My Kid Gets His Potty Mouth from Me

I could have soooo written this post. I was not ever allowed to curse (growing up in a religious home) We used to say stuff like dam like a river or ass....prin. But when I left home I went a little crazy & now curse like a sailor. My 3 yro has definitely picked up on them. We just had a talk the other night about it & he said "But you & Daddy say them" ooph. Right in my gut. I really need to work on this.

But I will say I'm just a teensy bit proud when he uses the words in the correct context & not just saying them for sport. :-P

I get really annoyed when I hear swearing. Not because I am particularly prudish, but because it makes the individual swearing sound like an idiot. I believe there are certain situations and instances in which the occasional swear word is appropriate, and it tends to make a bigger impact when used sparingly. However, the majority of the population today don't seem to know the word "moderation". When i'm in a restaurant or supermarket and I hear a barrage of cursing, all I can think is "they must not be well educated if all they can say is "fuck". How sad for them." My kids have never heard me swear, and I hope to keep it that way. I don't want my kids sounding like idiots too.

I grew up in a household where"wash your mouth out with soap" was disciplinary action for cuss words. I heard the word 'damn" frequently from "Mom", if you had nine children.... At 43 I have my first child after a breast cancer diagnosis. I have a totally not -involved responsibility wise husband (to be fair I have to say he walked/ran the carriage in the living room to put my son to sleep sometimes). His mouth is foul!!!!! As I am raising my son he is not only exposed to my husbands foul comments, his bedroom is next to the neighbors, also foul! The emotional abuse and manipulation..I even had a Dr. use the F word in front of me.."tell the nurse to F..off if..) At school the kids would call him.... Anyway , get it. I have actually used the language to communicate too at this point. I HATE IT!!!

I am looking forward to the time I can be in an environment free of verbal abuse and crude language. My sadness over my son's deliberate corruption is being pushed aside in hopes he will choose the right path at some point.

I curse like a sailor...I admit it. My girlfriend and I were talking about how you get this small window, when your kids are born, where you can still pay homage to those Very Bad Words. Then it stops, abruptly. I'm working on it; I do my best....I feel ya!

Oh I must admit. I'm the mouthy one in this house. My husband is the prude, I am not. I do not say the Lord's name in vain though, I do stop there. I am careful around the kids, but it still at times pours out like vomit. Hard to hold back. My kids have heard me say more than once (like 50 times), swearing isn't ideal, but it's still an adult privilege. Therefore monkey see, monkey no can do.

I'm the resident potty mouth in our house too, so I'm not surprised at all when our kids swear. We use is as teachable moments. There are things you can do in your house that are unacceptable in other places and in front of other people. Given that my husband is a grammarian, they also have to use the words correctly: http://www.biguglymandoll.com/?p=345 We've discussed alternative words for swear words - Oedipus, for example - and the fact that taking the Lord's name in vain is offensive to many. For the most part, the kids have done well with that. I don't buy in to the idea that swearing will limit them in life. It's the knowing when, where, and how to use certain words in a situation that will take them far in life. Swear words are, after all, just words.

I didn't swear around my kids when they were little - I do find swearing extremely satisfying on occasion, but I didn't find it difficult not to do it around them (then again, my kids were pretty easy - I have friends whose kids would drive me to excessive cursing in a heartbeat, and I mean this sympathetically, not judgementally, because I realize easy kids are a matter of luck and not good parenting). Now that they're a little older, I do drop the occasional damn or hell - they hear much worse from my father. I do actually find four-year-olds swearing hilarious, more when they do it without realizing than when they do it for effect. But when I walk by a large group of teenagers using 'fuck' every second word I find it repulsive. My friend told her son (12) that swearing with his friends was okay but that it was disrespectful if he did it within hearing of adults - I kind of like this approach, because you know they're going to do it among themselves anyway. I have made it clear that using certain language at school or around other adults is not acceptable. Neither of them knew the f word before grade two and I've never heard either of them say it (other than saying seal in French, with a slightly unseemly emphasis).

It's a touchy subject, I was raised in a house were I wasn't even aloud to say butt, seriously. So as i had little ones they were absolutely not allowed to curse but that all changed as they are teenagers now, and I really don't care if they say certain curse words as long as it is not directed at me, and i too am guilty of the occasional curse word, what are we suppose to do, sometimes things happen and the only appropriate word is Sh--!

ouch. I cannot stop myself from cursing. it is honestly my last resort sometimes as the frustration with 3 little ones is a bit much. It's awful but it's true. I don't freely cuss all day, but I definitely throw "damn it" and even worse every so often. My kids don't really use swear words but I have heard them mimic me at least once before... it's awful. thanks for making me think more about this today!

We have been known to cuss a time or two or three in our house but we have been very fortunate that our daughter has only said a cuss word once or twice. Often times dropping it because she does not realize it is a cuss word. But as she is getting older and in school I am sure I will start to hear them more often.

My husband and I are known to drop the swear words, and my 4-year-old has uttered maybe three in her young life, most recently, 'dammit.' I've explained that there are no consequences in THIS house, but she'll likely get in trouble in other settings, such as her grandparents' home, school, ballet, etc. And she seems to understand. She realizes that we, her parents, talk differently when we're around certain people, and she's bright enough to know Maw-Maw and Mrs. Griffith would not appreciate it.

I am (was) the swearing person in our family, so I totally get this. Nothing like hearing my then-three year old started muttering "fox" to make me clean up my mouth. Fast. I only swear once in a while now. Luckily, my kids understood pretty quickly that certain words are not for school or mixed company.

I try (TRY) not to swear in front of the kids because I think it sounds awful coming out of their mouths. Teachers, other adults and other kids judge those kids who DO swear, and I really don't want to provide my children with yet ANOTHER reason that they will be judged. Sigh.

However, I won't be overly strict with words when they're teens. I recognize that words are words, but I don't think the younger set of kids have the discernment to know whether or not any given word is appropriate in a situation. Of course, teens don't either, but those are more appropriate years for learning consequences for language choices.

The only bad word in my house is the word "bored." My daughter is allowed to say anything else, as long as she can control her filter. So far she has done a great job. She's 11 and tells me she finds it very liberating to "be herself" and cuss in a safe place where it won't offend anyone.

I could have been reading about myself as I've had the exact problem. My son got told off the other day for calling another boy a bitch and his justification was that it's a female dog and therefore not swearing.

We have recently made a pact that neither of us swear and I admit I do slip. Instead of swear words I try to make up silly things when I'm cross.