Hi moms: at what age do you really need to start watching your words with little ones? I've never been much of a potty-mouth, but when my husband and I argue we do tend to throw them out. My husband also swears much more than I care for and I'm trying to curb his habits early on, telling him that soon baby will copy what daddy is saying!!! I know they can understand tone, of course. Just curious when your little ones first uttered back that embarrassing word they heard mom or dad say!
Mine said his first bad word at about 2. I was in the car with MY MOM and something made him mad and we heard a little " Son of a B%^ch" come from the back seat.
As soon as they can talk. My older daugter started talking at 12 months and my older one at 15 months. However, i found they both ignored bad language until closer to 2-3 when they realized it was a big deal. Then they like to say it, not just mimicing, but in a "Mommy, why did you say @&$^#*?" sort of way.
Kids start forming permanent memories at age 2, which is also when they are most likely to repeat EVERYTHING.
I curse like a sailor. I can't help it. I do make a conscious attempt to not do it around the kids... but if I slip, they know which words THEY are not allowed to use. I explained that certain words are for grown ups only ;)
Sooner than you might think! I have heard a few 18 mo olds cussing at me, but definitely by age 2.
I think it is best to start addressing the issue now, it can take awhile to get yourselves acclimated to a new "kid-friendly" vocabulary. That kind of change doesn't just happen overnight. If you wait until your kid says it back to you, you will already be behind.
Maybe start a "swear jar" that you put money in for every swear word you say. You can use the money to buy your baby something fun or put it in his/her college fund, depending on how much swearing is going on in your house :)
Hi Hudmuffin-
I think the baby starts taking 'notes' in utero!! lol
Little one's I had no trouble with 'naughty' words as not much cursing at home...But once 'older' school age...had some issues...With them as 'olders'...had them write the offending word on a blank sheet of paper...then write EVERY word they could think of that meant the same thing...Then I posted it on fridge...
Needless to say, my kiddos all have a wonderful vocabulary!
Best Luck!
Michele/cat
Hello....
I think you have to lead by example at any age, even at a very young age. They learn words very early on and even if they can't say them, they are stored in the brain.
I remember when I was 19 and flew out to Germany to be with my sister when she was to deliver her second baby. Her first born was just about 2 at the time. We were walking into the hospital to visit my sister, and as I'm holding my nephews hand walking down the hospital corridor, he starts blurting out "F--- it, F--- it, F--- it!" I was mortified, and getting looks/stares from hospital personnel. I'm not one to really cuss, but my brother in law has a foul mouth and wasn't guarding his tounge at all around my young nephew. Please watch your language around your children, for their sake as well as yours.
They will start copying you just as soon as they can talk, and they will start using words in proper context when they're around 2-3 years old. It's up to you as parents to either not use the words at all around your kids, or make sure your kids understand that there are certain things adults can do that kids cannot & using language like that falls into that category!
as soon as they begin to understand what you are saying. my niece when she was about 1.5 to 2 would say the F word and GD, because her parents fought all the time.
Babies are always learning, curb it now, as soon as they start to repeat sounds they could start to learn bad words.
I can't remember my kids ever swearing. Generally speaking, my husband and I don't swear. Not because we think it's "wrong" just because it sounds so white trash (though for some reason when I get stuck in traffic the white trash part of me sometimes comes out!)
My kids were exposed to plenty of bad words on TV but that didn't seem to affect them.
Honestly, if you don't say it they likely won't say it either, they model their parents more than anything :)
When I get stressed I swear. My daughter now knows at 8 there are grown up words and that some things she just isn't allowed to say. I also found that she is was more prone to use my word of choice verses Daddy's, but pretty much as soon as they can talk, they can repeat. My first experience she was about 1.5 - 2. Good luck.
as soon as they start talking , depending on how much is said and how often it's said. I've heard kids under 2 curse.
I told a girl about two that i see she got a hair cut. she said "mommy did it. the little B....." so pretty young. she definatly heard that one before
Earlier than you would imagine.
My older two were teens when my younger two were babies. When they came home with their teen drama I would say, dripping with sarcasm, oh the bastards!!! It was kinda a code for you know this is teen drama, right? We stopped doing it around when Andy was one. So forward to preschool at three. Out of nowhere, having not heard it for years, started saying either oh the bastards or just bastards. I took that one squarely but heck if it wasn't difficult to break. We never used it as a swear word, just a joke, so Andy couldn't figure out what the deal was because he was using it just as we did. Oops!
As soon as they are born. My neighbor's little girl's FIRST word was sh*t - a word that she had heard once in her life, that day when her dad stubbed his toe.
My grandson heard someone call a dirty diaper the SH word. So one day at about 10 months he bent across his little play table grunting and saying sheeeeet!
I wish I could tell you; I've curbed my potty mouth significantly since our daughter was born 6 years ago. My husband and I never swear in front of her. Nothing yuckier than a vulgarity coming out of a sweet, innocent mouth of a babe! :)
You're right to want to get things in line BEFORE the baby starts repeating. I have two 2 year olds and they started repeating things at about age 1. We don't use profanity, but I'm sure if they were out and heard something they'd repeat it. I don't think I'd be bothered much because if it's not something they'd be hearing on a regular basis.
**I just remembered that when my eldest was about 3 or 4 we overheard him say "What the hell?" upon discovering a hole in his superman cape. When questioned he said he didn't know where he'd heard it. It was actually funny that he used it in context. We just told him that wasn't ok to say and that was it. Anyway, later that night we were watching "Everybody Loves Raymond" repeats as we always did at 10pm well after the kids were gone to bed. During the show Raymond said his famous/usual "What the hell?". We figured our son must not have been sleep many of the times we thought he was and had heard the TV. :o)
Monkey see, monkey do. They copy you as soon as they start speaking English. I recall my sister being shocked at my son's vocabulary when he was about 3 or 4. Not that he was swearing - he wasn't. He was just using words that children don't typically use. We never used baby talk around him, so he became used to an adult vocabulary at an early age.
Since having my daughter I watch my mouth very well, my husband, not so much, I started to tell her they are "boy words", and she has never said one of them, however if I do slip she is quick to tell me "Mommy you said a boy word" LOL!
Some of the other responses are right on. Kids mimick their parents and as soon as they start learning language they start practicing it, too. I enjoy using foul language, however, as a teacher I have an on/off switch. When I am around kids it's off. My husband is just like yours; he tries to watch what he says, but sometimes words just fly out. What I find interesting about kids is that they hear phrases and then use them because they are practicing. My boys do that too. Both my husband and I agree that foul language is part of the American lexicon. We will not forbid it, but rather we want our kids to understand where and when it is okay to use foul language.
For example, we never use foul language around grandparents, at school, or in any public place AND we never use it toward someone (even if grandparents, other kid, or other people are using it). When they hear phrases or words they don't know, we tell them to ask us what it means before they use it . Often times the phrases they hear don't have any curse words, but they are just as foul. We tell our kids that sometimes people get frustrated and say a bad word. It doesn't sound nice, but we know that person is probably really upset. For our kids it is a rare day that they will use a curse word, but if it happens, it's always at home:)
So in the grand scheme of it all, yes cursing from little children sounds awful, but it is not the worst thing in the world. Once kids know your expectations about cursing, they will understand how to use it. But it does help if you set the example.
Hope you have a kick-a$$ day! J/K;)
