It’s Hard To Believe Parents Who Say They’ve Never Cursed In Front Of Their Kids”
It is another of Murphy’s Laws of Parenting that if you are going to swear, among several other words, the swear word is what your small child will zero in on. And repeat. I have no idea how they know, but they do. My husband and I have made a serious effort over the years to curb the rough language, but we still have some slip out now and then. Considering how hard we try and the fact that we still aren’t always successful makes me skeptical of parents who say they’ve never cursed in front of their kids. I won’t call you a liar. Wait, yes I will.
Unless you were raised to never swear and did not swear before having children, I would guess that you have slipped in front of your kids a time or two. I would like to think that I’m an intelligent person with some self-control but despite my best intentions, I have done it, as has my husband. I now laugh remembering when I read during my first pregnancy that a baby can hear sounds outside of the womb somewhere in the second trimester and telling him we had better stop swearing. Such high ideals, Smug First-Time Mom!
That said, we do try very hard to curb the curse words in front of the kids. I honestly don’t think swearing is the worst thing in the world, but I still don’t want them doing it. Mostly, because I would be mortified to get THAT call from school. You don’t want your kid to be the one teaching the other kids bad words. Mine are old enough now that they understand certain words that we say are not to be repeated. They know that we sometimes curse out of frustration and that we don’t mean anything by it. They have said bad words a few times over the years, my favorite being the time our daughter called Percy from Thomas the Train a “stupid douche.” I was actually kind of proud of her correct usage, because he is a stupid douche. Overall, I think we have done alright. Better than some parents, worse than others.
To be honest, besides the embarrassment factor, not much worries me about my kids saying curse words. I’ve said them my whole life and I’m no worse for the wear. My bigger concerns would be racial slurs and bullying language, which of course, my husband and I never use. I would rather my kid say a curse word in the middle of the grocery store than call someone a name or make fun of them. On that end of things, we are doing very well. I am not going to fret when my son drops a toy on his foot and yells out “SHIT!” I might laugh, though. Kids swearing is undeniably funny, in my opinion.
Like all other areas of parenting, we are just doing our best and feeling our way as we go. I refuse to beat myself up over the odd swear word popping out and if other parents manage not to do it, good for them. I just have trouble believing it’s true.
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