My son is only 11 months old so this isn't an issue that I'm dealing with today but will have to over the next two or three years. A fair number of my favorite songs/CDs have explicit lyrics. Everything from Pavement's "Box Elder" to Silkworm's "Miracle Mile" to Palace's "The Mountain Low" to Magnetic Fields' "Fido, Your Leash Is Too Long" and so on has a curse word here and there. They generally aren't excessive but they are clear. Since I often listen to CDs while I'm hanging with my son, should I be concerned that my kid will start dropping F-bombs at daycare or should I not worry since he probably won't be focusing on the lyrics and if he did, I could just explain that he shouldn't use those words? He's going to have to learn eventually. I don't want to censor what I listen to but I also don't want my son to be the foul-mouthed kid at daycare that teaches the other kids how to swear. Since I figured that a bunch of people who frequent this forum have dealt with this issue, I thought I'd ask here rather than on some parenting discussion board. Thanks, Murf
My daughter is 19 months old....and she repeats EVERYTHING......I would be careful, unless you think its cute..... The toughest part for me has been watching my language....and paying attention to what is on the television. There is no reason she should start asking mommy or grandma for a ************ing bottle. Kids.....she made me have to grow up.
little tape recorders they are from the second they learn to talk. keep it away from them. they will drop f-bombs galore. on a related note: my little brother is autistic and 22 years old and we have to be careful what movies we watch around him and what music we listen to because he does it too.
Nicodemus and ToddP25 are right. Kids will hear it and repeat, almost certainly when you least want them to. Even worse, how older kids behave away from home makes it pretty obvious to their friends' parents what those kids have been exposed to. But the bottom line is you are never going to be able to shield them from everything so establish those lines of communication early and maintain them often. Among other things, this makes it easier to explain why Daddy drops the f-bomb (in interesting combinations) when he bangs his head on a cabinet door.
A friend of my 1st grader was over at our house and told me his 2 year old brother "calls people 'stupid a's' but he uses the whole word". This kid also told me how great Smackdown is and asked if my son could come over to watch sometime!!! Needless to say our kids dont go over to his house. The strange part is this kids father is/was a middle school administator.
I used to work at a school. The teacher's kids were some of the worst ones. I think it is because they eventually are able to tune out annoying behavior and they become apathetic a lot of times. I'm not teacher bashing (my brother's a teacher and he's top notch), but there are some crap ones out there too.
What would be worse is teaching a kid censorship. Let it be free, man. Create a bond with your kid that goes beyond the borders of limiting music. Seriously. Be careful. Kids repeat everything. You even have to watch out for what's on the radio these days with some of the stuff that they say on the popular "urban" radio stations. When the kids get older, they like the catchy tunes and sing along to them. I remember when my nephew was 2, he used to sing to Puff Daddy. So there you go.
Children are little people who need to be molded and disciplined. I try to avoid this sort of stuff with my kids (3,3 & 1) but you cannot keep them immune to it.
If you let your kids watch movies or TV, you cant avoid "bad" words. Even so, they interact with older kids and friends with older siblings. How you react to it is the only thing you can control. One night at the dinner table last year my son (then 6) flipped us the bird and said "Does this mean f:^)?" We could have flown off the handle thereby guaranteeing(?) he repeat it ad nauseum. We let him know it was not a word he should use (which he knew) but didnt make too big a deal out of it. I'm sure he hears stuff all the time, but the fact we dont swear in front of him probably makes a difference too.
I don't think anybody is suggesting you hermetically seal the kid off from society, but you don't want your 2 year old hearing "F*** Tha Police" either. Of course, you handle things level headed. He's talking about a child the age where they can't yet tell what's appropriate or not socially.
It really depends on the context of the explicit lyrics. Agreed for small children say under the age of 11, but if they are mature, they should not be censored, particularly if the artist has a message in his or her lyrics. Just screaming F you or Mother F is wrong, but a lot of the explicit language in for example Eminen's lyrics are meaningful.
I can't wait till I have a kid that wants to through a set up, and say these bitches aint ************.
as a non-parent, my opinion is probably unwanted and unwarranted. but, MAN, to question a song so fantastic as "box elder" ???? i LOVE that song!!!! as another example, i listen to bosstones a lot, and respect their attempts to offer non-explicit versions of their recordings. but 'tones ain't 'tones without an effenheimer thrown down every so often. your concern for your child is admirable, and your love of music is likely unquenchable. best of luck....no answers here. (not meant as a smart-alecky statement) westing by sextant, but no musket, r