A brief chat among mummies on twitter this morning made me remember how I talked about swearing for the first time with darling daughter (DD)
We were in the car, she was about 5 and had just started school and mixing with other children away form any parental guidance.
She suddenly said " I know some swear words"
"oh," says I, remaining calm "do you want to talk about them?"
"yes. One is SHIT and one is COCK"
so narrowly avoiding driving into oncoming traffic, and while controlling urge to giggle, I say
"oh! do you know what they mean?"
DD "no, Fiona told me them"
Me "well Shit is another word for poo, and cock is another work for a willy"
DD (disappointed) "well they are not very rude!"
Me (laughing) "well it depends, some people don't like them, even though they are just words, and no words are 'bad'; and because some people get sad when they hear them, we try not to use them, most people use them when they are very angry"
DD, "so if I stepped in dog poo I could say 'Oh no! I stepped in shit!'"
Me (really laughing now) "perfect use of the word shit!"
DD "OK"
we have never had to have such an elaborate conversation again, although i have had to explain what shag and fuck mean........she rarely uses them......except when very angry - for a 10 year old she's actually pretty good at using swear words sparingly and effectively! LOL
Very funny. I had a similar sweary moment myself this week. After my boy had his eight birthday sleepover I found the fridge magnets had been rearranged to spell F U C K.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really good way to approach it, I think I shall adopt your stance when the time arrives.
ReplyDeleteha ha! VBC, assuming you can keep a straight face long enough!
ReplyDeleteHa! Ellen, i bet he wouldn't comment if they said 'tidy your room' LOL
ReplyDeleteYou might enjoy this piece
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/jul/28/weekend.jonronson
I howled laughing when I read it :D
LOL Nickie that is how I felt - I'd rather she used them correctly!! luckily she doesn't use them much, and hasn't(yet) mentioned the 'c' word!!
ReplyDeleteVery nicely handled. my eldest starts school next year so i look forward to just this kind of conversation.
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I really like the way you dealt with that.
ReplyDeletewhat a fabulous and healthy way to talk about it rather than just banning words (which we all use anyway)but explain what they mean and why we don't use them in certain circumstances
ReplyDeleteI think i shall be borrowing this technique when mine get to that age.
I think I shall use your technique when my chlidren INEVITABLY ask about swear words.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem is - conversations like this, with my children, are usually had very loudly in a public place.
This sounds like a great approach, will definitely adopt it. My main problem at the moment is my youngest making up words that end up sounding like swear words (beyatch being the latest) - I break out in terrible giggles and have to hope she won't repeat it too often to take a liking to.
ReplyDeleteLove this. Love.
ReplyDeleteWe have a problem over here, husband being Scottish and completely against swearwords, and me being Belgian and not too fussed. I like your take on things. I may relax my stance, because really it's my husband's (actually, a much more laid-back version) and not my own.
I've just seen this and it's utterly wonderful! What a laugh!
ReplyDeleteYou followed me on Twitter and I just popped in to see who you are. I'm glad I did!