In a recent Washington Post advice column, a mother complains about her almost 6-year-old son’s penchant for bad language. We’re not just talking about negative words like “stupid,” but also the f-bomb. He has been hurling insults at his younger brother, telling him to “shut up.” The 3-year-old starts crying and the older boy looks at his parents “with a smug smile.” What’s a parent to do?
Thus far, the distressed parent has taken a soft approach, explaining to Post columnist Meghan Leahy:
Considering having him lose something? If I were that child, I’m pretty sure my father would more than consider me losing something, and it wouldn’t be a toy. I still remember such threats as “If you do that again, I’ll cut your feet off” and “I’ll cut your head off.” (My father is really a gentle soul, but I sort of believed him at the time—as a surgeon, he could very well have performed said amputations.) So what did Leahy, who has a master’s in school counseling, advise?
First, the columnist congratulates the beleaguered mother precisely for not “smacking him, spanking him, dragging him to his room, lecturing him and putting him in time out.” To be fair, Leahy is specifically addressing the problem of a child who does not respond to threats and disciplinary action.
It continues,
It seems to only gets better for the profanity-spewing child. “Plan some special time with him,” writes Leahy. “Have fun with him as you play sports, make art, watch a movie, go to a bookstore, read—anything where smiling and pure play will happen. Make sure he feels like a source of enjoyment. Show him his baby pictures, and tell him all of the stories. He will feel more and more special, and you will watch the salty language dwindle.”
As for the younger brother, I guess he can go f— himself.
