The last thing any parent wants to hear from their little and innocent child’s mouth is a vocabulary filled with colorful swearing words. Parents are often worried as to where the child picks up such words from. Such practices often lead to public embarrassment for the parents and the child to develops a filthy language.
Why do kids swear?
Usually, the child has no idea of the meaning of the word uttered. They pick it up from adults and think it normal, even cool, to say them. They may witness their older siblings or parents say it. Most of the movies and music videos today depict swearing. Hence, children begin to think that swearing will put them on par with adults.
Another reason could be peer pressure. Most of the children start imitating the popular elder kids at school or neighborhood. Swearing becomes a condition of acceptance in the peer group thereby inculcating the bad habit.
How to address the problem?
Dealing with swearing should be done as soon as possible. Children are very vulnerable and impressionable. If the right influences are put early, they may grow out of this habit.
The first step is to locate the source from where they are learning these words and then remove that influence as much as possible. The more the child is exposed to such language, the more easily they’ll learn it.
Talking to the child often helps in getting to the root of the problem. The parent should make their child understand that such words are improper and should not be used in daily conversation. Contrary to what they might think, it is important to make them understand that swearing does not spell “cool” and people who do so lack manners. Talking frankly to the child often solves the problem.
Children learn what they see. It is of no use of telling the child that swearing is bad when the parents themselves have a habit of using a colorful vocabulary. Make sure that the parents or older siblings also exhibit a policy of not using swear words in front of the child. If the parents act as a perfect role model, the children are bound to follow their footsteps.
It is also important to let the child’s teachers know the inappropriate words they are learning at school. This helps in controlling such influences.
Parents should set a strict rule regarding the language to be used at home. It is advisable not to react too much on the swearing as it only induces the child to indulge more in it. Help the child in finding alternative clean words to the ones they are using. Telling the child that they should not use the words they don’t know the meaning of as it might offend other people.
Parents should refrain from corporal punishments or yelling. They should be calm when discussing this problem with their children. That way, the child also listens to what the parent is saying and respects that.
Swearing in children is a habit that often disappears with.