Taming Your Child's Potty Mouth

Malena A. Jackson
Sep 22, 2015
4 min read

I don’t believe in perfect parents, but I do believe in conscious parenting.

What that means is to be a parent, who is awake, alive and aware of what they say and do in front of their children, even when they think that no one is watching or listening. Conscious parenting is key. The issue is, most parents don’t realize that they aren’t awake. I know this because I hear some of the things that they say around their children. Any parent in their right mind, wouldn’t say or do those things.

I get sick to my stomach anytime I hear a car blasting rap music from the radio and there are small kids sitting in the back seat. Children are children and should not be subjected to garbage like that. They are sponges and those derogatory words and slander are slowly creeping into the deep crevices of their subconscious.

I’ve made a conscious effort never to curse in front of my kids. My kids’ ages vary. They are 11, 10, six and four (soon to be five).

Last year, my 10-year-old son, who was then nine, asked me what a mother*ucker was? Appalled, I asked him where did he hear such a strong curse word? He told me that a boy in his class calls everyone a mother*ucker. Immediately, I knew that this little boy was calling everyone this because his mother or father calls him that or uses the term very often.

When my son asked me this, I knew it was a good time to be honest and explain to him what curse words are. At this point, he thought a curse word were things like, “stupid” and “suck.”

I explained that there are words that some people use to REALLY get their point across and are usually said to hurt someone. I also shared some of my favorite curse words. I said them and told him what they meant to me and why I use them from time to time. But mother*ucker, I never use that one. I told him that was way too strong of a word to use.

I didn’t ask him if he’d been using the words, he probably has but I told him that people, who use profanity are usually hurting or lack a good vocabulary. It is my hope that he wouldn’t use those words, especially when I am not around.

That was that.

Whenever I hear a child who curses like a sailor, I automatically fault the parents.

Sure, we can blame the kids that they hang around, that can be the culprit, too. However, there is a HUGE chance that the child is getting his cursing skills from the mom, dad or both. Children don’t enter into this world knowing what curse words are. In fact, the unexperienced child won’t even know how to use the word in its proper context, unless he’s had pretty extensive, unconscious training from the household.

If your child suffers from a bad case of the potty mouth, here are a few things you can do to turn this around:

You must clean out your mouth. It’s time to think before you speak. Clean up your use of profanity. It is NEVER OK or acceptible to curse in front of or at your kids.
If you accidentally, curse in front of your child, immediately apologize to him and explain that you lost control and never meant to disrespect him in that manner.
When your child uses profanity, don’t punish or scold him, they got it honest (meaning, you probably taught them those words) instead, ask him why did he choose to talk that way, then explain that everyone is working on using better words to express how they feel. Help him get on track.
If you have been a potty mouth all of your life, chances are, the habit is tough to break. Create a list of “go to” words that you can use in place of swearing. I like the term, “Zoo-Wee-Mamma.” I learned that one from Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It works great! Whenever I’m around the kids and something happens, instead of saying my favorite, f*ck! I say, “Zoo-Wee-Mama” then we all laugh. There are plenty of other phrases like, “What the fa la la!” Create terms that will satisfy you without disrespecting your little ones.
If you’re a new mom or dad and you think, oh my kids are little ones, they don’t know the difference. Hmm, so not true. Babies pick up on energy and trust me, your energy shifts when you use mean words. Babies know. Do yourself and your family a favor and break the habit now.

Do you have any funny, yet satisfying cursing alternatives? If so, please share them in the comments below. I’d love to know.

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