WHAT did you say?!?

Posted Thursday, May 13, 2010, at 4:12 PM

Kids, when you are playing at H.V. Griffin Park, there are several things you need to keep in mind.

1. Just because you don't have any grownups with you, doesn't mean there aren't grownups around.

2. Sound carries very well. When you scream the MF curse word over and over and over again, it will be heard. Probably by one of those grownups you don't realize is around.

3. This is a small and close-knit community. Chances are, the grownup who just heard you scream MF over and over and over again knows your mom or dad, your grandmother, your preacher and your teacher.

4. Grownups don't consider it "narking" to let the adults in your life know what language you are using in yours.

Clean it up, kids. Please. There are almost always small children around and they don't need to hear these words.

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Kids these days have no respect all. I'm proud to say that I'm one of the few teenagers who doesn't talk like that. I guess they think cussing makes them look mature,but they don't realize that it really makes them look like ignorant white trash. (Sorry for being so blunt,but thats what I believe.)

-- Posted by tenthingsiloveaboutyou on Thu, May 13, 2010, at 4:36 PM

Sadly many of those teens and even some younger kids you hear bellowing the MF or other cursing hear that in their homes on a regular basis.

-- Posted by KaiteJones on Thu, May 13, 2010, at 6:07 PM

If you go to the baseball fields you will hear worse from the coaches and parents.

-- Posted by UVilleGators on Thu, May 13, 2010, at 6:16 PM

If you go to the baseball fields you will hear worse from the coaches and parents.

-- Posted by UVilleGators on Thu, May 13, 2010, at 6:16 PM

and you hear the same from basketball and football games as well but there are many children much younger than teenagers using language that my grandmother would still slap me for saying.

I was at Kroger the other day and some kid about 8 or 9 using words that I wouldn't dare utter in public and his Mother just walked on like it was normal.

-- Posted by Dianatn on Fri, May 14, 2010, at 12:10 AM

I was in Wal-Mart a few months ago and overheard a teenage boy turn and say the words "f-you" to his own mother. I honestly do not understand why he had any teeth to eat with afterwards, but the woman in question only acted as if her son had just said good morning. I now realize who was really at fault. I would have been wearing dentures and a full body cast at age 16 if I had ever said those words to my mother.

-- Posted by Tim Lokey on Fri, May 14, 2010, at 12:26 PM

I can remember getting swatted by mom for saying "Crap" -- and I was 17 at the time!

-- Posted by MotherMayhem on Fri, May 14, 2010, at 3:25 PM

My point was that you can not blame the kids for using the language unless you deal w/ the source of the problem, their parents. If the parents do not care, do not blame the kid.

-- Posted by UVilleGators on Fri, May 14, 2010, at 5:33 PM

I don't understand how parents can just let their kids get away with things like that. I understand that we live in different times than even when I was a teenager (not too long ago), but that is no excuse to be disrespectful to anyone. My five year old corrects me when I say little things like crap or stupid (and the worse words also) and says "Momma, that's a bad word, we don't say that." She is quick to call anyone out (even strangers) when they say something bad, or she has been told was a bad word that she can't say. Needless to say, I have learned to choose my words wisely around her.

I get upset when people my age back talk their parents, much less children. If my child knows better at her age, then what happened to the rest of them? When did all of this happen and parents stopped caring? All I have to say is these people need to step up and be parents if they are going to have the children because it is getting ridiculous.

-- Posted by Deception82z on Fri, May 14, 2010, at 8:59 PM

Deception82z, I'm glad to hear that you're raising your kids right:)

MotherMayhem, I love reading your blogs.

-- Posted by tenthingsiloveaboutyou on Fri, May 14, 2010, at 9:11 PM

Thank you. I try to anyway. I understand that it's hard to raise kids, much less good kids, but most of it should come naturally. What I really don't understand anymore is how can parents be so careless with children now and it was so different less than 10 years ago. Trust me, if I can raise a decent child, then anyone can, because I have just as many problems (i.e. horrible temper, past, and even vocabulary) as they claim they have now, but I know what I want my child to grow up to be like and I will not settle for less from me or my husband or anyone in her life for that matter.

