When I taught junior high school, sadly, it was no surprise to hear the "Real S Word". So when I moved down to teaching second grade I was surprised the first time a student came up to me and whispered in my ear, "Teacher, he said the 'S Word'". Hmmm...I composed myself and thought about that for a minute before I responded. And then I asked, "Just exactly WHAT 'S Word' did he say?" Well, it wasn't the "S Word" that I was thinking about (whew!...) but that got me to thinking about what adults consider to be "bad words" compared to what children consider "bad words" to be.
OK...so the word was "stupid"; not a word that we, as adults, would consider to be a "bad word", huh? But think about it...if somebody called somebody else stupid that IS pretty "bad", isn't it? Well, with a toddler around now, we are all attempting to keep certain words from slipping out of our mouths for fear that the "little sponge" will soak them up...OK, and repeat them.
Parker Ann is a very verbal child. She not only talks a lot, she speaks quite clearly too. And as of lately, she will repeat anything you say or tell her to say. THAT'S where the problem comes in. I know that most of you have seen that "Meet the Parents" movie where Ben Stiller is left alone to baby-sit and he lets a "bad word" slip which the baby immediately picks up and repeats over and over. Well...I almost had one of those days a couple of months back...
First, let me say...DON'T JUDGE ME! I might be a grandmother, but sometimes things just happen. It was a busy day. I was keeping Parker Ann and the phone rang. My mother was having a little health issue that I was trying to resolve. Just as I got on the phone, Parker decided to stand at my feet and scream where I couldn't hear anything that was being said to me. I reached down to pick her up and of course she wanted her cup and her lovie and at the same time I had to walk outside to get something from the car. SO...with baby on hip, phone on shoulder and many things being balanced in my other hand, as I opened the door, things began to fall. "OH 'Bad Word!'", I said under my breath. Apparently it wasn't under my breath enough because the little Polly parrot I was holding on to for dear life repeated it! YIKES!!!
I told Robby about the incident and, of course, he jokingly said, "Grandmothers don't do that kinda thing." Hmph! I informed him that I WAS human and after all, it wasn't like it was a habit...it just slipped out. He said he hoped that she didn't repeat it around her mother or worse yet, the other grandparents! Then he had this wonderful solution...we would just say that she must have heard her father (my son...) say it! I know that's kinda throwing him under the bus, but HEY! I've taken the hit MANY times for him over the years. So, it was settled; "Not Me" would be the offender once again.
The following weekend, we were all at our lake house having dinner when Parker said a word that sounded strangely like the one I had uttered just a few days prior. Starting to inwardly panic, I didn't even look up and totally ignored the situation. Sarah, however, said, "We have to be careful with what we say now, because Parker picked up a "bad word" from her dad the other day." Robby who was standing by the sink stretched his head around the corner to peak at me as if to say, "WOW! You just got let off the hook." And I then joined the conversation by merely nodding in agreement that we did indeed need to watch our words around her. WHEW! THAT was close. And really...we shouldn't just watch our language because we now have a toddler in the house; we should watch it all the time. BUT...as I said before, I AM only human and SOMETIMES things happen to humans that we wish wouldn't!
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