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Over half of all parents are happy to swear in front of their children

“Do as I say, not as I do?”


Anna Johnstone
Head of Social
August 20, 2018
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If you sometimes feeling a little guilty for having no filter in front of your kids, then you don’t need to worry that you’re the only one; it turns out that 52% of parents with children 16 years old or younger admit to being happy to using bad language in front of them. The results were found in research conducted by ChannelMum.com, where half of the 2,000 respondents admitted to being a potty-mouthed parent.

parents swearing around kids osbournes

The Osbournes were renowned for their potty mouths

More than a fifth of everyone asked said that that swearing was fine as their little ones are too young to understand - but are they washing their mouths out when the kids grow up? Well, one third still continue to swear even when they know that the children understand what the words mean, as long as they know they can’t use them themselves. Some would say that's double standards…

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Founder Siobhan Freegard said: "The topic of swearing in front of children is definitely something of a taboo among many parents. Before kids learn to talk, parents often feel they can continue speaking the same way they always have. But it’s not long before children are picking up bits of language from their parents – and by age two are very adept at parroting words back they’ve heard mum or dad use."

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However, if you’re really concerned about your foul mouth Siobhan recommends using some ‘Swear Swaps’ - so protecting your kids ears by using 'what the frog', 'shitake mushrooms' and 'fire truck' instead. Or maybe, just whispering the really bad word when they’re out of earshot, if it’s *really* necessary...

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