Really? You don't know where she gets it from??

[AnaKhouri]

I feel like Mom of the Year now. The other night I felt terrible because I am pretty sure my son said 'shit'. He might have just been trying sound combinations, but then he said it again...and again. I didn't react, just kept talking to him as normal. He's too young to understand that's not something kids are allowed to say, and I didn't want to give him any kind of reaction that would encourage him to try again.

Why, out of all words, did he pick up that one?...I have said it a few times in front of him, when something went wrong, so I guess he remembered it because I emphasized it more than other words.

[Amanita]

This reminds me of that movie "A Christmas Story", where the father curses up a storm, and the kid gets in shit for repeating it one night. Unfortunately, he's too afraid to tell the truth- that he learned to cuss from his own dad. So he falsely names a friend instead.

[Cazzi]

I feel like Mom of the Year now. The other night I felt terrible because I am pretty sure my son said 'shit'.

Why, out of all words, did he pick up that one?...I have said it a few times in front of him, when something went wrong, so I guess he remembered it because I emphasized it more than other words.

Don't worry about it, its embarrassing but I think it happens to all mums of small ones at least once
They will pick it up from anyone who comes out with it, even a passer by. There's not a lot you can do about it apart from what you did, don't react or make a fuss or possibly offer a distraction in the form of "oh look, cat/dog. can you say cat/dog" if the opportunity arrives.

Case in point, when my daughter was a similar age, we were in town, shopping, two guys walked past swearing in conversation and she picked up the word "shit" and proceeded to yell it out non stop for the rest of the time we had to shop!
I think I ended up and apologising in shops with comments of its amazing what they pick up in town. Luckily most people saw the funny side & so did I later

[Sparky]

I used to have a car that was easy to start -- after I figured out the trick to it. Unfortunately, it took me something like 10 years to figure it out.

First story: Son was probably two years old, sitting on a little riding toy with a set of toy keys. He put the keys against the car and said "Damn car. Damn car."

Second story: Son was around five years old. I tried to start the car; it died. Tried again; same thing. Kept trying. I was in an unusually good mood, so I remained patient. Son helpfully suggested "Say 'damn car' Mommy."

[LadyAndreca]

My aunt says when my twin cousins were learning to talk, one day both of them were running around yelling "fuck" at everything. They had all the delight of toddlers who had just learned a new word, so she was trying to figure out where they'd heard it. (Her best guess was one of her high school students. She's a teacher.) Then they got to dinner, and one of the two proudly declared "Fuck, mommy! Fuck!" and showed her mother her fork.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Reminds me of a couple of stories that have made their rounds through our family.

Let's just say that my Grandma and her sisters were colorful before they had kids. And it was when they heard their kids getting colorful themselves that they realized they had to watch their language.

I forget who it was in this story, but it went like this:

Child: "That goddamn squirrel's in the backyard again!"
Mother: (realization about language dawns) "Ohhh..."

And this one, involving my aunt and my grandmother:

Aunt: (who was still a kid) (banging hand on table) "I want my damn breakfast!"
Grandma: (realization dawns) "Ohhh..."

[MadMike]

Up until that last part, I was ready to say that the little girl could have picked it up from anywhere. They're like walking, talking tape recorders at that age. Knowing this, I tried to watch my language around my son, but apparently I wasn't as careful as I thought I was.

He was about 3 1/2, I think. I was getting him ready for bed, when he got mad at me for some reason and called me a "stupid asshole."

I was certain that he picked that up from his so-called mother, because not only did she not care to watch her mouth around him (said that her new boyfriend could "go fuck himself" while she had our son on her lap), it was also one of her favorite words to call someone. After I picked up jaw up off the floor, I told him, "We do not say that."

He looked at me and said, "You say it!"

Unconvinced, I told him, "No, I don't."

Then he told me, "You say it in the car!"

That's when I realized had me. I have little patience for other drivers, and if I let something slip, it was probably while I was driving.

Reminds me of a Simpson's episode, where Bart used a swear word and Homer said "do you think you could stop swearing, son?"

Bart: Hell, yeah!

Homer: That's my boy!

I also liked this one:

Bart: These uniforms suck!

