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| The water slide. The girls and BestestHusband spent a lot of time on it. |
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| The slide with the lake/beach in the background, and the huge grassy play area in the foreground. This place is heavenly for families. |
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| MeToo rolling a hula hoop. This kept her entertained for quite a while. |
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| HeyMama trying to actually use a hula hoop. This also entertained her for quite a while. So did the bouncy houses. Yes, there were 2 of them! |
It was pretty fun. But I hit my wall around 1:30pm. And we didn't get home until around 5:30pm. I'm kinda toast right now. I'm sitting upstairs, waiting for the bathroom downstairs to be vacated so I can take a shower in peace, and go to bed before the sun does. I'm so ready.
And then BestestHusband calls upstairs to ask me a question:
"Is it ok for the girls to say dang? I told them no."
HeyMama: "Should I say 'crap' instead?"
Me: "What about 'darn'?"
MeToo: "Dahn!" (in a full-on Boston accent)
HeyMama: "Darn. I left the brush in the car. Can you go get it?"
BestestHusband: "Perhaps 'shoot' would be better?"
It's a toss-up. Do you let your child use a word of frustration that makes her sound like a townie? Or one that is also a word for violence? Or one that is a synonym for excrement?
There are no good options here.
And then BestestHusband calls upstairs to ask me a question:
"Is it ok for the girls to say dang? I told them no."
HeyMama: "Should I say 'crap' instead?"
Me: "What about 'darn'?"
MeToo: "Dahn!" (in a full-on Boston accent)
HeyMama: "Darn. I left the brush in the car. Can you go get it?"
BestestHusband: "Perhaps 'shoot' would be better?"
It's a toss-up. Do you let your child use a word of frustration that makes her sound like a townie? Or one that is also a word for violence? Or one that is a synonym for excrement?
There are no good options here.
Crumbs? Fiddlesticks? Sugar?
ReplyDeleteElliot can be often heard saying "Freaking" - at 7 he knows most of the words and tip-toes around them saying things like "shoot" etc...
ReplyDeleteI am so incredibly lucky that D doesn't repeat most of what I say (esp. when I'm driving) but I do let him say darn. I say damn all the time and it's a miracle that he doesn't. I think shoot and darn are ok at least compared to what they could be saying! And for some reason I think those are better than "crap". I did catch him saying "Oh Jesus!" in the right context and realized that I need to cut back saying that (it was a big no-no when I was growing up).
ReplyDeleteWe use crumbs. Because that's what I say. Or "Oh, man!". Occasionally a 'darn' or 'crap' slips out, but they haven't picked up on that. Swearing has never been my thing, fortunately.
ReplyDeleteNow, when it comes to modeling good table manners, that's a lot harder for me. Just doesn't come naturally. They're going to think that eating your salad like it's a bowl of popcorn is normal... Everybody has something they wish their kids could "do what I say, not what I do"...
I think I've heard the girls mimic a few of my phrases, including "THAT is ENOUGH!", "Dag-nab-it!", "Holy Schneikies!", and "Mother of Jehosephat!" I do unfortunately have a history of a foul mouth, and have worked pretty hard to reform myself. So I think our current list is pretty ok, considering...
ReplyDeleteI do like "oh man", "crumbs", "rats", and "fiddlesticks". I've heard these from multiple sources, and they seem pretty mild. I'll see if I can start modeling those and see which ones stick.
In grad school, our lab did regular recording sessions of toddlers to document their babbling and transition to recognizeable speech. We had one little girl who regularly said something like, "Oh-shuh". It took us a while to realize that she was imitating her mom's swearing. My friend finally connected the dots when the girl said it anytime she dropped something or fell down! So yes, they can pick it up very early!