Kids Repeat Everything

My boyfriend’s two nephews come by every other weekend and they spend a lot of time playing video games in our game room. I remember I walked in one day to check on them and as I turned around to leave, his older nephew reacted to losing to his younger brother with “FUCK that’s not fair!” He’s only ten years old and he’s already got a potty mouth. I turned around staring at him as he looked at me blankly and asked, “What?” He didn’t even know the amount of trouble he was in! I asked him if he knew what he said. It was obvious then that he knew he said something inappropriate. So I told him to apologize for swearing and made him promise to never use bad words. He apologized and went back to playing their video game but he hasn’t used that word (at least in front of me) ever again.

After that incident, I started thinking about my I communication style, especially what I say and how I say it around kids. I know I’ve dropped the F-bomb now and then when my guard is down but I’ve since taught myself to be more cautious while children are present.

Adults are the role models – responsible for setting the example because children will repeat every single thing you say and do. When you catch your kids cursing, explain to them why its inappropriate and give warnings. If they don’t stop, then give punishments. I’m not a parent yet but raising kids sure makes life interesting!

To read more about cleaning up a child’s potty mouth, check out MSNBC’s article in Parenting & Family.