I taught elementary school for 10 years - 8 of them in really challenging schools - and I never swore in front of the children. Not when the kid threw the chair. Not when the other kid bit me. Not when the stalker parent hovered outside of the classroom yet again. Not when the kid threw up on me. Not when things got cancelled or switched at the last minute. Not when my last principal changed my evaluation after I'd signed it.
But it only took about a month as a parent before I exclaimed, "Shit!" as my little girl pooped all over my new shirt. Of course, I told myself that it didn't matter, that Ironflower couldn't understand what I was saying anyway. I think I told myself that until she was 2. I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized she had no interest in repeating what I said but instead came up with socially acceptable phrases like, "I hate you, Mommy!"
Of course, when Ironflower was 2, Lovebug was 9 months old. He seemed too busy trying to walk to pay attention to what I was saying. Not that I cleaned up my language when he began to talk. Which is why one of his first phrases was, "Oh shit!"
I did try to fix things when Lovebug was two and a half.
We did get him to stop saying "Oh shit!" and even "Cheezits Christ!" fell by the wayside. In fact, Lovebug no longer swears at all. Neither does Ironflower. I can't say the same thing for their parents. Which was brought home today when Hugmonkey proudly repeated, "Shit! Shit! Shit!" after hearing one (or both) of us say it.
Apparently, saying "shit" has now become some sort of family milestone. After talking in sentences but before potty training. I can only hope that Hugmonkey grows out of it like his siblings and doesn't remain a potty mouth like his parents.
Though I do kind of have a perverse wish that before he grows out of it, Hugmonkey says "Shit!" in front one of those really prissy and annoying moms.
10 comments:
I always tell my kids that our house is not a democracy. Just because i curse doesn't mean they can. I also eat cookies and milk for dinner sometimes. That doesn't mean THEY can :)
When I was growing up, we werent even allowed to tell someone to shut up, so saying shit was the ultimate no, no.
However with my own kids, they are not allowed to cuss, but the say other words to get the same point accross.
: )
my mom cursed like a sailor and it was forbidden for us kids to do the same. of course that meant my brother did it all the time. I never cursed until I became a mother. Surprisingly two of my four children did not curse at all during the younger years!!! I try to not curse so much now but it's like fighting an uphill battle once they get to school. Kids their teach them all sorts of inappropriate stuff. So I'll just be content to blame it on them and let myself off the hook. lol. :)
Hmmm... my childhood swearing was once I said "damn" under my breath. I didn't even know that I'd said it until mom had raised her eyebrow and asked me what I'd just said. I mentally had to mentally track back... and then almost said it again (as a swear word) when I realized what I'd just said. Do I get bonus points for it being the result of my having difficulty memorizing a Bible verse?
Damn... I just said "mentally" twice. :-D
@WordVixenYou definitely get bonus points. Maybe even bonus muffins.
@AnonymousMy mom curses a lot as well. Maybe I can just blame her? Because I'm pretty sure that my kids know more swear words than their classmates.
@KittyCatI'm more upset by shut up than shit. I don't know why.
@Jersey Girl Gets RealI am totally stealing that.
I remember the perverse pleasure I got out of saying the F word as a pre-teen. I still do. Ha.
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