We're not even talking about curse words, swear words, or whatever you might call the worst of the worst bad words that you can use. We're talking about regular potty words that you may even find in the dictionary that carry negative connotations that we don't want our children running around saying.
Of course, you already know that if mom has a potty mouth, kids are going to be more inclined to let them slip out of their mouths, too. Along with our list of (non swear-word) naughty no-no words, we will give you some pointers to help you steer your children away from saying these words, both in the immediate moment and in the future.
Naughty bad words (and phrases) that should cost you and your kids 25 cents:
1) God/Jesus/Jesus Christ - These words, unless the children are talking about what they heard in church, learned in religion class, or heard when they were watching Joel Olsteen on the television, should be off limits, not used in vain. We all know better! Even if you're an athiest or part-time Christian, hearing one of these sacred words coming out of a child's mouth should be like scratching nails down a chalkboard. "Gosh", "golly", "goodness" are all perfect substitutes that you can use and encourage your children to use.
2) Hate - "Hate" is a strong word. It takes some deep seeded anger and emotion to hate someone or something. Honestly, it's best that we don't let ourselves get to the point that we "hate" someone or something. It's better to "strongly dislike" someone or something. Or "really not like" it. There's enough hate in this world without our kids learning to hate, too.
3) Freakin' or Fricken' - We parents know that these words are actually replacements for the well-known f-bomb. But, it's become cute to use them, and our teenagers and tweens have caught onto these bad word replacements, too. It's not too cute, though, when a little two year old says, "Freakin'" or "Fricken'", though, especially in context. Well, maybe it's kinda cute the first time, but...you know what we mean!
4) Shut Up - Where do they hear these things? Anyways, there are a lot of ways to get your point across with words and "Shut up" is one of the meanest ways of saying what you are trying to say. Sure, you might mean "Shut up!", but wouldn't it be nicer and more adult-like if you raised your voice and said, "Quiet the noise level!" or "I mean it! Quiet down!" or "This is my last warning! Lower the volume!" Certainly, our vocabulary is expanded past two word instructions and demands.
5) Stupid or Dumb - These are words with a purpose...and the purpose is to be hurtful or negative. There's enough negativity in this world, and kids running around saying, "You're stupid" or "Your brother is dumb" doesn't make this negativity any better. Here, it is helpful to talk about feelings and let your child talk about their feelings, because these words are usually used when a child is upset. Instead of "This game is stupid (or dumb)!", it's usually "This game is really upsetting me, because I have to keep starting over!"
6) Fart - In my house, the little kids think that the f-word is "fart" (the older kids know the true f-word, but I have never heard them say it.) Fart isn't a nice word. It's just not. For us moms, just saying the word "fart" is simply not ladylike now, is it? And, it's not nice for our kids to say it, either. Nobody really wants to hear a kid say, "I farted". Nor do they want to hear: "Mom! You just farted!". Point made.
7) What the...??? (Pronounced "What thuh?") - Hearing this incomplete question really bothers me, because what it really means is "What the hell?!?", the bad word phrase substitution of "What in the world?". I mean, what's wrong with that? Why did we have to change it to another place? What in the world was fine as is.
8) What. - This "bad word" pretty much feel into this category because it is so disrespectful. No matter which way this word is used, "What." "What?" "What!" "Whuht?", it never never carries an air of respect. Here's an example. (I won't mention names). One of my dear children will respond with, "What????" when you confront him about something. This, in other words, means, "What the hell do you mean?" or "Why the hell are you accusing me?" Then, there are the times when someone wasn't paying attention to your conversation, they say, "What?" instead of, "Oh, I missed that. Could you repeat it?". Or, someone says something surprising, and the other person respnds, "What!", rather than "Really?". Or, how about you call your child's name and they respond, "What?"! None of it, I repeat, none of it sounds respectful. Whatever happened to, "Yes, Ma'am" or even "Yes, Mom"?
9) Crap - What exactly does a child need to yse the word "crap" for? As in "I took a crap" or "This music is crap."? Either way, the connotation of this word goes right back to the S-word, and that's not okay. Crap is an unecessary word. It's just not nice no matter how it's used. Whatever happened to poop, doo-doo, or even the proper bowel movement? There's no reason to use "crap" as a word.
10) Fat/Ugly (and other negative adjective words) - You know where they picked it up, don't pretend you don't know. Somewhere along the line, you called someone "fat" or "ugly" or even the meaner combination of the two words, "fugly". Anyways, I probably don't even have to go into any explanations or reasoning on this one. Fat and ugly are mean-hearted words. They don't have anything nice that comes along with them. They should be banned, along with all of the other mean and nasty adjectives that hurt people's feelings.
What words are on the naughty list in your house?
