Maddie: Why did you say “shit,” Daddy?
Me: I didn’t…I said “shoot.”
Maddie: Shit!
Me: Shoot! It was shoot! We don’t say the other word.
Maddie: Then why did you say shoot?
Me: Because I parked in the wrong place…somewhere I wasn’t supposed to park.
Maddie: Daddy can’t park!
Me: Yeah, I’m a shitty parker. I mean. Shooty? Hell. Don’t tell anyone about this conversation, ok?
This is why I don’t censor myself. I’d suck at it no matter how hard I tried. 🙂
@Sybil Law, I accept that there are some activities I’ll continue to pursue doing well but realistically will not.
Niiice. Can’t park OR parent.
@SF Dad, I’ve never tried to park well…I just don’t care that much (though I’m an outstanding parallel parker, ironically). As for parenting, this particular instance, I really avoided the profanity (at first).
Kind of makes you nervous about the potential of a “fudge” incident.
@hockeymandad, I’m actually good–so far–with that one. But thanks for the warning!
I don’t curse in front of kids. Grown ups, though? I don’t give a fuck.
Also, I periodically ask my daughter to tell me all the bad words she knows. So far, “crap” is the cap. So far.
@faiqa, It’s not like I do it on purpose! Is that what you’re implying? I should try the “what are the bad words you know?” test…good idea.
Dude. I was not implying that, at all. So sensitive.
@faiqa, Beneath this tough hide of furriness is a tender layer of sensitivity. It’s a curse.
yeah. my kids will pick up on all the phrases i say. like ‘you’ve got to be kidding me!” I hear them say that all the time. sometimes they say “Dammit All!” only one place they here that. (blushes)
o btw- a photo of Sgt. Hall up on my blog. Complete with F-16 in the background 🙂
@mrs hall, Can’t they figure out when they’re supposed to be listening and when they shouldn’t? And I thought kids were smart!
All I heard in my head when I read this was Cartman saying “Fuck, fuckity, fuck, fuck, fuck – who’s it hurting?”.
If you act like the swearing is a big deal, then the kids will make a big deal out of it, too. When I was still a nanny, one afternoon I let the kids cuss all they wanted to for 5 solid minutes (and I timed it) and then it wasn’t a big deal any more. We didn’t have any more swearing issues after that.
And it’s easy for me to give advice since I have no children of my own so there’s that. 🙂
@countessa, Thanks for your discounted but honest advice!
My kids learned all the swear words in the car. That’s where I learned them. It’s just a part of life. Those words will never go away unless we stop driving.
@sue, As did mine…mostly.
I hope child services knows about you. We can’t have that sort of bad behavior being passed onto another generation. I’m talking about the bad parking, of course.
@Grant, I’m sure I’m on their radar. Glad you clarified that.
That’ll teach you to shoot your mouth off.
@kyknoord, I don’t feel very taught here.
Just let me talk to her, and then you can blame her sailor mouth on me.
@avitable, I blame all life’s frustrations on you as it is!
We’ve been trying really hard not to say ‘fuck’ around the kids because I don’t want the older one wandering around saying ‘fuck’ this and ‘fuck’ that. So we’ve replaced ‘fucking’ with ‘bloody’, which, to American ears, sounds a bit less trashy. This weekend? “Mama, give me some bloody cake!”
@Free Man, I like it! Totally not a bad word here.
Shit and idiot are words my children use quite often and I can’t really stop them, as much as I try.
First of all, to hear a two year old say shit is really kind of adorable and it doesn’t help that I say that word 100,000 times a day. I feel AWFUL but really… they’re great kids. And well behaved. And they don’t use those words to other people. Only shut-up. And I’m okay with that too.
Shit, I sound like a bad-ass mom! My kids are perfect angels! NEVER MIND THIS COMMENT.
@Loukia Hey, there’s no judgment here!