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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

My 13 ds is genuinely aggrieved that he is not allowed to swear

162 replies

Veuvelily · 22/08/2021 09:28

He says he has heard all his friends swear in front of their parents and reckons he should be able to swear in his own home
Does your 13 yr old swear at home ?

OP posts:
WhenZoomWasJustAnIceLolly · 22/08/2021 11:21

Op might also drink and have sex in her home. Also not things 13 year olds are entitled to do.

Because drinking and having sex are harmful to them, swearing isn’t?!
All my friends swear quite liberally and they’re all very intelligent people, met most of them at Oxbridge!

sirfredfredgeorge · 22/08/2021 11:21

If you don't swear, then it's the same rules for all

You make this sound equal and fair, but of course it's one person dictating the rules to another, which is not equal.

yikesanotherbooboo · 22/08/2021 11:22

My 3 young adult DC don't and never have sworn at home. We don't really swear either.

whynotwhatknot · 22/08/2021 11:23

i wasnt even allowed to say bloody when i was kid very ott-i now swear mainly fuck but never in front of my df

Snoken · 22/08/2021 11:24

I’m not religious so swear words don’t mean anything to me. I occasionally swear myself, my teenage kids occasionally swear, no biggie.

Toddlerteaplease · 22/08/2021 11:24

I'm 40 and even sone non swear words are banned in my parents house.

TootTootTootToot · 22/08/2021 11:27

My husband never ever swears and my 4 adult kids don’t swear. I do. I’ve literally never heard two of my kids use a swear word. We aren’t a prudish or even a vaguely strict family at all. They just don’t swear. I don’t swear loads but I have always occasionally sworn In front of them.

TheSockMonster · 22/08/2021 11:31

I had a very prim and quite old English Lit A Level teacher who managed to stun our whole class to silence by saying ‘fuck’. She found our shock amusing and said that profanities have their place in every language and her only objection was when they were used inappropriately or excessively.

I have followed the same edict with my own DC. Inappropriate swearing is banned. Occasional and appropriate use is fine.

FreeBritnee · 22/08/2021 11:33

My eight year old recognises that sometimes DP and I swear when frustrated or hurt. He’s heard the words, some of his friends use the words, he knows the words are bad words so he doesn’t.

As he gets older I suspect he will use the words, as I did, outside the house. I also suspect he will one day stub his foot really hard on the sofa and scream ‘shit!!!!’ whilst rolling around on the floor. I’ll let that go or I’ll laugh and say language and well all move on. What I don’t anticipate is a time where he thinks saying ‘fuck’ every second word at home is acceptable just because one of his mates gets away with it. If he ever calls me a swear word we’re also going to have a HUGE problem as that never happens in the house. It’s a hard limit. So we’ll see.

flowery · 22/08/2021 11:36

”I’m not religious so swear words don’t mean anything to me”

Confused

Don’t see the correlation? I’m not religious either, and swear words mean plenty.

My 14yo and 11yo wouldn’t dream of swearing at home. I’ve told them I don’t expect to hear them saying anything like that although how they speak with their friends is up to them.

OldTinHat · 22/08/2021 11:37

My two adult DS never swear in front of me, in fact if they're recounting a story, they always ask if it's okay to swear because its relevant to the story. I'm no prude and swear like a trooper when I'm alone but never in company. My sister's DC, who are all secondary school age, when they speak every other word is a swear word, even the 11yr old. But there again so does my sis. Her DH never swears.

Unsure33 · 22/08/2021 11:38

We were not allowed to swear and my parents did not either you have to lead by example .

Yesterday I stood in queue behind a family with young children whose language was vile . I hope they don’t tell their children off when they swear because it would be totally hypocritical.

secular39 · 22/08/2021 11:40

I don't know. I know of many many many adults who swear like it's apart of their vocabulary. It just does not look good and makes them look very unintelligent. There is no need for it. I suspect that this became a habit, starting from when they were young and possibly their parents were laxed or it could have stemmed from their friendship group.

ThreeWitches · 22/08/2021 11:45

@secular39

I don't know. I know of many many many adults who swear like it's apart of their vocabulary. It just does not look good and makes them look very unintelligent. There is no need for it. I suspect that this became a habit, starting from when they were young and possibly their parents were laxed or it could have stemmed from their friendship group.
Literally no correlation between swearing and intelligence.

My university professors swore sometimes; they were great.

SirenSays · 22/08/2021 11:46

My mother rarely swears and finds it disrespectful so I won't swear around her. Growing we weren't even allowed to say things like crap, bloody, damn.. Now I usually swear like a sailor on leave and will use fuck like people use erm when in my own home 😂

secular39 · 22/08/2021 11:55

@ThreeWitches

There isn't any correlation between swearing and intelligence. I completely agree and many of my friends work in a professional capacity and swear like no tomorrow. However, swearing (likes its apart of your vocabulary) makes you look unintelligent. Swearing here and there, putting an odd swear words in conversations if fine but speaking like this "Frankly, I'm fucking disgusted, the management was just full of shit, I went to see her and there she was, sitting in her fucking crown of glory..".... where every sentence has to have a swear word, just makes the conversation intolerable, believe me, it does not sound or look good at all. Unfortunately, it's a habit and a difficult one to remedy.

