Elly Treats Lizzie Like a Bitch

We don’t see the outcome of today’s reprint of For Better or For Worse. I predict little Lizzie will not take the broccoli from her mother, who has decided not only to feed her broccoli as she sits under the table, but to talk to her as if she were talking to a dog. The simple fact is that some people can get small children to do things their parents can’t.

In my family, my wife’s mother has always been more successful at getting my kids to eat vegetables than I have or my wife has. Likewise, my son can get my daughter to laugh, when no one else in the family can get her to even crack a smile. Chances are, little Lizzie is only eating the broccoli because her older brother is offering it to her and giving her his attention. She is probably so accustomed to Elly shoving things at her face; she would distrust anything coming from Elly.

Final panel we are missing:

Elly: Why isn’t she eating broccoli when I give it to her?
Mike: From me, it’s a treat. From you, it’s a punishment.

As far as the strip goes, it is not too bad. We get the surprise that it is Lizzie and not Farley under the table. We get the surprise where Elly decides to copy Mike’s method in order to get her to eat broccoli. The story line is long enough to fill all the panels; it sets up humourous surprises; and is somewhat true-to-life. I don’t have too many problems with the art, except Lynn Johnson doesn’t seem to be able to keep track of the chairs around the table, particularly in panel 2. It didn’t distract me much. I would say overall, it’s not a bad strip.