Nipping Bad Habits in the Bud
"JESUS!" exclaimed Little Son, when he dropped something.
Uh-oh.
"Where did you hear that?" I asked, worried that he would say, "From you!" I`m very careful about swearing around the kids, though, since I fully realize that what goes around comes around.
"Fom Au Pair Extraordinaire!" he said.
Ah. Off the hook, sort of.
To be sure, Au Pair Extraordinaire heard it from me. And after I heard her say it, I had the talk with her about how yes, I do say it sometimes, but not not in front of the kids, and that it`s best not to say it at all because some Chrisitian people are offended when Jesus` name is said in vain.
"Vein?" she asked, looking confused. She was a nurse, after all.
"Please just don`t say it. It bothers some people," I said.
But now Little Son is saying it.
That`s all I need his preschool teachers to hear -- at the school where I`m already mama non grata. This is even worse than the "touch your butt" game, when you think about it.
"You know, you shouldn`t say that word," I told him.
He thought about this.
"So it`s a bad word, just like hell?" he asked.
"Yes! Exactly!"
"Okay," he said. "I don`t want to say any bad words."
Problem solved -- for now, at least --until he starts Catholic school kindergarten, and informs everyone that "Jesus is a bad word."
Uh-oh.
"Where did you hear that?" I asked, worried that he would say, "From you!" I`m very careful about swearing around the kids, though, since I fully realize that what goes around comes around.
"Fom Au Pair Extraordinaire!" he said.
Ah. Off the hook, sort of.
To be sure, Au Pair Extraordinaire heard it from me. And after I heard her say it, I had the talk with her about how yes, I do say it sometimes, but not not in front of the kids, and that it`s best not to say it at all because some Chrisitian people are offended when Jesus` name is said in vain.
"Vein?" she asked, looking confused. She was a nurse, after all.
"Please just don`t say it. It bothers some people," I said.
But now Little Son is saying it.
That`s all I need his preschool teachers to hear -- at the school where I`m already mama non grata. This is even worse than the "touch your butt" game, when you think about it.
"You know, you shouldn`t say that word," I told him.
He thought about this.
"So it`s a bad word, just like hell?" he asked.
"Yes! Exactly!"
"Okay," he said. "I don`t want to say any bad words."
Problem solved -- for now, at least --until he starts Catholic school kindergarten, and informs everyone that "Jesus is a bad word."
posted by L. at 7:30 AM
9 Comments:
That's a hard one to break. But really, He's the first one I want to complain to right? It's not a swear, it's more of a Hey, I need YOUR attention cuz one of your peeps down here won't get the F out of my way.
If you keep the lines of communication open he could wind up like my 8-year-old nephew, who is always quizzing my sister on the nuances of various bad words (usually in the car). Their conversations range from "why some people think the planet Uranus is funny" to my personal favorite, the time he asked her "Mom, is the f-word like the KING of all bad words??" My sister said it was all she could do not to say "actually, it is the MOTHER of all bad words."
She admires his interest in the precise use of language, and so far he's managed to avoid saying any of these words in a public setting.
nf
I say deal with one problem at a time. Seems like you're covered for now!
Nice to nip it in the bud. I was raised by a Wiccan and an atheist, so I only knew "God" and "Jesus" as expletives until I was about eight. I'm now a (very squishy) Catholic, I teach at a Catholic university - and still find myself saying, "Oh, God," when frustrated. And watching my poor students wince or giggle, depending on their orientation. Someday I'm going to get fired.
I say a lot of things like Oh God! that I know I probably shouldn't.
Just don't think of it as swearing somehow and I know the kids have picked it up.
Your last sentence made me snort coffee out my nose!
I like Autumn's Mom's interpretation. In fact I have publicly pushed that interpretation for people to think about when they exclaim "Jesus" or "Oh God".
I lost track what is the status of touch the butt?
I must say, the "touch your butt" game appeals to me to ;) *wicked evil grin*. But I am an adult lol . I can just hear Little Son doing the touch your butt chant....too cute. Yes, I know it's annoying now, but just think of how you can humiliate him when he's an adult...or even better, an awful teenager *grin*.
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