(Strip Number 4156, Original Publication Date, 1 April 1982)
Panel 1: We start things off with Elly telling Mike and Lizzie not to bother Daddy because he's had a rough day; that's because, unlike them, she knows what it means when the presence of happy children brings forth the look of fear we see.
Panel 2: As he slumps off to moan about how hard it is pretending to be competent, Elly tells them that John just wants to lie down on the couch until dinner's ready.
Panel 3: We next see Lizzie asking "Wanna cookie, Daddy? Wanna kiss? Wanna sleep? Huh?" and Mike wondering if John wants the paper, a drink or a pillow; John's reaction is to frown a panicky frown because these horrible children are disturbing his self-pity.
Summary: Since they're well-meaning children who don't realize that John doesn't want them hovering around them, they have no idea why their honest attempts to be nice are misinterpreted as an attack; the problem, of course, is that they end up thinking that walling themselves away from their own children is how it's supposed to be.
