So, Who's the Potty Mouth?

This story was too funny to not share.

Have you ever worried about what expletive your kid might come out with? My mother-in-law shared a story that when her daughter was young (very young), she came out one day with "ammit!" while stomping her feet, and it was in perfect context. A few other friends have similar stories, all of which have definitely made me try to watch my occasional potty mouth around MetaToddler (note: when I'm tired, hungry or late, I never know what I'm going to say...unfortunately, these days I'm usually one of those three). Fortunately, I know a few potty phrases in Spanish, which MetaDaddy finds hilarious. It can be a very reverse Lucy & Ricky dynamic at the MetaHome.

So if you're interested, amused, or scared by the thought of your precious little angel cursing up a storm, an article from NPR to entertain and inform: Why Kids Curse.

A couple of excerpts not to be missed.

Max asked in a hushed voice: "Dad, do you know what the worst swear word of all is?"

His son then went on to explain that "damn" must be the worst. When Bloom asked why, his son said, "I listen to my babysitter talk on the phone, and she uses the 'f' word, and the 's' word, but she never says 'damn!'"

And something to set the delusional parent straight:

As an experiment with his children, Bloom and his wife tried their hand at creating their own family curse words.

"So one of them was 'flep,'" says Bloom. Whenever someone would bang their foot or hurt their toe, they'd scream "flep" as if it were an obscenity.

The experiment was very short-lived.

"It was a total failure," says Bloom. "The children looked at us as if we were crazy."

The story gives one of Bloom's mentors, Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, a chuckle.

"Children are far more influenced by peers," says Pinker. "That's why kids of immigrants end up with the accent of their peer group rather than their parents."

Back to the drawing board, I suppose. Blurg!