How to react when your son swears

I’m not perfect, and neither is my language. I just try not to swear in front of my boys, and of course, I never swear at them.

But my son’s first swear word off the rank was a little confronting.

We were a few months into prep and he still looked so cute in his school uniform. “How was school darling?” I asked. “OK Mum. Kyle’s brother told me the F word.” My stomach hit the floor. I wasn’t ready for this yet.

“OK,” I said. “Let’s go into the bathroom and you can tell me what he said.”

I did this because:

1. I wanted to make sure it actually was the ‘right’ F word (he thought the S word was ‘stupid’).
2. I wanted to make sure his 4-year-old brother didn’t hear said word, as he’d have a field day with it.
3. I was buying time.

It was the ‘right’ F word.

I calmly told my son that it wasn’t a nice word and that we didn’t use it in our house.

I told him that he should never say it at school because he’d get into a lot of trouble.

I also told him that words like that can upset people and make them feel sad.

Then I held my breath and waited…

He glazed over and went to play with his Lego.

I haven’t heard him use it since, although who knows what goes on at recess…

However, my younger son goes to school next year and I want to be more prepared for the inevitable. My little one will do anything for a laugh – or a reaction of any kind. And he has the added ‘bonus’ of spending time with older kids who I’m sure will be happy to arm him with an f-bomb or two.

These 10 tips (scroll down to the bottom of the article) will help you handle your son’s swearing.

And if you find yourself dropping the odd f-bomb yourself, this video will give you some fantastically funny alternatives…

Brought to you by Brighton Grammar School