Children and swearing

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Durandal
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Children and swearing

Post by Durandal »

All right, parents. How do you raise your children with respect to foul language?

Personally, I'd tell my kid just to not say those words in school when he was younger, and when he started getting into 6th or 7th grade, I'd tell him that swearing really doesn't hurt anybody, but the fact is that you can be punished in school for it, so he should watch his mouth.

Also, developing a swearing habit that gets out of control is something that girls hate, and trust me, I can personally attest to that. It's one of the reasons I've tried harder to clean up my casual language. What's more, you sound unprofessional. If your vocabulary is littered with swears, then you'll barely be able to form a coherent sentence without them, and you'll sound like a moron at a job interview or in any intelligent discussion.

Thoughts?
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Post by Enforcer Talen »

Id agree to that.

tho, it depends on the girl. ive known a few who swear more then I do.
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Post by Durandal »

Enforcer Talen wrote:Id agree to that.

tho, it depends on the girl. ive known a few who swear more then I do.
On the whole, though, it's far more likely that a girl will be turned off by swearing than by lack of swearing (unless it's in bed, then it's a different ball game :) ).
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Re: Children and swearing

Post by Darth Wong »

Durandal wrote:All right, parents. How do you raise your children with respect to foul language?
Don't make a big deal out of it. Let him know that certain people find certain words offensive and encourage him to use other words when appropriate, but don't punish him for using them. He has, after all, not really hurt anyone. People who hit their kids for swearing have got their priorities wrong.
Personally, I'd tell my kid just to not say those words in school when he was younger, and when he started getting into 6th or 7th grade, I'd tell him that swearing really doesn't hurt anybody, but the fact is that you can be punished in school for it, so he should watch his mouth.

Also, developing a swearing habit that gets out of control is something that girls hate, and trust me, I can personally attest to that. It's one of the reasons I've tried harder to clean up my casual language. What's more, you sound unprofessional. If your vocabulary is littered with swears, then you'll barely be able to form a coherent sentence without them, and you'll sound like a moron at a job interview or in any intelligent discussion.
True enough; I tell my boys that there is a time and a place for swear-words, and you have to be careful when and where you use them. That's an easier message to take than "*WHACK* Don't swear!!!"
On the whole, though, it's far more likely that a girl will be turned off by swearing than by lack of swearing (unless it's in bed, then it's a different ball game).
She can't complain about your foul language when your cock is in her mouth :)
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Post by Superman »

You know what used to crack my up? My fundie father used to literally spank the crap out of me for saying, "oh my god" (forget about ever saying "shit") and he would try to shelter me from hearing such words. I could not watch movies with bad language, and definately no music.

I also went to public school, where every kid knew how to say "fuck" by grade 2. So, my dad did a great job with that, eh? He tried to shelter me from hearing it, but that is all I ever heard at school. :roll:
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Post by Robert Treder »

My parents basically went with what Durandal outlined. There's nothing inherently wrong with the words, but people can get offended by them, so I should be careful who I use swear-words around. They'd say that if you're joking with your friends, it doesn't matter, but if you swear at an teacher or something, expect to get in trouble.
Also, my parents wisely taught me that no matter which words you say to someone, if you're trying to hurt or insult them, that's not really a good thing, and I'd get reprimanded for it. Of course, when I got older and wiser, I was able to judge for myself who was really worthy of insult, and I could dispatch swear-words accordingly.
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Post by Queeb Salaron »

I say that in the presence of company, or when in any sort of formal setting (school included), teach your kids to be perfect gentlemen / women. Outside of that, just tell them to cut it out when it gets out of hand. Like when they're dropping the f-bomb at the dinner table at every other word, tell them to stop. Otherwise... ::Shrugs:: My philosophy is this: They're only words. Judge a person by how they act, not their diction. Seems kinda superficial to me. But that's how it works.
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Post by kojikun »

funny topic, this, cause im listening to H2G2's bit on the giant birds and the dirty foul most unspeakable word ...BELGIUM!!!
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Post by InnerBrat »

Yeah, what Wong said,

except I'm a girl, and I don't give fuck about the words you use. It's the meanign behind them that matters, ya fucking cunt. :)
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Post by Enforcer Talen »

some chicks in my english class say words like cunt increase the degradation of women. my teacher included.

and, kudos to the gratitious use of belguim.
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Post by Tsyroc »

Enforcer Talen wrote:some chicks in my english class say words like cunt increase the degradation of women. my teacher included.

