If you swear, your child probably will too. Kids want to be like grown-ups and will copy what you do. If you model how to handle anger and express yourself without cursing, your child will learn how to do that as well. Look at other ways that your child might be exposed to inappropriate language, such as in movies or video games.
Limit what they are exposed to if you want to clean up their language. Kids will often repeat behavior that gains a lot of attention. Ignoring the behavior can be a good strategy to start with, especially for young children. If swearing becomes a problem, it may be necessary to create a household rule to address it.
If your child swears when they are angry, a time-out can be a good way to teach them how to calm down before they say something that will get them into trouble. This requires anyone in the house to put a certain amount of money—such as a quarter—into the jar after each offense. This only works if you have kids who have money already and will be impacted by having to give some of it away. Think carefully about what to do with the money. Don't use the swear jar money to fund your family vacation.
If your kids know the money is going toward something fun, they'll be more likely to swear so they can contribute to the cause. Although donating the money to charity may seem like a good idea at first, it may send the wrong message to kids. Instead, you might want to use the funds to go toward something like household bills. Another discipline option is to offer your child rewards for using appropriate language.
A child who gets into trouble at school or who tends to swear at people when they are angry may benefit from a formal reward system that rewards them for using appropriate language.
A token economy system can also be a great way to motivate kids to use kind words and appropriate language throughout the day. Sure, it can be difficult to keep a straight face and ignore a toddler working blue. But ignoring is the best way to take care of it. Just be patient — it might not go away immediately.
Sign up for the Fatherly newsletter to get original articles and expert advice about parenting, fitness, gear, and more in your inbox every day. Please try again. Give us a little more information and we'll give you a lot more relevant content. This will go a long way towards preventing future swearing. Swearing to fit in socially If you think your child is swearing to fit in socially, try talking with your child about why they think their friends swear.
You could talk about other ways your child can feel accepted. It might not be realistic to expect your older child not to swear around their friends, but you might be able to help them understand which words are less offensive.
You might need to help your child calm down from strong emotions like anger or frustration. Then you can teach your child other ways of managing strong feelings like counting to 10, taking deep breaths or talking about difficult feelings. School-age children can get some good from simple explanations of what swear words mean.
If you think your child is ready for this, you can ask your child what they think the word means. Or you could explain that the word is racist, sexist or disrespectful of particular groups of people.
If you want your children to avoid swearing, you and the other adults in your home need to avoid it too. Here are more ideas to encourage respectful speaking and reduce swearing in your family: Think of other words to use if you find it hard to stop swearing, as well as other ways to handle difficult situations. Praise your child when you notice them dealing appropriately with anger or frustration.
For example, if your child tells you that a playmate was using swear words to tease them, praise your child for walking away from the situation and not using those words themselves. Be aware of what your child watches, listens to and plays with. Check the ratings on TV, movies, games and apps.
Avoid watching shows with swearing while your child is around. And keep TVs, computers and other devices in areas where you can easily see and hear them. Where did my child hear that word?
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