If anyone can help me to understand how things have changed this much in such a little time, I'd greatly appreciate it.

-- Posted by Deception82z on Fri, May 14, 2010, at 9:48 PM

Things have changed because a lot of parents have stopped caring about being a parent. The kids are being raised by a lot of things besides mom and/or dad.

I do not think that every kid needs to be smacked, popped or whooped, but they need to know that they have limitations. Whatever works for each home is fine w/ me.

I asked my Pre teen this evening what would happen if I heard him say a bad word, he said, "Ugh bad ... bad ... things."

-- Posted by UVilleGators on Sat, May 15, 2010, at 12:29 AM

I am not usually offended by less than polite language coming from the mouths of children, my own or others. Depending upon the age of the child, the context surrounding its use, and the appropriateness of the setting, I could not care less.

-- Posted by memyselfi on Sat, May 15, 2010, at 3:20 AM

I guess that goes a long way in explaining the problem - "I could not care less" what kids are saying. Can't think of an appropriate setting where anyone (child or adult) should be using this kind of language.

-- Posted by reilly on Sat, May 15, 2010, at 6:33 AM

I am constantly amazed at what comes out of the mouths of children, or teenagers. When I was growing up, it was not out of fear that you carefully chose your words, but out of respect. That is exactly what some of the kids today do not have is respect, not only for their parents, but for themselves.

-- Posted by cookie on Sat, May 15, 2010, at 8:34 AM

Even the best parents can have some of the worst kids. I was not perfect for sure, none of us are, but I was a stay at home mother who made it point to give my children the lessons and information ( backed with accountability) to be successful productive adults. There were rules and expectations and they were held accountable when they failed to follow them. There is a point though where it is up to them to take the lessons learned and apply them to life. they may at first stray but more often than not the lessons do kick in, kind of like a piece of elastic, they stretch and pull away only at some point to snap right back to their foundations.There are so many outside influences that need to all be figured into the mix of whom these kids become. That I would say is the difference between now and ten (and even further back) years ago. I'm sure we can all name more than one family that raised more than one child only to have them turn out as complete opposites. Great parents who have kids that grew up to be horrendous and what we would consider non-parents who have kids who are very successful. We have them major roll in their futures but there is continually more and more influences we are not able to prevent them from coming into contact with. it is up to us to prepare them to be able to faces those challenges and come out on the appropriator side.

-- Posted by wonderwhy on Sat, May 15, 2010, at 9:48 AM

When the children are raised by the media and not the parents and th Word of God is not taught that is what happens. Granted in anger I will let one slip and then seek God's forgiveness, if mama was still alive I would be eating soap.

-- Posted by michaelbell on Sat, May 15, 2010, at 11:48 AM

When the children are raised by the media and not the parents and the Word of God is not taught that is what happens. Granted in anger I will let one slip and then seek God's forgiveness, if mama was still alive I would be eating soap.

-- Posted by michaelbell on Sat, May 15, 2010, at 11:49 AM

"Bad words" are not only crass and hurtful,they show a lack of imagination.

I heard a doctor warn against the over-use of antibiotics this way:

"These drugs are like profanity.

If you use them all the time over any little thing,they stop being effective.

We need to save them for when nothing else will do."

We need to work on being caring and respectful and on making our words get our point across in efficient and interesting ways.

In more polite times,people could still express anger and disapproval but were more mature and original in the process.

Until we learn how to speak without being disagreeable,we could,at least,hone our creativity by thinking up substitutes for tacky "phraseology"

Those who insist on being rude can just shut the frak up until they learn good manners.

