Swearing in front of Gc.

I never swear in front of anyone. The strongest words I use are sugar and oh pooh.

My word, I'm not sure what to say. I personally don't like it and I realise it is an every day occurrence for some.
My daughters sometimes swear but as I'm a Christian, I really don't like the Lord's name taken in vein, so they respect that.
If it's a learnt behaviour and a passed on learnt behaviour, in the every day environment, how would you know any different, except you've written about it, so you do know.
I'm not a fan no. But each to their own and it's not my journey to understand.

Now I say sugar instead of what I used to say. Grandson also uses sugar if he drops something. It was a lesson learned when I heard him

Usually I don't swear although I will admit that a mild oath does now or then escape me.

As a teacher I was accustomed to never swearing at or in front of the children I taught. After all children learn by example, don't they?

Standards differ so enormously on this point, that I can quite see that if you come from a family or workplace where swearing is accepted, you will quite naturally use these words without realising it.

And, in that case you probably either feel hurt or offended if young parents ask you not to swear in front of their children.

However, in this as in anything else the parents' rules apply, so if asked not to do something, I would make an effort to do as I had been asked.

I don't swear other than s..t but never ever use the bad words that seem to be acceptable these day.
My husband heard our sons swear when they were 10 or 11 and he washed their moths out with soap and told the never to talk like that again in our house.
They are grown up now and my oldest sons swears like a trouper and makes me feel so ashamed.
We met our future in-laws and they swear constantly and we objected to our son and ask him to politely ask if they could moderate language in front of us so now none of them are talking to us as they feel that they have the right to swear where and when they like.
It is a total lack of respect when people do that and most nice people do not swear in company especially when they do not know the people. I have never met anyone else who does that.

I was not spoken too in foul language by my parents. It was not accepted as normal then and I don't accept it as normal now.

These words where part of our everyday language, if you read Shakespeare, Marlow, Chaucer to name a few over our greatest authors, this was how our language was written, and performed across all levels of society. Then to help define a class structure some word we're not to be used in polite society, middle and upper class people started using different words fornication deficating and so on. All to distance themselves form the working class. I am very proud of my working class background and roots, and I choose to use my language anyway I want, with two rules, always in context, right word right place, which includes the situation I'm in, and never as verbal violence, I don't swear at people, same rules apply to my children and my grandchildren.

My sons and their families never swear at all. I am careful not to swear when I am with them.

I worked in a primary school for 10 years and learnt not to swear but used things like sugar puffs instead. I never swore around my children and encouraged them not to use foul language either. They still don't around me or relatives ( most probably do when with friends) I now have 3yr old gs and he has come out with a couple of words which his parents laughed at till they realised he'd said it at preschool. They are now trying to stamp out any further slips!

I don't intentionally swear in front of anyone, especially in front of children - grandchildren or not, but I must admit to swearing on the way home from work if it's been very stressful.

I have always brought my children up to see that blaspheming is offensive to some people and we don't want to offend even if Christianity isn't a belief for them. As a teacher we weren't allowed to teach children that their parents were wrong so I used to use the same lesson with swearing. I have never taught my children that swearing is wrong per se, just that there is a time and a place. I also pointed out that the other children's parents may not be happy with their children associating with someone who swears so they might lose friends. In my classroom I wouldn't let the children say "shut up." It just sounds so horrible.

I would never swear in front of my grandchildren and my children would not like it even though they sometimes let slip. Bad language becomes habitual so using it means you are likely to swear in the wrong place or in front of the wrong person without realising it.

Nice people definitely do swear ! A teacher wouldn’t say that in today’s world ! I try very hard not to swear in front of our GS, but I do use “bugger” and “oh hell” and “oh god” If I come out with something worse in front of him I immediately apologise and tell him I didn’t mean to say it, it’s not very nice and not to use my words !! Hey are only words and the meanings behind them not nice but the milder swear words are on TV constantly and children will often pick up very easily, no doubt they might hear them in the park or shopping centres and the less fuss you make the less likely you are to hear them repeated ! Our GS is now 7 and “poo” and “bum” are his favoured words shouted loudly Drives his parents mad !!

Setting a good example to children cannot mean swearing and blaspheming in front of them surely. I’d have told off anybody who did it in front of mine.

