To think calling calling your five year old a twat is just awful?

[Billiboo]

When my boyfriends dd who is five acts up, her mum texts my bf saying the dd is ‘being a twat’. Aibu to find this so very inappropriate? It’s just awful.

YABU.

Mine was a right little arsehole the other day as were my niece and nephew. Texted my sister to tell her so.

Sometimes I refer to them as crotch goblins too, is that more or less unsavoury given it’s not an actual swear?

Like @Goatinthegarden pointed out on P2, 'twat' is a word that is used differently by different people.
I've always known it as a variation on 'twit', 'numpty' 'idiot'. It is only on MN that I have heard of people finding it offensive.
I don't know if it is a regional thing or a generational thing or what, but it's a word I'd happily use and I don't swear or use language that can be thought of as offensive.

Twat or me is annoying dumbass.

For me

Why do you care though, @Billiboo? She’s not your kid and you haven’t mentioned your boyfriend caring.

So if the father doesn’t care, and the child will never know, what harm is being done?

As long as it’s not directly to the child then it’s fine😂 sometimes kids are twats

Where I was bought up twat is a jokey term, only slightly stronger than silly sausage or similar.
I have to remember not to use it round here.

To be fair I've referred to ds3 as 'a little shit' about eight times today. Not to his face of course but via text and to his dad when we got home.
The highlight of the day was when he said shopping was boring and wanted to go to the dentist.
Seriously we all do it to let off steam, kids are hard work and like little lawyers with their arguments, nothing wrong with saying it as long as you don't say it to their face.

I will text my husband that DS is being an arsehole sometimes. He gives us the runaround at bedtime and it's bloody annoying but we never say it to his face! I think it's pretty normal as long as you're kind and loving to them it doesn't really matter what you by text does it.

@BykerBykerOoh

I'm the same with 'little cow' I hate it. I think its because its gendered, whereas arsehole, dickhead and twat are universal.

But kids can be twats sometimes , she’s just calling it how she sees it .. you don’t know she actually calls her kid that to their face .

@Durgasarrow
As a Brit I find it incredibly moronic that you have an issue with us calling our kids twats to other adults. We wouldn't do it to the child. But then even if we did the worst that could happen is them moaning, do that in America and you would probably get shot.

I say it to myself in my head when dd pushes me to the limit, never said it though

Oh god stop clutching your pearls and unclench

There are words you just don't use, and that's one of them.

Yes I know, Scottish people allegedly use the c word as a term of endearment but I've never heard it used anywhere, including numerous visits to Scotland as anything other than a very nasty swear-word.

Why would you liken your child to a nasty word for the female anatomy?

And of course it's gendered!

I'm not british and English is not my first language so I'm going by what I've experienced when living in the UK

And of course it's gendered
I've mainly heared men refer to other men as twats

use the c word as a term of endearment
My bf and his old mates (all male) from school have a group chat titled "cunts" and he often refers to them meeting up as "going with the cunts"

This peoples experiences with words and meanings are really interesting.

Meh, I texted my DP that DD was a little shit on many occasions. I think I may also have put the F word in front of it on one particularly bad day.

I’m not proud but I am human.

DH & I refer to ours as 'assholes' regularly. Only between ourselves. In fact, he's currently putting two of them down to bed & they're being complete assholes. If the cap fits...

As long as it's not to their face! Children can be twats, wankers and shits.

Why would you liken your child to a nasty word for the female anatomy?
Because, as has already been pointed out a few times on this thread, that isn't how the word is used by many (most?) people. Apart from some posts on MN (so not sure which dempograph of people it is - could be age, could be culture, could be geographical or something else I've not thought of ?) I've only ever heard people say 'twat' when they mean something 'mild' like 'twit', 'idiot', 'pratt', etc (In fact I'd say 'pratt' was a much 'stronger' insult.

Good god. Give your head a wobble if you're actually pretending anyone's likening their child to a "nasty word for a vagina". Because nobody is falling for that goady, professionally offended attitude.

I got cut up on the way back from the school run earlier. As said white van man disappeared off over the roundabout, I was shouting blue murder in the car calling him an asshole.

To then claim I'm likening him to a distasteful word for an anal muscle is, well, being a twat