-- Posted by quantumcat on Sat, May 15, 2010, at 4:27 PM

reilly, Is that the problem? Thank you for the clarification. I guess I have previously misunderstood the nature of the problem. All this time, I was under the impression that the functions of words were dispassionate. I had no idea that some were "bad" and others "good".

I was naive enough to assume that an expletive was an expletive, regardless of its classification on the subjective charts of intentionality that these words invariably find themselves assigned. I just always assumed that the use of pseudo-expletives (like "dang" "darn" "crap" or even "ouch") was just a way to follow the letter of some self-imposed moral law, while neglecting the spirit of it. Furthermore, I have been mistakenly assigning perfectly "good" words "bad" designations. My erroneous maligning of "good" words such as "stupid" "fat" "ugly" or even "white trashy" has been a direct result of my own ignorance.

In the future, I will know better than to imagine that any particular word's meaning and intentionality comes from the context that it is used in. Instead, the appropriateness of words must be based upon some retrogression to a vague puritanical understanding of absolutes that evolved against the backdrop of a perfectly acceptably, and much more imaginative, racial, ethic, religious, or socio-economic nomenclature of epithets.

After developing a new perspective, I am ashamed that I ever thought that words were merely tools used for the expression of thoughts, and it was the thoughts themselves that should be measured as deserving, or undeserving, of acceptance. Thanks for the enlightenment.

-- Posted by memyselfi on Sat, May 15, 2010, at 5:10 PM

tattoos & scars,

I agree with the dentures and body cast but you and I know that if this lady had smacked the taste out of the childs mouth somebody would have hollered child abuse. My child often gets unruly in public, not cursing, but doesn't hear the word 'no' or 'stop' and this I feel is due to the fact that I have been tested and she now realizes that I am not going to keep my 'threat' in public. Any suggestions?

-- Posted by truckindaddy on Sat, May 15, 2010, at 6:33 PM

Truckindaddy,

I have the same problem with my little one, it's getting better the older she gets though. We went through a "no" stage with her and it did not last long. To be honest, I do not spank my child hardly ever, but there is nothing wrong with physical discipline - as long as it doesn't even come close to abuse. Whenever i do spank her, it is only hard enough to get her attention, and it does not take much at all.

We were in a book store one day, and she was acting absolutely horrible (no nap and grandma's all day). I popped her little butt and when I did a man looked at me like I was the worst mother he had ever seen. What I told him was she is my child, not his. I do not beat my child, and will not be accused of it. I merely collect her and walk out of the store and tell her we are going home until she can act like a big girl. It's all about consistency I have learned.

-- Posted by Deception82z on Sat, May 15, 2010, at 8:40 PM

I have a neighbor who lets you kids run around their backyard calling each other all sorts of names to each other. And these kids are all under 7. She does nothing about it.

As for me, my kids know not to say words like those because it doesn't show anything but that you have a small vocabulary. We are not christian or religious, but use common sense and respect, (which some people and their kids have no idea about).

-- Posted by PrpleHze on Thu, May 20, 2010, at 8:25 AM

A major problem that we have today is the fact that if we spank a child we are threatened with being charged for child abuse, or child services may be called on us.

If Levi was to cuss or back talk me at a young age, I will be backhand him across the face just as I was, and then i will go pray that I will not be charged for child abuse, or child services will not be called on me.

-- Posted by Amanda Flynn on Thu, May 20, 2010, at 9:43 AM

man, if i would have said something like that to my momma i'd be wearing wires for my jaw cause it would have been knocked off.

I show respect to others because that is how i was raised,, i was not raised as a Christian, just moral.

A person that said such language was coarse and crass and had no or little education.. so i learned to "curse" in differant languages..

or keep it to myself..

Such rough language shows a lack of class and breeding.

-- Posted by 4fabfelines on Fri, May 21, 2010, at 5:32 PM

Well said, Mary.

-- Posted by tarrget on Sat, May 22, 2010, at 7:50 AM