My 8-year-old came up to me the other day and said, somewhat shyly, “Friend X told me that it is a swear if you put your middle finger up on your hand“.
Ahhhhh. . .yes, gotta love those moments in life when the unsavory creeps into a regular day.
After explaining that the middle finger is indeed an unkind gesture that she is never, ever to repeat (especially to other homeschoolers because then we will be “THAT” family), I sent her on her way.
The next day, we went food shopping. Our town’s giganto supermarket has a drop-off child care room with wrist bands, beepers and video cameras, and even though it isn’t my favorite food store, that feature alone is a pretty big draw.
After leaving the kids to play under the watchful eye of Some Woman, I picked up the kids. In the parking lot, Belly pulled me to her and whispered, “the woman in there said a bad word.”
The word was “shit” which, yes, is a bad word. I found out that the woman had said it to her adult son who had stopped by to discuss a bill he had received. And, although I think she could’ve used better judgment, I didn’t freak out after I found out she wasn’t yelling at the kids when she said it.
“What’s it mean Mommy?”
“It means poop. It’s an icky word. Please don’t repeat it.”
And, then the last word was “ass”, courtesy of Jillian Michaels’ 30-Day Shred.
“It means bum or butt. Please don’t repeat it”, I said wearily.
As she turned to go, she realized something and announced excitedly, “Hey! I learned 3 new swear words this week!”
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