Strollerderby : swearing

Kid Founder of the No-Cussing Club Receives Death Threats

Shannon LC Cate — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 18:00:00 GMT

The son of the authors of Raising G-Rated Kids in an X-rated World has received death threats for encouraging kids to clean up their language. Not just one death threat. Multiple death threats. Fifteen-year old McKay Hatch started his club, which now has over 30,000 members world-wide, in response to his own annoyance at his peers' changing language habits as they grew from elementary school to middle and high school.

Says Hatch:

"The reason it bothered me the most is 'cause it was something they were using every other word, kinda like the word 'the.' They kept using it and using it."

Complete with website and upcoming book, Hatch's club also has a hip-hop video making the Internet rounds. (Watch it below the cut.)

Hatch says he isn't against free speech, and he is forgiving of slips from people who are trying to change their ways. He even offers help in the form of suggested "substitute" swear words like "pickles" and "sassafrass." Yes, this is one brave kid.

The local police and the FBI are involved in an investigation of the death threats. Meanwhile, Hatch declares that the haters--and they are legion, in spite of his club's success--are "just bullies and they want you to be scared. And so I'm not gonna let them win."

Aw shucks kid, go for it!

Middle Schoolers Exposed to Curse Words, Parents Shocked

JeanneSager — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:03:00 GMT

Parents of middle schoolers in Fresno, Calif. were shocked, shocked, I tell you, when they learned their kids had been exposed to curse words. Imagine, 12 years old and seeing f*%k in all its glory. Where have these parents been in the past 50 years?

Watching offensive language usage rise in his classrooms, the principal at Tioga Middle School said told teachers to write a list of four-letter words on the whiteboard in each classroom let kids know exactly what words would not be tolerated. Then the mother and future stepfather of 12-year-old Phoenix Hawkins complained. They want to protect his innocence, they say.

The principal's pulled the plan, but I hope Phoenix isn't riding a bus to school. That's where I learned "motherf***er" at 5 and "time of the month" at 7. Maybe Phoenix's parents should consider homeschooling? And no TV, naturally. No books. No movie. Definitely no trips to the grocery store or even outside the house.

Awww, s**t, let's just bring on that bubble.

Source: San Luis Obispo Tribune

Image: Calvin

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In Defense of Potty-Mouth Mamas

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:32:00 GMT

We've talked before about swearing and childrearing and whether or not a mother cursing in front of her children indicates the entire world is going to hell in a handbasket.

Kobe Bryant's Misses brought this all to a head recently by cussing out a reporter in front of her kids... But really, can we blame her?

I mean the reporter insulted her outfit, people!

Ok so maybe that does seem a little silly. Still, I think there are times and places where a well-employed swear-word captures frustration so much better than any vanilla stand-in. If you stub your toe, "Oh fluff!" just doesn't cut it.

And if parenting has taught us anything, it's that we're often under pressure and less-than-perfect at the exact moment when we need to be calm, cool, and collected.

So here's to all the potty-mouth mamas out there! We may be imperfect, but at least we're real.

Why Kids Curse

Cole Gamble — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 14:32:00 GMT

The other day my 1-year-old called me a douche bag. I could be mistaken; he may have been just asking for a cookie. Even though we like to pretend Dalton can say seven or so words, all the “words” are indecipherable and they all kind of sound like “douche bag.”

According to NPR, your kids curse because of—and here comes the big reveal—you. Yep, big “duh” factor. You might say, “nay, my good man, my young master and young miss acquired no such articles of offense from I. It twas from those scurvy-riddled urchins with which my successors associate.” Well, I'm sorry to tell you, as you nervously finger your cravat, they might learn bad words from the kids at school, but your kids taught just as much as they were schooled. They're getting the @#*!s and &%$*!s from you, unless your kid has a nightly date with Cinemax After Dark while you're asleep in bed.

I don't think parents should stop swearing. Personally, I am afraid of anyone who doesn't swear. Not only is swearing a much needed pressure-release button, but to have a passion for swearing is to foster an unconditional love for the language we speak, warts and all. There is a poetry and endless invention to swearing especially when the speaker creates those delectable hybrids by combining expletives together in whimsical, almost Seussian arrangements. Words among my favorites are: (I know the sponsors are watching so, forgive me, but I'll clean this up) “male genitalia/head” and “sexual congress/face” or really exotic smash-ups like “excrement/sexual congress/sexual congress with fecal matter/nose.”

If you are a little more curious about the etymology of the swear, there's a fine article over at howstuffworks.com. There I found out dirty words generally fall into two categories: deistic (related to religion) or visceral (related to the body and it's function). On second thought, maybe you don't want to research your favorite swears. A great swear is like a great joke, it kind of kills it when you have to explain it.

