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Profanity
on the playground
By Melissa Martin
Kids cuss behind the teacher’s back. And the playground is the
opportune place for potty-mouth. No adults listening. That’s what
children tell me—the ones that are upset by swear words. Offensive
language is common language in some homes and taboo in others.
Toddlers start out by mimicking words and phrases. They don’t know what
words are taboo and what words aren’t until a shocked parent reacts.
What a way to get mom or dad’s attention! In a study lead by researcher
Timothy Jay in the American Journal of Psychology, children aged three
to five had a vocabulary of 30 to 40 taboo words, ranging from
traditional swear words to words like jerk, stupid and poop-head.
The Berenstain Bears and the Big Blooper (2000) by Stan and Jan
Berenstain is a picture book for preschool to second grade children.
Profanity in Primary School
Cursing. Cussing. Swearing. Oh my! Foul language is not just being used
by high-schoolers or the middle school crowd. Elementary students are
joining in.
Recently, a fourth grader told me a classmate gave the teacher the
middle finger—the teacher had her back turned. A few kids chuckled.
A third grader related how the new playground cussword is “frick.” It’s
meant to substitute for the other “f-word.” On the bus, in hallways, in
the lunchroom, and anywhere out of earshot of adults—kids are swearing.
Saying “fudge” is out and “frick” is in.
Why do elementary school-aged kids swear? To get attention, to be
funny, to fit in, to impress peers, to prove independence, and out of
frustration or anger. And to be sneaky little humans. Kids
without media restrictions are likely to bring vulgar language to
school. And parents that cuss are teaching their kids to cuss.
What’s a parent to do? Ban bad words inside and outside of home. Allow
dirty words at home, but not at school. Ignore or go with the flow. Or
discuss and discipline as needed.
In the movie, A Christmas Story, Ralphie swears (by accident) while
helping his dad change a flat tire. The cursing father wondered where
Ralphie learned that bad word. Ralphie received an old school
punishment—washing away the dirty word with a bar of soap. However,
that chastisement is considered abusive and I agree.
The American Academy of Pediatrics contend that exposure to profanity
encourages aggression. Teens exposed to profanity in television and
video games are more likely to use profanity themselves, a known risk
factor for increased physical and relational aggression, according to a
2011 study. www.pediatrics.aappublications.org/.
Do adults have issues with swearing? “Certainly everyone knows the same
swear words. As suggested, lots of developmental and social factors
determine how frequently people swear. Younger adults do indeed swear
more, as do men. Another question concerns whether swearing has
increased over the years, and although there has been little
longitudinal research, preliminary evidence suggests that incidence of
swearing is relatively stable,” surmised Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D., in a
2012 article in Psychology Today.
Part of our culture glamorizes foul language: rappers and celebrities
to name common culprits. Music and movies push the ratings out of orbit.
“You don’t have to just accept TV’s declining standards with respect to
foul-language. Write to the network and to the sponsors of the program.
The Parents Television Council provides resources to help you take
action. If the networks and sponsors are put on notice, they will
likely make more of an effort with future broadcasts to edit out the
offending language. By contrast, if they hear from no one, they will
likely only continue to loosen the reins.” www.w2.parentstv.org/.
And a plethora of politicians can be caught cussing. President Trump is
known for dropping the f-bomb.
According to data from GovPredict, the rate at which politicians in
Congress and state legislatures use expletives on social media has
risen. “Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, leads Congress with
41 uses of profanity. He's followed in the Senate by Montana Democrat
Jon Tester, with seven; Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, with six; and
New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez, with six. In the House, Missouri
Democrat Lacy Clay leads with 37. But the politician with the most
colorful Twitter feed is Sherry Frost, a Democrat in New Hampshire's
state House who has used words from the list 415 times since 2014.”
www.cnn.com/.
We now live in a society of potty-mouth. And profanity is trickling
down onto playgrounds across America.
Melissa Martin, PhD, is an author, columnist, educator, and therapist.
She lives in Southern Ohio.
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