The G-man and I have been working hard for the past few years to curb our swearing. Both of us drop the f-bomb more often than we should, and we knew we would have to rein this in when we became parents. We’ve been doing ok. We still slip now and again in particularly difficult moments (like when I break a glass in the kitchen or the G-man realized the basement was flooded). But mostly we have refrained from using serious swear words in our children’s’ earshot.
Except . . . one thing that both the G-man and I say habitually is “Holy crap.” I’m not proud of this. I don’t advocate it. Saying “holy crap” is a bad habit I’m working on breaking. Especially now, since LP just figured out that some phrases, when repeated, make grown-ups react in very specific ways.
Phrases LP hears, then repeats Parental Response
“But Mommy/Daddy . . . you know what?” “What LP?” (body language indicates a desire to hear what the child has to say)
“Holy moly!” Chuckles lovingly. Says “holy MOLY” as enthusiastically as child.
“Holy crap!” “Don’t say that. It’s not nice”
Want to guess LP’s reply to that last one? “Why it not nice? Daddy say it!” Mommy’s response: “Daddy shouldn’t say it either. He is going to stop saying it.” Daddy’s response: “There are some words that are only for grown-ups.”
Parenting is fun. Or at least parenting now is fun because I just imagine what the teenage years are going to be like and this seems fun compared to that.
On another note, IP is working in her walking. She likes to walk around holding hands, but she is not quite ready to stand and walk on her own yet. She prefers to crawl when she wants to get somewhere in a hurry. She is also getting into dancing!