No, I don't think children should be invited to the entire buffet of hard R swear words. That should be another one of those consolation prizes for getting older, like getting a driver's license, drinking alcohol and earning the right to neglect to vote. One day, many years from now, I hope one of my children will come to me and say, “Listen dad, I don't give a shit.” And I will put a hand on their shoulder and tell them “congratulations, my child, you are now grown.”

God Condemns Swearing

makeitadouble — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 19:00:00 GMT

Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony and Lust? You might want to add potty talk to the list of Seven Deadly Sins. It seems that taking the Lord’s name in vain isn’t the only cussing student’s at Montefalco Catholic School shalt not be doing any time soon; at least not without detention or possible punishment in the afterlife.

Though Principal Sister Kathy Avery has instituted a zero-tolerance policy on swearing at the Michigan-based Catholic Middle School that has not precluded her from using the banned language just in case there was any confusion to which words she is referring.

The students, ranging from fifth to eight graders, were informed of the new profanity policy after mass last week by Sister Avery. However, instead of assuming that 10 to 13 year old children would know the difference between acceptable language and bad language, the principal chose rather to launch into a vulgar F-Bomb laden blasphemous tirade not seen since George Carlin’s Seven Dirty Words routine.

For Christ’s sake …I mean for crying out loud, my oldest son is only five years old and has already taken it upon himself to assume the role of my own personal FCC; telling me which words are "bad", and reminding me which are inappropriate to use around him and his little brother. SHIT! “Don’t say that Daddy. That’s a bad word.” DAMN! “Don’t say that Daddy. That’s a bad word.” RECTORY! “Don’t say that Daddy. That’s a bad word.” I’ll have to remind him that according to Sister Avery the words Sexton, Rectory, Intercession, Seminary and Oratory aren’t included on the banned words list.

Margaret Roache, chairperson of the school commission and whose son was privy to the recitation of what is being called the “Shit List”, commented "In a way you would think a nun would shy away from something like that, but she's very open with the children, very clear in her messages," No, in a way you’d think an Adult/Educator/Representative of the Church would have the common sense to know 1)Kids experiment with profanity to test boundaries and express themselves in ways they hear adults doing 2) 10 to 13 year old kids know better curses than most adults 3) the best way to inspire good behavior in children is for adults to model it.

I guess the students should be thankful the Principal didn’t institute a zero-tolerance policy on fighting, too.

When Mom F's Up: Kids Who Swear

Alisyn — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:26:00 GMT

Being the designated "Pottymouth" of StrollerDerby, it probably goes without saying that I have been known to cuss. More than I should. Yes, I really, really try to censor myself around my kids, but I'm not so good at it. I've always - to my own detriment - been the kind of person who reacts (verbally, emotionally) first, and thinks later.

And yeah... the kids pick up on that.

I'm not proud of it... but sometimes is kind of funny. Oh, come on. It is! Hearing "oh, shit!" come out of a helium-voiced, baby-talkin' little sweetheart whose marker has just hit the deck can be giggle-inducing. Hearing that Rebecca Woolf's two year old feels "like ass," might be similarly smile-making. The juxtaposition of the cuteness and the the potty talk can crack even the steeliest of faces (hidden behind shirt sleeves, backs turned, of course).

The trickiest part of having toddlers who swear is that we can't make too big a deal out of the little buggers borrowing our more colorful vocabulary word. We can't ignore them - that's not cool. But we can't harp on them too much, because then they'll use the choice words all the time, or we'll have a power struggle on our hands, or both. I have been unbelievably lucky - my kids have never sworn in public. I don't know why, but they seem to instinctively know that if they drop an s-bomb in public, I'll feel like major ass. (No cuss therapy for us, thanks).

C'mon - confess. Has your kid ever cussed? How did you handle it? Have you ever had to deal with it in public?

Babble Talk: Teaching Kids to Swear? Great Idea!

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 19:32:00 GMT

April Fool's jokes about potty-mouth kids with high IQs notwithstanding, cursing is no laughing matter. Or is it? According to Amy Spurway's Babble piece "In Living Color" swearing children might not require such sturm and drang after all.

Ah the joys of swearing. They can be insurmountably fabulously fun. But Ms. Spurway points to the great weak link in the whole "wash your mouth out with soap" problem: kids will swear. Why not teach them to swear properly? Why not equip them with the proper tools to fend off bullies and meanies and the like? Or better yet to choose swearing over calling names?

Of course, the kicker is which words really tie you up in a knot. For some, the real offense is using words hurtfully. To my ear, cutie kids and swearing just don't mix. They aren't deserving of punishment mats or quarters in a jar, but they are something to be avoided. Primarily because I think there are plenty of fun non-swear words one can use in place of the good old standbys. Now, if I could only think of them. Dammit!