There are a few words – beyond the typical swear words – that are forbidden in our home. They are not necessarily offensive, and are used often in everyday parlance. But since I’ve become a mom, I’ve become sensitive to these words and have thus issued a household ban on them. The first and foremost of these is “bored”. Any time I hear it, I can’t help but think that someone who is bored is merely just a boring person. Now I can remember experiencing boredom as a kid, especially during long car rides, church meetings, or towards the end of the school day. So I don’t expect that my kids will never experience the feeling. I just don’t ever want to hear “Mom, I’m boooored”, or even worse, when I suggest something to do, “That’s boring!”.
from Baby Blues
It only took one time, after Alice came home from a friend’s house and repeated the word she heard there, for me to get it across that we don’t use that word. Of course, Alice has since replaced “bored” and “boring” with, “That makes me tired.” And that’s okay because she is at least more accurately describing the sentiment. (Long winded talks in church make not only me tired, but also Paul as I frequently have to nudge him to stop the snores). Another word we forbid is “hate”. I hate it when my kids use it (ha ha). So now, instead of “I hate you Mama,” they say “I don’t like you anymore,” which just has a nicer ring to it, don’t you think? It just goes to show: You can change the language but not the sentiment. At least I’m not grimacing through it. Are there any other words I need to add to our forbidden list?
We are not allowed to use the word stupid. A while ago Emma said, “at school, so and so, said the “S” word.” I froze thinking that she really meant the “S” word. I asked her to spell it, so she said something like “s t oo p e d” I was very happy to hear the spelling. I don’t like how it makes one feel after hearing it.
You sure do have smart kids, I like there logic.
Yes…stupid is a good one to add. But I’m afraid I would be the one always breaking the rule. Luckily the kids haven’t picked up on that one yet!