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Out of the mouths of babes: Dad has brush with bad word
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Published: May 21, 2009
With a calmness and imperturbability that would make air traffic controllers jealous, Cary Anne and I each flicked a glance at the other, then at almost the same time, asked "she said what?"
Claire, sensing a victory, recapped with conviction the utterance of the "c" word.
Holding firmly to the belief that a restrained approach was the most productive, we told her that we'd talk to Jenna, and to go finish her homework.
Once she was out of earshot, we gaped at each other in shock. Our little girl said the "c" word? Our jaded and world-weary minds could think of only a few terms that would make Claire rat out Jenna, none of which were civilized. Yet Claire hadn't seemed particularly shocked. Surely she wasn't that corrupted as well? Were our children already familiar with the kind of coarseness I didn't hear until junior high?
With gloomy hearts, we discussed what we should do to make abundantly clear that language such as this would not be tolerated under any circumstances, but in a way that wouldn't increase the likelihood of the "forbidden fruit" phenomena. We first had to ensure that Claire's report was accurate, then we needed to know where Jenna had heard it.
We were shocked at the thought that any of her peers had taught her the word. This was a conversation neither of us was looking forward to. Finally, we offhandedly asked Jenna which "c" word she had said. With a mortified expression, she guiltily whispered "crap."
Strangling a guffaw of nervous relief, Cary Anne advised Jenna that the word was impolite, to pretend she's never heard Daddy say it, and not to use it again.
We felt bad for panicking, and presuming the worst of both our children and their peers. Chicken Littles, we were. We had heard and read so many alarming statistics about how children grow up too quickly and see and hear things they shouldn't. With the less restrained language on prime-time television, we automatically feared the worst about our child.
We felt a bit sheepish, but sighed with relief and agreed that kids this age really are still innocents. Then, last week, Jenna came home and told us that a child in her class was sent to the office for saying the "f" word. Yes, THAT one. In kindergarten.
Maybe the sky really is falling.
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