Modern Family Doesn't Have the Only F-Bomb Dropping Preschooler
A preschooler swearing on TV? Oh, my heavens!
But it happened last week and the world did not end. Toddlers did not walk around dropping F-bombs from the top of the slide, preschoolers did not turn to their mothers with a forked tongue. Society just kept creakily moving along.
Last Wednesday, Modern Family aired an episode called "Little Bo Bleep!" in which three-year-old Lily starts sprinkling some F-bombs around, even during her starring role as a flower girl.
The problem is that Cameron keeps laughing every time Lily swears and, of course, that just urges her on. The comments from my favourite reactionary group, the Parent Television Council, and the 18-year-old leader of the No Cussing Club (I did not make that up) were full of the requisite dismay about values and children and yadda, yadda, yadda.
When M.I.A. gave the world the finger at the Super Bowl halftime show, I can only assume that she was thinking the same thing that any three-year-old is when she says something dirty. I didn't even notice until I saw the headline on MSN.ca but now I'm talking about it.
If preschoolers are looking for attention, swear words are a great way to get them. Like Cameron, I can't help laughing when my daughter so innocently says a cuss word for the first time. I know it's wrong and I try and ignore it, but after the moment of shock subsides I can't help but laugh a little.
As I have said before, we do allow limited swearing in our house. Given my husband's language while driving and my occasional swear word while chatting on the phone -- our kids have a lot of exposure and so we decided it was best to emphasize context over denial. We never allow swearing to be used in a derogatory or vicious manner.
I think my kids will be better off because by this point swearing gets very little reaction at my house and they don't often use it. This article at Today's Moms points to some interesting research about how swearing is embedded in our brain and may help our perception of pain.
Perhaps, M.I.A. flipping the bird was just a shout-out to her painful high heels?
What do you say the first time you heard your child swear? Did you laugh?
Want more chaos? Last year, I bemoaned the return of the Jinx game and some other old-time family favourite games. What are yours?
« Gwyneth Bathes With Her Kids. Is that Weird? | Main | Coping With Mom Stress »
