Swearing was something I learned when I was a kid. I’m not sure when I was first introduced to my first “bad word” but at some point, it became fun for the shock and awe factor and probably just to feel dangerous or rebellious.
When I was 15, I devoted my life to Jesus (even though mom brought us all to church since we were kids) and during my high school days, decided that swearing was no longer a part of my vocabulary. The thing I learned then was that our words our choices and the more we commit to using words we dislike, the harder it is to remove it from our behavior. Just like any habit, whether good or bad, the more we indulge, the more it becomes a part of us.
Tonight while getting ready to read with my son, he said “What the F___it”. It was strange because it was close enough to what he meant to say even though it was slightly off, so I knew that he’d misheard it from someone else… but he was using in the correct context. He was frustrated because he didn’t want to read, he didn’t get to watch YouTube because he hadn’t finished his reading assignments, and he got in trouble earlier because he was being careless and threw something that hit his younger (almost 11 month old) brother in the face.
It threw me in a tizzy and I immediately reacted. Not by yelling, but with a stern “what did you say?” We progressed to talk about why it wasn’t okay. He lost toy privileges and had to write “I will use good words” ten times before going to sleep.