Swearing in front of children

Swearing indicates a lack of vocabulary and little thought for others.

It doesn't shock me much. There seems to be a time and a place for it of course, and a person for it too.
It might surprise me coming out of one person's mouth but not from another's.
I just use the strong ones if alone in real emergencies when nothing else will do.

I think children need to learn a time and place when certain words may be appropriate/tolerated. I don't swear often: alone in car at other drivers, just now at doctor's having an injection in my knee; but am very careful around my grandson. I still remember when my son was 13 he was taken with a friend and friend's father to see a live big football match and was told not to repeat what bad bad words he heard....he told me what the father had said them and said there was a lot of shouting and hand waving at the referee and demonstrated some hand gestures that I suggested were best not to emulate either. But he enjoyed the event and understood the language needed to be confined.

The F word seems to be used by everyone, unfortunately, the only swear word I heard my dad use was "bloody". He was in the Navy and worked in a factory afterwards.

On another subject. Walked through an "open space" yesterday evening with my dog. A young couple had just had a "take away" stood up and left a container with the remains of a curry in it and two plastic bottles. I called them to remove their litter saying it was their "world" we were trying to keep clean. They just walked off and left it. I feel that the young people are the litterers. I picked it up and walked to the nearest bin and deposited it. All the plastic bottles I see are usually thrown by young adults.

My son learned that “F*** Hell” is a very special expression, only EVER to be used like Daddy just did when you hit your thumb with a hammer.

Thought I had got away with it until, Sunday lunch, boy child brings little wooden toy with pegs you tap with a mallet down just as I was stirring the gravy. You can guess the rest!

My mother was seriously unimpressed, my Dad thought running round hitting his hand and calling said expression over and over again was the funniest thing he had ever heard.

Mrs. Neil hit ME (not very hard)

I think it's wrong to swear around very young children who will pick it up without knowing when it's okay to use and when not.
Maybe, tho, it'll all become normal usage as so many people do use swearing in ordinary speech.

Never any need for it. The more people dismiss it as harmless, the more acceptable it becomes and as always it is those who try to live by the rules who are most affected. By that i mean those who swear are not offended by non swearers, but non swearers generally are offended by swearers, ergo offence is one sided.

It's very strange. I spent over 20 years in an engineering factory listening to the guys out on the shop floor swearing on a daily basis but they never swore in front of me or apologised if something occasionally slipped out. One of my sons is s musician and in years gone by we often had band members of varying ages staying here whose use of the f word was commonplace. None of it every bothered me and I confess to swearing to myself quite a bit if something goes wrong. However I abhor hearing an adult swearing at a child which is totally unnecessary and sounds dreadful especially in a supermarket or in the street. I also have one work colleague who will swear in front of me which shocks me though I've no idea why.

It's everywhere these days and we probably just get used to hearing it even on tv - music venues are especially bad - but there is a time and place as with everything.

I confess to swearing more when I'm on my own at home or in the car but I am very aware of being around my DGC. Both my DD & her OH have some very colourful language although I think they'd me shocked to hear me use the same words. They both mostly moderate their language around DGC

Children pick up these words at School but most know when & where to use them

About 43 years ago, I got mad with an idiot pinching the parking space I was about to reverse into. DS2 was in the back of the car and later in the day he told his father: 'We saw a sod in the car park today.' Another time a little voice from the back seat said: 'What means buddy ell, Mummy?' Nowadays, in the Harry Potter films, although 'stronger' swear words are not used, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) uses 'bloody hell' all the time, so no guessing what my 10-year-old GS uses as a normal expletive.

Shocked? No, but, very very sad.

Unfortunately bad language is heard everywhere these days, especially schools ... the important thing is bringing our kids up to know that it’s unacceptable and say how awful it sounds. I had to explain to one GS after stubbing my toe badly .... that’s the only time you are allowed to swear !! ?

What age? By the time they’re at secondary school they’re all using them anyway.

I don’t think they’re as shocked by words these days and most kids work out the correct audience for swear words.

I don’t like young children being sworn at by adults, but otherwise can’t get worked up about it tbh.

very reassuring stella1949. I agree with you so I would find your comments reassuring.

I'm sure it wasn't the first or last time the children would have heard those words. The younger generation don't have the same shockability about swearing as our generation did. My DS uses words like that at times in front of his children and I've never heard them say them. They'll be fine. No need to be shocked.

Oh Deedaa, glorious use of the * word! Of course it only had power because you hadn't used it before.

I was, yet again, hanging around for ages waiting for DS who wanted a lift home from school. He must have been about 14. He eventually turned up having been roaming round the shops with one of his friends. He started to tell me where he'd been and I flung the door open and said "Shut up and get in the **ing car!" He and friend were stunned into silence and I still hear about it 25 years later.

I always tried not to swear in front of my children or my parents. I suspect that the shock content of many words has diminished so far as general society is concerned.
Some of the young parents in our circle do cuss, but never in anger and never at the children. They use words when describing an amusing or irritating event in their day, using f*g but never anger. Then, the offender will look at me, apologise and continue their entertaining story.

Hmmm....and yet another good reason NOT to watch football!

I would never want to hear any "swearing" of any kind in front of children (or anyone else for that matter). It just isn't necessary, sets a very poor example, and sounds awful.

Teach your children not to use bad language and set an example yourself, swearing by adults gives the kids a licence to do the same so don't allow it and that includes other kids as well as your own.

I have nothing at all against swearing (I swear myself at times), but NEVER in front of any child or elderly person. When my grandchildren are around, we say things such as "Fiddle it" or "Flump to it"

Oh dear, that does sound like abuse GillT57

I confess to having used a naughty word in the car the other week after a 'close shave' and then remembered there were two DGC in the back of the car

It wasn't 'oh poo' btw.

The trouble is the more someone uses swear words the more it becomes the normal in their day to day language.

Swearing in front of children is bad enough, but swearing at them, as I heard last week is even worse. I was moving my DD out of her flat, all to the accompaniment of her downstairs neighbour ( windows open) bellowing 'You do my f**king head in!* and 'for f**k's sake, sit in the f**king chair'. This to a sobbing two year old. Now, we have all been hot and hormonal, but that was disgusting.