classmates who are a bad influence

[WantSmartKids]

Do you think some of the kids in your child's class are a bad influence? If so, how do you deal with it?
Mine has been coming home having learnt some rude words from his friends and he keeps asking me what they mean! Not sure how to deal with it!

There are definitely some kids like that.

You don't say how old your son is but mine is 10 and comes home with disgusting language. I tell him what it means and warn him that if his teacher or I ever hear him say it he will be in big trouble.

With my younger children I tell them that they are swear words and if they say them and their teacher or I hear they will be in trouble.

Depends how old they are and how bad the language is ..... We get the usual bum and willy stuff (harmless) and the occasional sht and fck ( more worrying). My ds is almost 8. I just tell him they are nasty, inappropriate words that will get him/them into big trouble if anyone ever hears them say it. I don't want to make a huge deal of it in case it has the opposite effect ie: they think it's so taboo, they can't help but say them It seems to have worked so far, as he is very anti the 'bad words', but still reports back is anyone has used them

Mention it to the class teacher and ask him/her to have a word with the whole class. It happened to both my DCs when they were around 8. I explained to them why certain words are not acceptable and the chat the teacher gave the whole class stopped any more coming home. Teachers will be used to dealing with this and know how to handle it.

Don't flame me (please!) but why should teachers handle it? Do we even want them to?

Surely learning rude words is a playground rite of passage. Children know they'll get in trouble if a teacher or a parent hears them but that's part of their charm surely? I'm pretty sure I knew them all by eight. No what they meant though! Indeed, I still remember nearly all the definitions I was told over the years for what a 'twat' actually was (elephant's foreskin, your helmet, the arse of a goldfish and a third nipple being particularly memorable definitions).

The teacher will ensure your child doesn't use them in the classroom. You will ensure they're not used at home, but any attempt to censor the playground is not only undesirable but impossible surely?