Children swearing

A mom told me about a problem that occurred when chaperoning a 4th grader’s birthday party (children ages 9 – 11 years old). One of the children was asked to leave a laser tag game because he was using obscenities. He was disappointed and angry that he had to stop playing the game.

This mom spoke to him about why his language was inappropriate. She found out that he regularly watched comedians on late-night TV where he learned this type of language. He hadn’t developed the ability to differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate places for using these words.

Later when she let his parents know what had happened, they appeared to be shocked. They quickly learned that the unmonitored TV viewing was having some negative consequences! Although it can be challenging to monitor what are children are viewing on TV and computers, it is essential for parents to do this so that they can provide much needed guidance.