I’ve been reading and enjoying this strip for many years and the over-riding and dominant theme as far as I can discern, is; why did Calvin’s parents have a child? Did they expect him to pop fully grown, mature, and adult like from the womb? They never play with him or take any interest in his amazing imagination and creativity. It’s really feels like a case of “us against him,” the little brat! Can anyone deny that there’s a lot of parents in this world who are totally unprepared and unrealistic about what having children involves? For one thing, children are expensive, they cost a lot of money. How many parents seem to be taken by surprise by this and resent their children for it? For another thing, children are childish and that can be fun or be hateful, depending on your point of view. They can bring out a grown-up’s sense of play and fun or they can bring out the WC Fields in them and evoke the toxic criticism and sarcasm that Calvin’s father always shows or the “oh go away, go outside and play in traffic” attitude that his mother has. Children also are very needy and dependent, (doh), and yet so many parents want to do what they want to do and blame the children that they brought into the world for needing so much and so often. Calvin’s parents should have stayed child-less in my opinion but they didn’t and so Calvin is very alone in the world and has had to create a friend from his fantasies, much like many, many other children whose parents are emotionally still children. Is it possble that if all children were properly and intelligently nurtured that our world wouldn’t be such a messed up place? Or is that a childish, silly, point of view? Has Watterson ever discussed his motives and background for Calvin’s family dynamic? It feels a lot like many I’ve seen, including my own.
I’ve been reading and enjoying this strip for many years and the over-riding and dominant theme as far as I can discern, is; why did Calvin’s parents have a child? Did they expect him to pop fully grown, mature, and adult like from the womb? They never play with him or take any interest in his amazing imagination and creativity. It’s really feels like a case of “us against him,” the little brat! Can anyone deny that there’s a lot of parents in this world who are totally unprepared and unrealistic about what having children involves? For one thing, children are expensive, they cost a lot of money. How many parents seem to be taken by surprise by this and resent their children for it? For another thing, children are childish and that can be fun or be hateful, depending on your point of view. They can bring out a grown-up’s sense of play and fun or they can bring out the WC Fields in them and evoke the toxic criticism and sarcasm that Calvin’s father always shows or the “oh go away, go outside and play in traffic” attitude that his mother has. Children also are very needy and dependent, (doh), and yet so many parents want to do what they want to do and blame the children that they brought into the world for needing so much and so often. Calvin’s parents should have stayed child-less in my opinion but they didn’t and so Calvin is very alone in the world and has had to create a friend from his fantasies, much like many, many other children whose parents are emotionally still children. Is it possble that if all children were properly and intelligently nurtured that our world wouldn’t be such a messed up place? Or is that a childish, silly, point of view? Has Watterson ever discussed his motives and background for Calvin’s family dynamic? It feels a lot like many I’ve seen, including my own.