Bad words

Sometimes the girls think certain 'potty words' are so hilariously funny, that they try to weave them into every sentence and context possible. Instead of outlawing these words, we created guidelines for the use of them.

For example...some anatomic words are acceptable at home (within reason) but are to never be spoken repeatedly with giggles outside the walls of the house. They get this, and have been very good about it!

We have also labeled words like "stupid", "shut-up", "hate" and "dumb" as bad words. We had to backtrack on this a bit, as sometimes..well...some situations truly are stupid, and I truly do hate beets.  Our intent was to show that hurtful words should not be spoken to another person...because words can hurt more than a scrape on the knee. Soon though, we saw that a total blackout of these words was a little harsh, and yet looked for a way to relax the rule a bit...while still showing them that the use of these words is generally not kind.

That's when I instigated the "once a day" rule. Aila would ask "Mommy, is 'dang-it' a bad word?"

Well...while its not a bad word, it's also not a word I want to hear every 2 minutes! So it became a "once a day" word. She can use it once a day. My brother Paul asked if they were allowed to bank words, and then just expel them all in one day. A) NO! and B) I politely asked him to NOT mention this idea to the girls, as they would LOVE a day of total verbal mayhem!

Anyway, the other day I was about to sternly address my girls about the word they were repeatedly yelling in the basement while playing Wii. Each time someone would score, they would yell out"Sex-yyyyy!!!" It was a 'new' word that I'd never heard them use, and tho it wasn't a swear, it certainly wasn't something I thought was proper coming from a child! I rolled up my sleeves and made my way downstairs to set them straight.

It was soon that we realized that they were actually yelling "Succeeeeeeeed!"  (not sex-yyyy)....which is...of course...infinitely more appropriate.