Page 6 Colby Free Press Thursday, May 26, 2011 Baby Blues • Rick Kirkman & Jerry Scott Dr. Joyce Family Circus • Bil Keane Brothers Ask • Dr. Brothers Toddler won’t hug Grandpa Dear Dr. Brothers: My 2-year-old daughter Beetle Bailey • Mort Walker embarrasses me when I visit my father in his nursing home. She’s not scared of him, but she won’t hug him or give him a kiss, and he gets of- fended that his granddaughter doesn’t love him. What can I do to encourage her to show affection without forcing it on her? – H.S. Dear H.S.: First, you’re right to not want to force this display of affection on your daughter. It’s not worth the battle, and the tantrum will be more embarrassing than the avoidance. In the end, Conceptis Sudoku • Dave Green forcing her will make her less likely to greet your By Dave Green father nicely – and could extend to others as well. Not to mention that a forced hug or kiss is just 6 3 that: forced. No one wants to feel like gestures of affection are fake, especially from a child. 7 5 3 4 Blondie • Chic Young Instead of trying to persuade your daughter, you can set a positive example. You can give the hug 9 yourself, and explain to your daughter you like 4 8 3 6 giving your dad a hug. Your daughter may learn from this example and feel more comfortable 2 4 with these displays of affection. You also can try warning her before you visit your father. If you 5 7 9 8 let her know you’re going for a visit, and he may want a hug, she might prepare herself better. You 8 also can offer her an alternative – her grandfather might want a hug, but he’ll be so happy to see her 1 8 5 7 that even a smile and wave will make him happy. 9 4 2011 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc. In the end, it’s about making your daughter com- 5/26 fortable expressing herself the way she wants. Difficulty Level Dear Dr. Brothers: I’m worried about my This is a logic-based num- 5 7 6 4 8 1 3 9 2 baby sitter. There’s nothing I can put my finger ber placement puz zle. 9 1 8 2 6 3 7 5 4 Hagar the Horrible • Chris Browne on, and she’s never done anything obvious that The goal is to enter a num- 3 4 2 7 9 5 1 8 6 I’d fire her for, but I get the feeling she’s not do- ber, 1-9, in each cell in which 4 6 1 3 5 9 8 2 7 2 8 3 6 7 4 9 1 5 ing the best job. A friend suggested videotaping each row, column and 3x3 her secretly while we’re out, but that seems ri- 7 9 5 8 1 2 6 4 3 region must contain only one 1 5 4 9 3 6 2 7 8 diculous. Are there other things I can look for that instance of each numeral. might signal she’s untrustworthy? – L.W. 6 2 7 1 4 8 5 3 9 The solution to the last 8 3 9 5 2 7 4 6 1 2011 Conceptis Puzzles, Dist. by King Features Syndicate, Inc. Dear L.W.: Sometimes all you have to go on Sudoku puzzle is at right. Difficulty Level 5/25 are hunches. That can be enough when it comes to the care of your children. Videotaping a baby sitter can be helpful for some people, but it makes Cryptoquip others uncomfortable. In your case, the first step should be talking to your sitter to see if there’s an explanation for the way you feel. Express that you’re worried and she can talk to you if there’s something going on. If this doesn’t do the trick, there are warning Mother Goose and Grimm • Mike Peters signs to watch for. One is your baby’s attitude. If he or she is unhappy to see the sitter or be- comes withdrawn, that could signal he or she doesn’t have the right chemistry with the sitter. If your sitter is reluctant to tell you how they spend time, it might be she’s hiding something inappro- priate. You also should keep an eye on whether your baby ends his or her days dirty or with some easily avoidable accident – this can be a sign the sitter isn’t paying attention. Lastly, if she’s con- sistently late, or you catch her being dishonest, it may be time to look for a new sitter. (c) 2011 by King Features Syndicate Bridge • Steve Becker Sally Forth • Greg Howard Crossword • Eugene Sheffer Todd the Dinosaur • Patrick Roberts Sylvia Learns a New Convention When Sylvia first learned the Blackwood Con- vention, she embraced it with all the enthusiasm of a child playing with a new toy. The mechanics of the convention were not, after all, difficult, and the temptation to use it proved irresistible to her. For example, I was playing against her one day when this deal occurred. Sylvia was South. When her partner bid three spades and Sylvia realized that this was her chance to use Blackwood, her face lit up like a Christmas tree. And when North showed three aces, allow- Zits • Jim Borgman & Jerry Scott ing her to then inquire for kings by bidding five notrump, she beamed with uncontained joy. Naturally, when North showed two kings, Syl- via bid seven. The small detail of producing 13 tricks with four aces and four kings hardly en- tered her calculations. My partner led a club, and Sylvia zipped through the play without much thought, taking trick after trick until she had won them all. In the process, her trump loser vanished into thin air! She played the A-K of clubs and ruffed a club, then cashed the A-K-Q of diamonds and ruffed another club. Next came the A-K of hearts and a heart ruff, producing this position: Sylvia led dummy’s remaining diamond, and I could do nothing. If I ruffed low, Sylvia would overruff with the nine, while if I ruffed with the queen, she would overruff and finesse my part- ner’s jack. Our apparently certain trump trick simply went up in smoke. (c)2011 King Features Syndicate Inc. 6 comics CFP 5-26-11.indd 1 5/26/11 9:24:10 AM.