The first time I heard “Damn It!” come out of my 8 year old’s mouth, I immediately knew that him swearing was my own damn fault. I never made a conscious effort not to swear in front of my children. But, they hear it anyway; in school, in public, from other family members, so why should I pretend I’m all ‘good’ and don’t do it too? No, I don’t get all wigged out about my kids saying a curse word here and there. It’s all in HOW they use it. If they’re yelling profanities at each other, being disrespectful, well, that is where I draw the line – but I would anyway, with or without a curse word thrown in.
I recently read an article on Parenting.com about this and the author said she does not allow her kids to swear at home. She said, “There’s a moat around my house, and all the swearwords must be thrown into it before a child crosses the drawbridge. It’s like checking your spurs at the door in the old West. I don’t want the finish ruined.” That makes no sense to me. So it’s just fine for her kids to be swearing machines when they’re out and about, but certainly not at home?
Then there are the parents that allow other versions of swear words – such as “frickin”, “eff” or “effing” and my personal favorite, “shiitake!” I don’t understand this either. The meaning of the word is still there. The reason (or lack there of) that it is said is still there – so if you don’t allow foul language, why not ban it all and it’s variations?
Nah, the hell with that. Why not just EXPLAIN why certain words just should not be used? Or maybe explain how and when it is okay to use certain language? That’s what I did because frankly, I know I will never get them to never utter a curse word, but I can get them to understand what is appropriate and what is not.
Do you let your kids swear? Why or why not?
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