Marge: Bart! Where do you pick up words like that?

Homer on phone: Yeah Moe, that team sure did suck last night! They just plain sucked. I've seen teams suck before, but they were the suckiest bunch of sucks that ever sucked!

Marge: Homer, watch your mouth!

Homer: I gotta go, my damn weiner kids are listening!

[Andara Bledin]

This reminds me of that movie "A Christmas Story", where the father curses up a storm, and the kid gets in shit for repeating it one night. Unfortunately, he's too afraid to tell the truth- that he learned to cuss from his own dad. So he falsely names a friend instead.

Well, according to the voice-over, the friend in question was not innocent of the crime, just not the actual source.

....

Soap. Poisoning.

I was in an unusually good mood, so I remained patient. Son helpfully suggested "Say 'damn car' Mommy."

Did it work?

^-.-^

[Dreamstalker]

My first word was "f*ck".

The way it's told is this: When I was little, we had a house with a wood-burning fireplace. One day, something happened and dad was sitting on the floor trying to figure it out (I'm perched on a stack of logs watching). He pokes one of the tools up the chimney, something gets knocked loose and he's covered in a cloud of soot. Cue tirade, then cue my latching onto a word and toddling proudly into the kitchen.

I think mom was more amused than angry, all that happened was me getting a lecture on why I shouldn't say that.

[Primer]

My parents were both VERY careful about the language used around my older brothers and me. I think I was about 13 before I ever heard my dad cuss, and I was utterly shocked. It still surprises me to hear my mom say even a mild curse word, and I'm 50, now!

On the cuter side, she does tell a story about when she was little, and sitting at the kitchen table, picking her nose. All her mother said to her was, "Oh, honey." Mom piped up with, "That's not honey, it's snot!"

[Muses_nightmare]

There's a story my mom tells me about when I was little. We were at a friend's kid's graduation, and the principal is doing his big long speech thing, and afterwards, it's silent for a few minutes, which is when I pipe up "Bullshit!" I'm not sure how old I was, must have been young enough to not remember it, and I started talking before I was one so.

I still try not to swear around my mom, I do occasionally. She's stopped being shocked at it though I think. Which may mean I'm letting more slip than I used to.

[customersruinmylife]

There are only a few swear words my family use often: bloody, arse and shit. They find any other swear word offensive (don't ask me why, I don't know myself).

My sister was learning to talk, but hadn't yet said her first official word. She was really struggling to say "Mum" and "Dad" There were a lot of family around, and everyone was trying to get her to say words, with no luck.

My Gran leaned over.

G: Say shit.

We all laughed at that. I mean, she had been struggling with very simple words. There's no way she will say that, right?

"SHIT!"

We all gasped, and started to shhh her.

"SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!"

[shadowpanda]

The second word I learnt to say as a child (after Dada) was 'bugger'. Apparently, I used to sit under the dinner table saying 'buger, bugger, bugger, bugger, bugger' lol

[ShadowBall]

My mother never watched her language around me...we lived with my grandmother, who agitated my mother on a daily basis. This combined with my mother's already existing anger issues meant cursing loud and long, every day. When I went to what would be my future kindergarten class to check everything out, my future teacher looked at me and said, "Ohhh, what a cute little girl" and proceeded to try and pick me up. Amidst kicking her, I called her every name in the book very loudly and attracted the attention of three other teachers.

And when in fifth grade, my language got colorful again...and I got in trouble for it. My mom was still swearing like it was going out of style within earshot of me, and wondered wherever I could have picked up such language.

Not much has changed - I'm 24 now and I still goddamn swear on a regular basis, but only when I'm around my friends. And my mother is just funny now when she swears - I still giggle when I think how she loses control of her brain-to-mouth filter (and overall ability to speak coherently) as her anger rises and when she says things like, "Goddamn fuckin', goddamn fuckin', goddamn fuckin' dogs!" No, that's no typo - she actually said it all three times like she was trying to summon Beetlejuice. But sadly, I never got to see the Goddamn Fuckin' appear.

[EmiOfBrie]

Personally, I don't see why we get so hung up on words....

...but that's a topic for Fratching.