That's interesting since the word hasn't always been considered vulgar.
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Post by Enforcer Talen »

cant think of a word that has.
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Post by kojikun »

you know whats funny? to be watching old Looney Toons and have an old lady call for Sylvester by saying "Here pussy pussy pussy"
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Post by RedImperator »

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Post by Darth Wong »

Enforcer Talen wrote:some chicks in my english class say words like cunt increase the degradation of women. my teacher included.
Actually, they only degrade whatever specific person you're applying the insult to. I'm sick of people like the ones you describe, who try to turn everything into a group-identification issue. If someone calls some guy a prick, does that degrade all men, or just that guy?
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Re: Children and swearing

Post by aphexmonster »

Durandal wrote:All right, parents. How do you raise your children with respect to foul language?

Personally, I'd tell my kid just to not say those words in school when he was younger, and when he started getting into 6th or 7th grade, I'd tell him that swearing really doesn't hurt anybody, but the fact is that you can be punished in school for it, so he should watch his mouth.

Also, developing a swearing habit that gets out of control is something that girls hate, and trust me, I can personally attest to that. It's one of the reasons I've tried harder to clean up my casual language. What's more, you sound unprofessional. If your vocabulary is littered with swears, then you'll barely be able to form a coherent sentence without them, and you'll sound like a moron at a job interview or in any intelligent discussion.

Thoughts?
I was raised exactly like that. I mean... they're just words, but i was told how they affected some people.

and i think one in a few girls dont mind swearing :? ... not a very decent ratio however...
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Post by Lord Pounder »

My father is one of the most foul mouthed men i've ever met. If he's not swearing he's smoking. So i wasn't exactly sheltered from cursing. Comming from a working class irish area cursing was very common in my area and i used to curse quite a bit. It wasn't till i was in my middle teens that i started to hold my tounge. My english teacher and i where talkign about things, he was a good guy that way, when we got on to the topic of cursing. His opinion made a deep impression on me and it's something i've accepted and try to follow. Cursing is exactly the same as animal grunting. But humans have come beyond grunting, I am more than capable of making me feelings felt without resporting to grunts.

When my niece, who was 4 at the time 1st cursed her mother smacked the ass off her, but my mum told my sister off and said to her that when i child curses just ignore her completely. If you give the child a reaction you give her a lever for your attention.
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Post by Durandal »

Darth Wong wrote:
Enforcer Talen wrote:some chicks in my english class say words like cunt increase the degradation of women. my teacher included.
Actually, they only degrade whatever specific person you're applying the insult to. I'm sick of people like the ones you describe, who try to turn everything into a group-identification issue. If someone calls some guy a prick, does that degrade all men, or just that guy?
I make it a point not to say "cunt" around women, nonetheless. That's a bit of a forbidden word. Too bad, because I find that I like it quite a bit. :D
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Post by HemlockGrey »

My parents make a point of not swearing in polite company, although they slip every now and then, either because they are in great pain, greatly frustrated, or to accentuate a particularly sharp point.
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Post by Crayz9000 »

You just have to strike a balance with language. I tend not to swear in normal conversation (there is nothing that bugs me more than a person who uses 'fuck' every two words) but I will use them when appropriate.

Anyway, I must have spent too much time on ASVS; an exclamation that I find myself using frequently is "Kriff!" I've gotten odd looks for that one on occasion.
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Post by Galvatron »

Durandal wrote:I make it a point not to say "cunt" around women, nonetheless. That's a bit of a forbidden word. Too bad, because I find that I like it quite a bit. :D
I never understood why that word carries so much power with it. Someone care to enlighten me?
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Post by Korvan »

I find swearing works wonders as a method of acute pain management. Injuries just don't hurt as much when you're swearing.

My parents rarely swore, but when they did, us kids knew that they wern't fucking around, cause some serious shit was about to hit the fan.

It's funny, as a kid I would swear in front of other kids, but not in front of adults. Now I'm an adult, I'lld swear with my adult friends, but not in front of their kids. "Shit! Sorry kid, I'm not supposed to fucking swear around ya."
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Post by Baron Mordo »

Personally, it bugs me more when people say "Dude!" than if they say "Fuck!"
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Post by Knife »

As a former Marine, I got a fucking horrible mouth when it comes to language. Fortunatly, I was also an instructor in the Corps. so I learned to turn it on and off. Now I work in a warehouse and my language is still horrible, but I retain the ability to turn it off when necessary. Wife wifes job requires her to attend some spiffy richie/rich partys and such and she apreciates my ability to talk with a more civil tone and vocabulary.

My kids? Well right now they are told the 'swear' words are big people words like alcohol is big people drink. They have come to accept that there are things for kids and things for adults. As they get older, I will try to mold that thought more into sociable acceptable times and non acceptable times.
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Post by Soontir C'boath »

I am now 16 and my mom doesn't mind anymore when I do swear. I remember she would go nuts when I did.....
I usually swear when I'm pissed off or emphasizing a point and that's about it.

Soon words considered as swears will become regular in years to come just as "damned" did. :D

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