To want to be able to go to the park with my family without having to listen to these pricks swearing infant of the kids

[IamtheBatman]

I'm at the local park it's a lovely day and we're listening to good live music having a picnic. And these twats behind us are talking loudly and saying "fuck this" and fuck that". There are kids all around us. Now i don't mind a bit of a swear, but in front of a bunch of kids? For gods sake!

[ParadiseChick]

Point it out to them? Some people swear a lot and don't even realise. Just be polite and ask them to mind their language. If they do, great, if not meh.

[StepAwayFromTheEcclesCakes]

I often do tutting or on occaision actually comment and ask to mind the language, I have had some ....erm... interesting responses

[IamtheBatman]

They've been drinking and it would end up in a fight. So we're moving .

[ThreeBeeOneGee]

Do you want to borrow DS2? He has been known to go up to people in the park and start chatting to them about their vocabulary. He usually recommends that they read more, because then they'll know more words and won't have to resort to using the same two or three words in every other sentence.

He also does a great lecture on the perils of underage drinking if he sees younger teens having a beer in the park, and he's quite persuasive about the unacceptability of smoking right next to children's play equipment. He hasn't been beaten up yet (possibly because he has a very friendly, gentle manner).

[zoraqueenofzeep]

yabu, it's not up to other people to childproof their conversations so your kids only hear what you want, move away from them or accept that your kids are going to hear language in public that you dislike.

[Sparklymommy]

threebeeonegee how old is your ds2? He sounds fab! I have a dd1 who can be heard loudly moaning about vandalism and graffiti a lot. Always makes me grin!

[IamtheBatman]

Yeah we've moved.

[ThreeBeeOneGee]

He's eleven... going on fifty-one.

[Lj8893]

Your son sounds brilliant!!

[LadyBeagleEyes]

If your eleven year old son came up to me or my son and lectured about smoking/drinking/language I'd be a bit , threebees.
Clearly he's just repeating you.

[KirjavaTheCat]

Ugh try having it all day outside your front door. I live next door to people who put deckchairs on the pavement (no front gardens, terrace) and drink beer while their children run in the (busy) road.

Thank God I'm moving.

[ThreeBeeOneGee]

LadyBeagleEyes: I don't do anything of the sort, but then I'm not autistic.

He does get looks from a few people, what with the lecturing and the hand-flapping and the occasional tics. Fortunately, most people are a bit more tolerant.

[LastTangoInDevonshire]

My son has Aspergers - no way would I have let him lecture anybody on anything ThreeBee

[TidyDancer]

I don't think it's an especially good idea to allow/tolerate that kind of thing ThreeBee. There's a very good chance someone will lamp him at some point, and nobody wants that.

Not that I disagree with what he's saying, but just as a parent I don't think I'd be happy with my child being allowed to confront strangers!

[LadyBeagleEyes]

I didn't realise that, ThreeBee, obviously in that situation I would be very patient with your son.
But if I'm in a public area I will have a fag and even a drink if it's a picnic or something.
I don't swear much though, except if I'm on MN or if I'm very very cross.
I don't get cross often though.

[ThreeBeeOneGee]

We don't encourage it, or even condone it. It starts, then one of us goes over and stops it swiftly. Then we have the same conversation with him (again) about why it isn't wise to do this. This is why we still accompany him to the park every time, even though most of his peers now go without an adult.

Sorry, Iamthebatman: your thread seems to have been derailed while I try to justify my parenting. I hope you were able to move to somewhere a bit more peaceful to enjoy your picnic.

[SuburbanRhonda]

And there's a lot of bad language in the OP and title, if we're being picky

I have a parent who comes into school for 1:1 meetings with me, and her language (in our conversation, in school) is shocking.

I ask her not to say certain words as they are not necessary in our conversation, but she just can't help herself.

[ThreeBeeOneGee]

I think some people get into a habit of swearing where it ceases to mean anything, it's just sentence polyfilla, in the same way that some teenagers I mean DS1 use "like".

But what happens when those people need a stronger word for emphasis? There's nothing left to use.

[Aetae]

Really? You expect people in a public place to stop swearing just because your children might hear it?

Your children have already heard it, anyone who thinks stopping their kids from swearing by pretending the words don't exist is deluding themselves. Far better to explain to them why it's inappropriate than move I would have thought.

And as for the people on the thread who actually ask other people to change their language when they're not even talking TO you, how rude! The world doesn't require you to be its moral police.

[IamtheBatman]

Ok aetae, so you swear in front of kids all the time? I don't think that's right. I know kids hear swearing, it's about when and where you use it. I swear all the time at work it's not a problem when i'm with work colleagues. But i wouldn't in front of a customer. If you just use it as punctuation it doesn't mean anything and you risk swearing when you really shouldn't.

[IamtheBatman]

Suburb, i am aware i swore in the title as i said i have no problem with swearing in the right place. And Mumsnet is that place :)

[Burmillababe]

Threebee - I would be very wary of him doing that, he may say it to the wrong person one day.

[Burmillababe]

Sorry Threebee just saw your later update!

[BackforGood]

I was coming along to say the same as Suburban

How can you complain about other people's language, then use language like that in your title, and finish your opening post with a phrase that's is pretty offensive to some people ?

Double standards or what ?