Further notes on language acquisition in the Foobisphere.

As we saw in the notes for the 'obstacle illusion' strip, Lynn clearly seems to see the natural habit children have of stumbling over unfamiliar words and concepts as amusing as their nebulous grasp of grammar and pronunciation. Every elided syllable, every element of baby talk, every time a verb and noun do not have the same tense is comedy gold instead of simply a small child trying to learn language as best she can in a world where parents are no real help owing to them fleeing their children in horror.

The reason that I mention this is that it's just another example of how Lynn simply does not get children at all well. One of the best ways I know how to make a kid Lizzie's age angry at you is to badger them about how bad or funny she is for talking wrong. Despite what the same Elly who didn't think that April would react well to being lied to might think, children have feelings that are easily hurt and the realization that Mommy doesn't think that despite trying her best to talk, she's either a joke or embarrassment tends to not sit well. Given how little Elly or Lynn seem to understand or care about the situation, the resultant resentment always seems to come out of nowhere at all.