Another Four-Letter Word My Kid Can't Say

JeanneSager — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:27:00 GMT

Carlin had his seven dirty words. At my house, we have an eighth.

Turd.

My daughter will not, cannot, should not say it. Nor my husband for that matter.

The word panties makes my colleague Madeline, get the creepy crawlies. But the four-letter T-word for poop just makes me wrinkle up my nose and gag.

It's not what it stands for - although, to be fair, I'm no more a fan of that than I am of the other "gift" left in children's diapers. But poop is poop. And I grew up in the land of dairy cows. We have our share of chicken farms. Trust me, I've smelled some of the worst of it.

It's the word that I find cringe-tastic. It's a noxious, base way of referring to something that we all know is pretty loathesome to begin with. That it's the kind of word you hear used derisively on the playground doesn't help. "C'mere you little turd!" will never pass as a term of endearment.

Yet, it's a perfectly average word. One that a teacher can hardly fault a child for using, one that many people drop into conversation in mixed company, at least into conversations regarding the use of the facilities. Banning my daughter from using it might seem to some to be extreme. I say it's no more odd than my parents' insistence that my little brother and I refrain from ever uttering the word "fart" (which my husband found uproarious when we first started dating - he'd say it just to get a rise out of me).

What are the commonly used (even on the radio) words that you won't let your kids use?

Image: PoopReport

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