(Strip Number 4685, Original Publication Date, 27 September 1986)
Panel 1: As John reads the paper, Lizzie comes on to him and asks if he notices anything different.
Panel 2: Elizabeth shows off her new pony tails and ribbons to John.
Panel 3: Hateful bag of pus John makes a cruel joke that they look like handles and thus should be called puny tails which devastates Liz.
Panel 4: When Elizabeth buries her head in the couch because her daddy clearly hates her, IDIOT John tells her she's too young to be so sensitive.
Summary: As I see it, John had one job with Liz that he kept blowing. If it's not realizing that no one is too young to have feelings that get hurt, it's delivering a war zone speech about problem hair because her problems don't make sense to him. Since he's a dumbass, it never occurs to him why she felt as if she didn't belong anywhere despite his and Elly's stupidly making the place a hostile work environment because they don't want to admit that their children's feelings are real.