Ahhh, nothing like hearing your preschooler let out their frustrations with those few words society deems as unacceptable, dirty, bad, or naughty. When the words come out of his tiny mouth, I don’t know if I should laugh, cry, be embarrassed, or glad my son is learning how to use his words in context.

His most recent bout with profanity came when I was merely putting on his little glove. His fingers were acting crazy and not fitting into the right slots. In a calm voice, my son said, “damnit” followed with a “What the hell” “Excuse me, what did you say?” is all that I could muster out.

I know that I am to blame for his language skills or lack of. Being an imperfect human, I would love to blame it on society, the TV, or even my husband. But since I shelter my child from society, I’ve never heard Dora swear, and my husband keeps his words in check, it all falls on me. Occasionally, a word or two will slip from my mouth in front of the kids. Ok, maybe more than a word or two and maybe they slip more than occasionally. Surely, I cannot be the only parent out there with a child repeating words not meant to be repeated.

As an adult, I don’t see anything wrong with the few curse words that I use. Albeit, I don’t think it’s very attractive for kids to use those same words. And I do try not to let the words slip out in front of them, but with daily life and stresses, it can be challenging. Besides, I save the heavy-duty words for when I�?Tm really angry, not around the kids or when I can talk freely with certain people. Ok, I feel better now. This blog has been cathartic for me and made me realize that I�?Tm doing the best I can with the intent of doing better.

In conclusion, I will continue to cuss when I feel the need, work on not doing it in front of the boys, and not feel guilty for letting out a much stress relieving f*** once in a while. In the words of Joel Goodson from Risky Business, “Sometimes you just gotta say, What the f***…”