Potty Mouth

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Guest Blogger Carissa Knoles 


“Let’sname the giraffe — —- and the gorilla —-. My Mommy and Daddy say those names. Ilike them. Then they can be the Mommy and Daddy animals and we can name thekids Sweetie and Cutie, ok?” Feel free to fill in the blanks. This long-winded4-year-old innocently plays with a peer, whose eyes are as wide as saucers ashe looks around the room to see if a teacher has heard what many children referto as “potty words.” Between the ages of 18 and 24 months, children go fromknowing approximately 15 words to 150! The question is, how do children learn toinclude such inappropriate language and what does one do to stop it? As foundin the article “Children Are Swearing More Often, At an Earlier Age,” (PsychCentral News, 2010) Psychologist Timothy Jay conducted a study concluding thatnearly two-thirds of adults that have rules about their children swearing frequentlybreak their own rules.  In fact, .07percent of an adult’s daily speech is filled with 1 of the 70 common taboowords in the English language. As one can conclude from the above observationof 2 preschoolers naming their animals, such “potty words” are no longer onlyfor Mommy and Daddy. “By the time kids go to school now, they’re saying all thewords that we try to protect them from on television. We find their swearingreally takes off between (ages) three and four,” says Jay.What’sa parent to do? First and foremost, stop swearing! Child Development researchtells us that children are learning and exploring constantly, especially underthe age of 5. Parents are their child’s first teachers.  One parent shares that any time anyone in thehouse says a “bad word,” they have to drop a quarter in a jar. While that maybe an appropriate consequence for a teenager who loses quarters from their hardearned paycheck, it is not developmentally appropriate to take a coin from thepiggy bank of a 3 year old.  A 5-year-oldshares with his teacher, “When I say bad words, I get hot stuff in my mouth andI go to time out.” That sort of “Do as I say, not as I do” mentality sendsmixed messages. Children learn through observing the behaviors of the world andthose in it. They imitate behaviors of those who love and care for them.  In addition to avoiding using such languagein front of young children, when children do try out those “potty words” informthem that it is not a respectful thing to say. Provide them with appropriate ways to express feelings verbally orphysically, such as stomping their feet or taking deep breaths.  If said child decides to keep those dirtywords coming, ignore the negative behavior and redirect to something new.  Childrenare going to hear inappropriate words- it’s a part of growing up in 2012.  Use teachable moments to imitate respectfulbehavior and vocabulary, and you’ll be raising a healthy child with a cleanmouth!

Carissa Knoles holds a BGS in Children and Families from the University of Michigan. She also has over 6 years experience working in NAEYC Accredited Early Childhood programs and is pursuing further education in Early Childhood and Music Therapy. Carissa is the secretary of the Metro Detroit Association of the Education of Young children in addition to providing music enrichment programs in the Metro Detroit area. Working as an advocate for Early Childhood Education through both music and leadership is a dream come true for Carissa. You can find out more about Music with Ms. Carissa by visiting www.mscarissarocks.com!