Why Don’t We Let Our Kids Swear?
Is it because we are afraid it will give them too much power?
Have you ever heard your kid use a juicy swear word? Like all the other words our kids learn, they heard that one from someone. Whether it was you or not, most likely you swooped in to correct them (after you laughed, or gasped in horror, depending on how you feel about those words yourself.) You told them under no circumstances are they to ever use that word again.
I remember the first time my son used the words “G*# Damn” in the back seat of my car. He was sitting next to a new friend and I was sure this kid had taught him to say it. I was appalled. And I gave him a proper lecture about why we never use that word.
At this point in my life, as a 58 year old woman who knows who she is, I use that word quite often myself. Back then, I was a young mother who was still in the thrall of the church, and my squeaky clean husband. I was trying to make them both happy. Now that I am free from them both, I use those words anytime I want to. But I guess I still wouldn’t want to hear my precious granddaughters using them.
Have you ever stopped to think why it is that it’s okay for adults to use certain words, but we don’t want our children using them? And have you ever thought about how confusing that is for our kids?
