the impression that it doesn’t matter what you do or how you treat something (whether it’s yours or someone else’s), that if it just happens to get broken then no punishment (other than a loud, stern lecture) will come of it. If he doesn’t fear “death” at what he’s done then he won’t feel any remorse for having done it; therefore, it’s okay. He absolutely needs to know that there are consequences to such irresponsible actions. Therefore, I would tell Calvin that in order to make it up to me, he’ll be paying for them a little bit at a time each week out of his allowance until they’re paid for. Then, I’d let the subject drop and would never mention it again. Hopefully, Calvin will remember this experience and be more careful with other peoples’ belongings in the future.

(P.S.: I’d only charge him half the price, $300.00, without telling him so, of course, then put what he gives me in an interest-bearing savings account for his college education someday.)

i actually shed a lil bit of a tear after seeing calvin’s expression.. after that i am pretty sure he will take this lesson to heart for the rest of his life.. to take better care of things especially when they are not his own..

Been there, done that. Sorry to say.

Oh Calvin i feel for you! Good luck.

así son los papas de irresponsables

Atta Boy Calvin, Now you are in control of your future!

I think Calvin really is soory. Dad shouldn’t expect a little kid to be careful without supervision.

But hey! It’s only pretend, right? This is funnier. Ha-ha!

Hmpff. So much for the truth setting you free!

This isn’t about YOU, Calvin. This is something Dad has to go through.

Calvin, Dad does not know what you have been going through all day. The news has just got to him. You cant’ expect him not to ‘rub it in’ or to forgive so fast.

In real world, a word of real apology followed by the account of what you have gone through in the day would have been more appropriate.

Paul M.: if you go back and reread very carefully, you’ll notice I didn’t reveal ANYTHING about what will happen in the following strip. I didn’t intend to.

dad has finally blown his top