Getting a child to stop saying a bad word :)?

Question

Does anyone out there have any source of discipline towards getting your kid to stop saying a bad word, my husband and i both cuss, and our daughter has really picked up on the f word, well we've tried to both stop saying that work, but she constantly says it, especially when she gets very angry and thinks she is being ignored! the thing is she goes to daycare and all day long at daycare she never says this word, but when she's home she says it like crazy, i've tried putting hot sauce in her mouth, and washing it out w/soap, and if me or my husband slip and say it we pop each other in the mouth and say thats an ugly word dont say that again, and we pop her in the mouth but not hard just to kind of upset her where she won't say it anymore, if there is anyone out there that has anymore solutions to this please help me?

Answer 1

Stop saying it yourself in front of her

Answer 2

Why don't you give her different expression to use. Like instead of F*** use fish or something of that sort. Maybe she wants to sound grown up so when she sees you using it; she thinks that if she says it she'll be more grown up

Answer 3

Sometimes when we form bad habits ourselves kids pick up on them and continue to what we do, not what we say NOT to do. So I would suggest that each time you or your husband slip up and say a cuss word that your daughter is aware that you lose something you like to do around the house whether it be watching TV or listening to music; just something obvious so that she sees your being punished. This will go for her too, if she slips out a curse word she will lose something that she enjoys doing. This will show her that in order to continue doing the things you like to do, you must not curse. She will stop and you guys will too, because after awhile you will get tired of not getting to do the things you like to do just to prove punishement works to her. Hitting eachother is definitely not a resolution. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 4

this is sad.. for one if this is serious.. you really need to stop being a child and start being a parent. you should not have been cussing in front of your child in the first place.. you need to explain to here that here are certain words a little girl does not say and tell her they are for grown ups and she is not allowed to say them. I dont know how old she is.. if she is young, igonore it she will stop saying it, if you make it a big deal it becomes one.. if she is older, you need to really explain to her, maybe make a money jar, and tell her if she stops saying it, and anytime she hears mommy or daddy say it money goes into the jar, once she has not saif it for X amount she gets the money..

really if you hit your child your one sad person.. dont "pop" your child.. i cant even put into words what kind of wrong that is.. and hot sauce.. come on.. maybe we should put that in your mouth? make you eat soap? really be a d**n parent!

Answer 5

Well first off don't "pop" her in the mouth =P. That may teach her not to say it, but it will teach her violence, that's like trading a cocaine addiction for a heroin addiction, it just doesn't really solve all the problems. I'd say go with the classic grounding, nobody likes that.

Answer 6

Ok, first of all I think that is totally CRAZY for someone to criticize you for your choice of parenting on here especially on here where no one knows YOU or your child.  I really hate this whole "hitting teaches violence" c**p.  I was spanked as a child, got "popped" in the mouth too and I can tell you now that I deserved it EVERY time.  I am not a violent person at all today, I have NEVER had the desire to hit someone because they made me mad.

Now on to your question... I think that if you completely ignore your daughter when she says the "F" word then she won't get the reaction she's looking for and get bored with it.  I have friends whose child picked up the "F" word too, and they were so stunned at first that they laughed, which caused him to do it again and again, but they did realize the problem right away and ignored him, he got bored after a few days and stopped saying the word.

Answer 7

Simple:

Your child is genetically programmed to learn language from her parents.

She is following strong biological instincts to repeat whatever she hears at home.

You both chose to start swearing once upon a time, as many of us do, myself included.  

Instead of retaining enough control over your swearing to choose the appropriate time and place, you let it hijack your speech.

It's coming back to bite you on the bum.

I can tell you that unless and until both you and your husband wrestle back control over your own speech, you will continue to make it okay for your daughter to sound like a potty mouth.

She will have a very hard time as an adult trying to get a good job, meet a respectful man, and relate to anyone other than the lowest common denominator in her peer group.

Reap what you sow.

Let the thumbs down accumulate.  As an employer who regularly fires otherwise decent young people for not being able to control their language in front of my customers (after warnings, of course), I know I'm right.

Answer 8

I agree with Becca G. getting spanked did not make me violent, I quick slap to my face got my attention. I have a child and his first bad word was a** (ss), then when a told him not to say it anymore he would say aaaaaadddddddd all drawn out just to see if he got a reaction. For a while I would laugh, but then I started ignoring him and he stopped saying a** (ss) and aaaaaaaaddd. Then my son picked up on sh** (it), which I admit was one of my favorite words to use when upset, so I stopped using it and so did he. I just ignored him. I think that kids are looking for a reaction. Now that my son is older I have told him that he can cuss all he wants when he grows up, moves out and has his own life. He is only 8, so I have explained that some people may not want to know him if he speaks badly. His mouth has cleaned up quite a bit. He doesn't really cuss much anymore.

Another thing that may work, if you must say something when your mad, just say "taco sauce' or something just as ridiculous, my son won't repeat some of the dumb things I have said as substitute "bad word" because he knows that it is a substitute.

Answer 9

tell her that that is a VERY bad word and if she says it again, she can't watch tv for a week, or take one of her dolls away for 2 weeks.

Answer 10

You have a loosing battle. you both use those words and she knows where she can use that language,so it won't hurt both of you to clean up your act before you get on her until you do just completely ignore her when she uses it all she knows is you guys have a fit when she uses it. WE didn't use bad language but once in awhile my daughter would come out with something bad and we just ignored and that was it.

Answer 11

ignore the child's behavior.  model the behavior you want your child to emulate.  when you and your husband teach your child words, she mimics them.

Answer 12

if she is using it because she is angry and trying to get attention from you don't give her any, calmly turn around and say "I'll speak to you when you stop using naughty words" and ignore her until she stops using it. she will soon learn that saying the f word gets her no where

Answer 13

How old is your child? "Popping" Her? Putting hot sauce in her mouth? That's awful! And I never really did understand the soap thing. If you do stuff like that to her, she will get angry and swear more. Plus you guys are complete hypocrites. Think about how your child would feel.

Answer 14

Are you kidding? Please say you're joking. If you say it, she WILL also. Stop it. Ignore it completely. It will go away.

Teaching her to slug someone (she does what you do) is a terrible idea!

Putting hot sauce on a toddler's mouth is child abuse. It is reportable.

Answer 15

my niece had the same problem but instead of saying the bad word we taught her to say like oh poopy in stead of oh f*** and when she said that we rewarded her with a sticker

Answer 16

i really dont like answering these questions but some peoples answers are just ridiculous!  

People are telling you to not "pop" YOUR child in the mouth because what in this day n age it's wrong please.....? BULL i was popped in the mouth when i was younger and im not in any way violent! i also had soap in my mouth and IM FINE.  the hot sauce thing..my sister in law did that to her daughter and now she has a fear of ketchup!

I "popped" my son in the mouth when he told me F-u to my face and i can tell you that to this day i have yet to hear any bad words come out of his mouth!! he is the most NON violent gentle, caring boy ever. worry bout the violent child when your beatin him with a stick, not "poppin" him in the mouth!  People cuss, some more than others but it's a matter of teaching your child that there are things you just cannot do or say as a child.  the money jar seems to be a good idea but all depending on her age? i think consistency is your best approach and staying on top of it whenever you hear it. I have a friend that never swares not even when out with friends and her son has been at my house on several occasions saying all kinds of words and drawing all kinds of pictures!!