How did you react when your toddler swears?

Question

Like..did you laugh a little bit cos u were shocked??

Answer 1

I merely sat him down and explained that mummy and daddy do not use that word and I do not want him to use it either. Seemed to do the trick.

Answer 2

It depends

If they are just repeating a word and have no idea of context then just say calmly that its not a nice word and would they like to pick another one

If however they are swearing as and adult would - I can curse believe me - then best bet is to ignore it not to react, or over react to it

I know its hard but try to ensure that they dont hear you doing - and I have to say that I really fall down here -

Even my teen ager doesnt use bad language - oldest is now nearly 18 - in front of me unless hes watching a match then the occasional one slips out

Toddlers all do it but most stop

chill and enjoy - its real funny when you look back - like to time my middle one asked her great grandmother if she ever took a **** - in the middle of a family dinner - elderly relative lost her teeth in the mashed potatoes and my mother in law dropped one of my best crystal glasses

Answer 3

Toddlers use that language to get a reaction.
When the explicative is said, just say to your child, "Oh I'm sorry. I cannot talk to you right now because you are using words that are not nice. Mommy and Daddy do not use words like that."
And then walk away (but still in site) and ignore then until they use proper language. They will see that they do not get a response, so there is no need ( or use) to use that word.
Make sure that you speak in a normal,unemotional tone of voice.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

No, I don't laugh at her when she does something naughty. Her new favorite word is "holy crap". I've been guilty of saying that (but stopped after she said it the first time) but now it's her dad's girlfriends 12 year old son that is rubbing it in. I told her that it's a grown up word and not one she is allowed to say...end of story. Then I gave her some alternative expressions that are acceptable for her to say. The key is to give them words they can use instead of the bad ones. She stopped.

I do laugh when she says something and it comes out wrong though.....one day she was watching a construction guy working on the neighbors house...and she said what I thought was "he's doing a hell of a job"...at first I was shocked, then I asked her "what did you say?" and she said "he's doing a *mush mush mush* job." I said what do you mean? She said, "He's making a mess everywhere!" I said, "Do you mean a horrible job?" Yep, that was it! I laughed and laughed. I just told her...I thought you said a very naughty word! She said "No Mommy...horrible, horrible". She knows how to pronounce that now!

Answer 5

The fist time I did laugh a little out of shock but after that I explained that the work was a bad word and have taught myself not to use those words arround them anymore. It is only funny the first time after that you much stop it before the child thinks that it is alright.

Answer 6

Thankfully we haven't had to deal with that yet. My husband and I never swear in the house. My SIL on the other hand can't go one sentence without adding the "f" word or "c" word (rhymes with hunt). Very classy. Anyway, when her daughter was 3 she told my in-laws to "f" off and then called them "c"s. Their reaction was to laugh which pretty much encouraged our niece. Maybe I'm square but I don't find it amusing to hear an innocent little toddler using foul language.

Answer 7

As nonchalantly as possible. In cases where he swears spontaneously, i.e. he's not parroting something he just heard, we usually ignore it. If he gets no reaction from a word that he can't define and has no context for, he won't use it. (He -will- use it again as soon as he hears it, though, because it's in his brain...but he has no idea why he's saying it)

If he's parroting me after I've let one slip, I will pause momentarily to say something like "Let's not use that word. Daddy didn't mean to say it and it's not a good word to use." After that I just go about my business like he didn't do anything wrong (which, to be honest, he didn't--I did.) 100% of the time that has stopped him from repeating it. I don't say "YOU shouldn't say it", it's always "WE shouldn't". I don't tell him why it's bad...less incentive to use it when he's feeling mischevious.

Finally, I try not to call it a "bad word" because I don't want to load it with extra value or connotation.

Answer 8

Hi Beautiful:

I realized that if she was swearing, it was probably because she heard me swearing a few times, enough for her to know when to use it.

One day, my daughter was holding a toy that fell on the floor. She said: oh... s**t.
Immediately, I thought: she said it just like me...

So I decided not to swear anymore, and next time my daughter swore again., I explained to her that that was not nice and that both of us should stop swearing and that we both should help each other to stop.

It worked. Hope it works for you, too!

Answer 9

The first time I heard her say a curse word, I ignored it. I figured if I let her know that it had upset me or if she got a big reaction out of it, she would continue to say it.

I didn't actually hear another curse word until about six months later, and she was saying it while she was playing. I sat her down and told her that sometimes adults say words they're not supposed to, and that was one of them, and it was not okay for her to repeat it. I then told her if I heard her say it again she would be punished. She hasn't said it since.

Answer 10

After stifling my very ikmature giggle I asked her where she heard it and told her we don't speak like that-that it's not very nice, etc. She's 4 now and so far has never really pursued the joy of swearing.

Answer 11

It's funny as hell LOL.

BUT, Im sure not funny to anyone else outside of our home.

So, we gave my 3 year old a list of "special words" she can use instead of "adult words". We never told her they were "bad words", because they're not, but that they are for adults, and not kids to use. It clicked within the first few days.

When she picks up a new word, she asks us first if its a kid word or an adult word. Its too cute.