Is Your Child Swearing?
Sooner or later, almost all children come home with some bad words. A parent needs to know this and to expect that the day will come when their sweet child tries his or her hand at swearing. Today, even 2 and 3 year-olds are reported to be swearing at day care centres and in nursery schools. I’m not suggesting for one minute that parents should get used to this or accept this behaviour; I just believe parents should recognize that swearing by young children is inevitable and there are ways to let them know it is not acceptable without screaming your own obscenities.
Why do children curse in the first place? To better cope with their unlikely “new” behaviour, it is best to understand why they would do something like swearing to begin with. Children begin to swear and curse earlier nowadays because:
- it makes them feel grown up.
- it releases tension.
- it gets them lots of attention from grown-ups.
- it shocks people and for a kid, that can be fun.
The 3 tips below can help on how to cope with your swearing child:
First, keep your cool! Remember, as a parent, you are your child’s first teacher and coach. It is your job to help your child learn from mistakes, and a yelling, screaming parent is not a very effective teacher.
Second, explain to your child that you know other kids and grown-ups use bad words, but that your family does not believe in swearing. You can simply say, ‘The Smith family does not believe in using bad words.’ Statements like this can build-up family pride.
Third, explain that bad words can hurt people’s feelings. Point out that just as a punch or a slap can hurt, words can hurt people too, and that is why you do not use bad words in your family. Often, children are not aware that swearing or even words in general can hurts others’ feelings.
