The F-Bomb (and yes, I use it!)
One day last summer, when Milo and I were walking home from his child care, he told me that some kids had found some graffiti under a slide. “They were laughing and everyone was going under to see it,” he said. “I think it started with an ‘F’.”
Ah. The F-word. Now, sadly, Milo has heard this word nearly every day of his life, thanks to his potty mouthed mother. This happens to be one of my favorite words – and really – who’s surprised, considering my line of work?
So here was the moment of truth – about me, the F-word and Milo’s education.
One of the things we need to do as parents is make sure our kids understand slang and what it means. When kids know what these words mean, why they are offensive and have some rules about their use, they feel empowered.
I know you are all wondering what I said to my seven year old about the F-bomb, so here it is: “Fuck is a really bad swear word that means sex. It’s an ugly word that is used to describe something that is a very natural and normal part of life. I know you’ve heard me use this word (a lot!) and it’s really not okay that I use it so much.
This is a word that shouldn’t be used because it upsets people and they feel uncomfortable. It’s also word that is used in many different ways – to describe something or someone, as in “the fucking fucker is fucked up”.
I didn’t really say that last part. Pretty fucking funny, though, huh?
I love this so much! I'm glad to have you up the street for when we have to have this talk in a few years... Your honesty is f-ing funny.
I have always maintained there are just some instances where the ONLY appropriate word to use is the f-bomb.
My kids, too, have heard that word every day of their lives, and one of my sons actually uses that particular word in all its various form as every other word in all of his sentences. Obvious overkill and one of the hazards we run in using the word ourselves.
However, even in the face of my son's lack of alternative vocabulary, I still love the f-bomb.