Dad Moves Rewind: Curse Words, from 3/9
This is my article from my time with Belly Up media. It’s just the Dad part as it’s my intellectual property
You Do the Best You Can as a Parent
The Fantasy Dad, yes I like to speak in the third person now and then, tries his best to give all four of my kids my undivided attention. My wife and I try to spread out the discipline as fair as we can. Nonetheless, we acknowledge our sons for the individuals that they are and I try my best to remember that mumbling moron isn’t considered constructive parenting. The fact of the matter is I think most people would say I’m a pretty strict dad. My oldest son, Owen, didn’t use curse words until his teen years. It wasn’t until his friends started calling him “Jesus boy” that I told him it was OK to occasionally curse around friends. Then I listed all the times I didn’t want him swearing. Consequently think I may have confused him more than anything. The bottom line is my kids usually listen to our rules but then there’s Brody…
The Curse Word Kid
Brody is a constant comedian. Which can be a problem. He’s been infatuated with curse words since he was little.
“Dad is the S word a bad word?”
“Yes, Brody it is, the same as it was last week”.
The boy recently got in trouble at school. Feeling left out by a friend of his, he told the kid he was being “a piece of”… well, let’s just say poop for this article, but use your imagination.
Now I’ve grounded him. I gave him a serious dad talk. I mean pull out the dad checklist, I hit them all. Will Brody use curse words again? Just like Alfred said in The Dark Knight, “Some men just want to see the world burn”. He’s drawn to them like it’s forbidden fruit.
So How Do I Handle a Serial Potty Mouth?
Brody will try it again I have no doubt. He’s my little rebel. I’m going to lean hard on a parent’s best tool, consistency. Every time he tries cursing I will be there to hand out the punishment. Sooner or later it’ll get through to him. As to where he gets the curse words? Let’s just say The Fantasy Dad needs to lead by example a little more in this case. Guilty!
