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When you become a parent you start to censor yourself in front of your children.
Or at least you try.
Instead of saying fuck, I usually say frig or freakin' (not that I've ever been a big F-bomb droopper). Instead of shit I say shoot or crap, and instead of damn I say dang or darn - mostly. I try really hard not to say Goddammit or Jesus Christ. Actually, pretty sure I never say, "Jesus Christ!"
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Many parents don't even like to say vagina or penis, and use the words bottom or bum instead of butt or ass.
I still say butt and ass.
Mark says it all. He is not good at being G rated when kids are around. When Camryn was little he told her they were "Daddy words". The next time I said a curse word, my daughter proceeded to scold me with, "That's a Daddy word, Mommy!" I clarified that they're "grown-up words".
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I've been thinking about this lately. Why do we think certain words are inappropriate for children, not only for them to hear, but also for them to say?
The words themselves aren't "bad" per se. They may have unsavory definitions. But why else do we worry about these words making their way into our kids' vocabulary?
For me, swear words or "naughty" words just don't sound right coming out of a child's mouth. Kids are too cute and innocent to say such things. I even cringe when I hear a child actor swear in a movie. I always wonder how their parents feel about letting their child do that.
Also, kids shouldn't feel so stressed, frustrated or angered that they need to blow off steam by blurting out explitives.
AND, kids don't actually understand the meanings behind these words. We shouldn't speak of things we don't understand.
The words I won't let my kids say EVER:
Fuck
Shit
Dammit
Idiot
Bitch
Asshole
Ass
Bastard
Hell
The words I prefer they not say, and I tell them so:
Stupid
Crap
Frickin'
Jerk
Shut up
Mark doesn't like them to say "what the -" because he thinks the next word will be either fuck or hell. But they either just stop at "what the", or say "what the heck", so it doesn't really bother me.
I also prefer that they not describe people by their appearance, such as fat, skinny, pretty, ugly, black, white...
We freely use the word "dork", however. Because, well, we're a bunch of dorks!
These are pretty intricate verbal rules, aren't they? It's no wonder many little kids mess up and say a bad word every now and then. It's especially great when they say them at the absolute wrong time, like in front of Grandma or at church!
I think most parents tend to agree with these "word rules". Do you?
What is your opinion on this?