JacquelineCarlyle · 22/08/2021 11:59

@teaandcrumpets35

I never swear in front of my mum. But I swear like a trooper at home. My ds 10 knows what swear words are, but he also knows at his age he's not allowed to say them. I've told him when he's older his choice of language is his own responsibility. However when he's feeling particularly aggrieved about something he has been known to ask for permission to swear which I usually allow Grin
This is me too with my DCs!
NeverDropYourMooncup · 22/08/2021 12:03

@Idontbelieveit14

Mine are allowed the odd one here and there. They are 13 and 14. They know when it’s appropriate and when it isn’t. They would never swear in front of teachers or their 4 year old brother, for example.
You might be surprised if you could eavesdrop upon them in school (especially when they aren't being directly supervised).

My usual approach is that there's a whole world of difference between swearing in front of a staff member (which can be a. entirely understandable in the circumstances, upset, in pain, etc or b. forgetting/not seeing that they're present, where a gentle 'could you try and think of alternative words, please?' usually gets you a variation upon the theme of 'Oh! Shit! Sorry Miss' Grin) and swearing at a member of staff.

I do, however, remind them that whilst I can tell the difference in meaning, that doesn't mean other members of staff would feel the same way and alternative words would be a better choice for an easy life.

It's an important part of language and vocabulary development - just as they have to learn to use academic writing styles and adapt voices appropriate for creative or persuasive writing, they need to develop the appropriate language around friends, threats/creepy men/etc, people in authority ('Now, how far do you think you'd get if you spoke to a Police Officer/the Head Teacher like that?') and as an everyday thing 'Yes dear, I did hear you say 'Fuck, the fucking fucker's fucking fucked', but whilst I can tell you aren't particularly happy from your tone and facial expression, it's not actually clear what is wrong, so I'm going to need to know a little more detail'.

There's also the thing that some words are only deemed vulgar now whereas they were purely descriptive historically and some that were deeply offensive but now aren't. Applying modern sensibilities to those can mean that a lot of meaning is lost; but again, addressing those means another way of learning how to adapt appropriate voices for the particular circumstances in life.

wheresmyhairytoe · 22/08/2021 12:06

Mine, 12 and 14, are allowed to swear, I do so it would be hypocritical to tell them off.

However, we don't allow swearing at people or done aggressively and they know when it isn't appropriate ie in front of grandparents or using Jesus etc in front of our Catholic friends.

pointythings · 22/08/2021 12:10

secular39 I agree that the kind of swearing you describe, where every clause in a sentence has a profanity in it, does make the speaker look limited. It's also unprofessional. However, there's a big difference between that and saying no-one is ever allowed to say 'fuck' at home when they drop a pan on their foot. Like nearly everything in life, moderation is the key.

NeverDropYourMooncup · 22/08/2021 12:11

[quote secular39]@ThreeWitches

There isn't any correlation between swearing and intelligence. I completely agree and many of my friends work in a professional capacity and swear like no tomorrow. However, swearing (likes its apart of your vocabulary) makes you look unintelligent. Swearing here and there, putting an odd swear words in conversations if fine but speaking like this "Frankly, I'm fucking disgusted, the management was just full of shit, I went to see her and there she was, sitting in her fucking crown of glory..".... where every sentence has to have a swear word, just makes the conversation intolerable, believe me, it does not sound or look good at all. Unfortunately, it's a habit and a difficult one to remedy.[/quote]
You are, of course, perfectly entitled to hold your views - but I'd be more judgemental of somebody typing 'swear like no tomorrow' or 'likes its apart of your vocabulary'.

However, due to my applying the same leniency and assuming that you are either a very distracted typist or you're using a phone with an overenthusiastic autocorrect that also deletes conjunctions and substitutes incorrect punctuation for the appropriate ones, I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt.

Branleuse · 22/08/2021 12:11

yes mine swear. Particularly my 14 year old aspie who loves all that horrid gamer culture where they insult each other as "banter". I dont pull him up on all of it, but I do when it gets bad and ive resorted to "time and place". if he gets done at school for swearing I have no sympathy for him. If he swears at me, then that is different to swearing around me.
I pick my battles tbh

secular39 · 22/08/2021 12:14

@NeverDropYourMooncup

I'm entitled to my opinion. Swearing like a trooper does not look good at all. If this applies to you, maybe this is something that you can work on?

grey12 · 22/08/2021 12:18

Depends on the circumstance. If they stub a toe and let out a swear word, fine. If it is part of their normal sentences, no!!!!

NeverDropYourMooncup · 22/08/2021 12:25

[quote secular39]@NeverDropYourMooncup

I'm entitled to my opinion. Swearing like a trooper does not look good at all. If this applies to you, maybe this is something that you can work on?[/quote]
You are, indeed. As am I.

I don't need to work on anything, thank you very much.