8 comments

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  Jiff

  2 years ago

  I sure hope my little girl doesn\'t learn that from me when I am out in the garage!!! I need to be aware of my B-52 F-bomber :eek
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  genright

  2 years ago

  Wow when I saw this article I thought this\'ll be good! And it was, you covered all the options!
  
  Its definately easier to teach while they are young to, rather than having to go through it after they start going to school, althoguh thats a different kettle of fish :)
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  sasha

  2 years ago

  I teach mine to swear. I mean, not on purpose. But I have a nasty pottymouth, so they do pick it up.
  
  I emphasize context and audience with my four-year old. He knows that he can use whatever words he wants in front of me or my grandmother (her mouth is filthy too) but that he\'d better watch it on the playground.
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  mudface

  2 years ago

  I\'m not here to judge anyone but to allow your 4 year old to talk like a drunken sailor is sad. I don\'t think they fully understand context and audience at that age. But hey, its your kid. =)
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  sasha

  2 years ago

  ...but at least cop to it. Hey, we all make judgements in life; that\'s how we survive. Labeling my childrearing (or one aspect of it) \"sad\" is a judgement, so please don\'t softpedal it. We\'re all grownups here, right?
  
  I was raised in a cuss-laden household and grew to appreciate that words are only words, and that they only have the power that we give them. I was also raised to respect that others around whom I might use those words would likely feel differently than I did, and to temper my mouth with common sense.
  
  As a person and a parent, I regard home to be a free-word zone. However, although I may model cursing in the home, my children NEVER hear me swear at the grocery store, park, etc. It\'s a matter of etiquette that I take very seriously. We discuss the difference between \"at home\" and \"in public\" whenever it comes up, and I assure you, my four-year-old knows exactly what I\'m talking about.
  
  My comment (though flippant in tone) was intended to suggest a sixth possibility for dealing with swear words out of the mouths of babes.
  
  And, yes, he\'s my kid.
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  foodad

  2 years ago

  Sasha,
  
  I imagine most people are going to be extremely judgemental on this subject. Why would you even want to subject your family to this kind of thing? A four year old is going to slip or be unable to resist telling her friends that she is allowed to say flern, crunk and shazzle at home. This labels you and your family. People will draw conclusions that you do not care about your kids because you let this go. They are thinking, if she is willing to let this go, what else is she willing to let them do?
  
  The other problem is that swearing is easy. I do it. I am not proud of it. It is a lot easier to say flern you than it is to come up with an intelligent retort. I think that there is a place for cursing. When people who do not usually curse go ahead and curse, you KNOW they are serious. The problem with overusing curse words is that it dillutes the meaning.
  
  So I am going to critcize you on the basis that you are teaching your kid to take the easy way out. You are teaching him that it is ok to not show any self-restraint at home and you are teaching him that you do not need to be disciplined at home.
  
  My suggestion is some vocabulary expansion for the entire family. I used to do this but I got away from it because I am learning Chinese. Try this site out. I like to get the word of the day in my email.
  
  http://dictionary.reference.com/wordoftheday/
  
  foodad
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  sasha

  2 years ago

  foodad,
  
  I appreciate your criticism mostly because you call it that. Thank you for being so upfront.
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  latiamh

  2 years ago

  Words are only words and curse words are bad words. Bad words mean that they can be used to hurt someone else, regardless of what the user means, they make you look bad and tasteless, and the just sound freaking bad. As an adult of a very energetic toddler, I will let the d or f bomb slide from time to time but I never curse in public or use curse words against someone. While it may be cool these days to call your best girlfriend a \"bit*ch\", it\'s not cool, it\'s not cute. Crosby, Stills, and Nash said it best: \"teach your children well...\"
  Please-it would be more impressive if children could learn a new word in place of a curse word.
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