Having worked in retail during the pandemic I can safely say that thanks to wearing a mask in front of customers my creative swearing has improved no end ?

jaylucy

I used to swear more than I do but never ever the f- word! In fact, half of the time I didn't even realise that I was swearing !
What brought me up sharp was when I was in Australia a few years ago and just came out with "bloody hell" when we had to do an emergency stop in the car I was travelling in after a cyclist shot across the front of the car.
My niece that was driving, abruptly told me that it is actually illegal to swear in public in Victoria and there are on the spot fines from police if heard or reported .
Made me stop and think !

Good grief...we could make a fortune in this country if they adopted that on our streets! More than speed cameras?

Saw this yesterday which made me smile, but no, I wouldn’t swear in front of my grandchildren.

I used to swear more than I do but never ever the f- word! In fact, half of the time I didn't even realise that I was swearing !
What brought me up sharp was when I was in Australia a few years ago and just came out with "bloody hell" when we had to do an emergency stop in the car I was travelling in after a cyclist shot across the front of the car.
My niece that was driving, abruptly told me that it is actually illegal to swear in public in Victoria and there are on the spot fines from police if heard or reported .
Made me stop and think !

I tell my grandkids they are welcome to swear in front of me and they do it loads and loads for about 10 mins & they forget! I have a personal mission to normalise swearing cos its only a word, my ex used to say to me 'you lying whore, you're not right down there, you're not!' in a really intimidating voice which I find much more unpleasant than an occasional 'shit' or 'fuck' and who doesn't love Billy Connolly who swears all the time but is never offensive

Thank you for coming back Yammy. So few do. It’s much appreciated. I agree that some children use pretty foul language, often perhaps to look big in front of their mates. You’re right that it’s up to us to set an example and help children to broaden their vocabulary and as a former teacher you’re well placed to do that. A struggle yes, but a worthwhile one which will add to their life skills. ‘Manners maketh the man’ and all that.

Btw what on earth is Assa Marra a corruption of? You’ve kindly provided a translation but I can’t for the life of me work out the original words despite the Scottish ancestry my DNA results tell me I have. Lead a very sheltered life dontcha know!???

I didn't swear in front of my children when they were little as one slip up ( son in back of car, slammed on brakes due to idiot driver and heard little voice ask 'where is the stupid basket mummy?). However, although I rarely swear when in company, I find that I have become something of a potty mouth when watching the New or Question time . Blasphemy doesn't bother me as I am an atheist, but I respect others' views on it, my late DF was a frequent user of 'Jesus H Christ' when frustrated or angry and as far as I am aware, nobody was offended.

Germanshepherdsmum

So, OP, having heard a lot of opinions, do you still think your swearing and ‘everyday parlance’ and the way your grandparents spoke about children are acceptable? You talk about what is said all the time where you come from. Roughly whereabouts is that?

To answer three questions that have been asked of me.
1. Why Geneaology. I had been reading the Bishop of Glasgow's curse on the Boarder Rievers five centuries ago my family were one of the main ones. I thought how we speak today and how my parents, grandparents and great grandparents spoke. I realised that we still use some old words and phrases and cursing was and still is part of everyday language.
2. Where do I live, I leave you to work that one out only to say it's renowned for its rain. A lot of sayings are Irish as there were close links, Holy Mary is one. Often used in Irish plays on T.V.
3. As to the cursing in the house I think the answers say it all. Young people today use gutter language I have never used and never would but have had it used at me as a teacher by children as young as 5 and their parents all my career. You only have to hear children on a school bus or in a playground and you realise how foul our language is developing.
Maybe as grandparents, we should try to curb it, as a teacher said to us at school "Swearing is a sign of ignorance you use a swear word because you can't think of a better," Maybe we should show by example and broaden both our own and grandchildren's descriptive language skills.
To finish "Assa Marra how do?", still used today. I say old chap how are you this fine Sunday morning? I certainly won't be giving that up. Can we really as grandparents the "old fossils really change the world . I think after reading some posts on M.N and the language used it will be an uphill struggle.

My MIL who came from the titled classes, used swear words in practically every sentence, as part of her everyday vocabulary.

Only amongst family and peers though. I knew I had been accepted when she started swearing when she talked to me ?

Oh! Not sure how I quoted you Maw

MayBeMaw

Genealogy?

I swear sometimes, when I fall, or drop things, but only when nobody is around. I have occasionally sworn when watching the news. I don’t think I’ve ever sworn in front of any children, I try not to.

So, OP, having heard a lot of opinions, do you still think your swearing and ‘everyday parlance’ and the way your grandparents spoke about children are acceptable? You talk about what is said all the time where you come from. Roughly whereabouts is that?