Not so long ago, I could hear Austin playing Super Mario Brothers on his Wii. All of a sudden I thought I heard a swear word come out of my sweet little boy's mouth. I was in my room, not too far from the living room, and got up right away and went in, "Austin, what did you just say?" Normally, he would repeat whatever he said back to me. Not this time. Again, "Austin what did just you say?" He replied "Nothing ...". Far be it for me to repeat the word to him. So I told him, I thought he had said a bad word and did not want to hear it from him again. "Okay." was the only thing he said.
The other day, Austin asked me to play Super Mario with him. So I did. We were playing and trying to beat the "monster" at the top level of the castle when it bounced on Austin's character (Mario, of course) and he was knocked out of the game. "SH#TS!!!" came right out of my son's mouth! OMG! I was shocked! "Austin! That is a bad word!!!" "Where did you learn that word from?!!!!" Austin's reply "From Mario, he says it!" "No, Austin, I believe if Mario says anything, it would be 'shucks!'" (I really have no idea if that is what Mario says or not. I thought it was the only reasonable explanation at that moment.) So, Austin is learning what bad words are ... he is even figured out it is something he needs to hide if it slips out. So far I have got him saying "shucks" instead so let's hope that trend continues.
After the shock of this new behaviour wore off, I was thinking ... what does this mean? I have heard Austin repeat a bad word in the past by overhearing adults talk (let's face it, things slip out sometimes and you can't always control what other people say around your kids) and never put it together. This is a completely different ballgame. He knows, I know he knows that this is something you say when you are frustrated. Is this a speech development thing or a typical development thing? I am curious to find out. Bringing this up at the speech therapist's office next visit should be interesting ... I hope she doesn't ban Mario from the house! ;)
*HUGS* to all!
4 comments:
When my brother who is autistic lied for the first time, the pediatrician said to my parents to count their blessings because it was a perfectly normal thing to do. My 4 year old swore for the first time recently and though it wasn't something I wanted him to say, it provided a valuable learning opportunity. I think that though this isn't the best thing for him to pick up, it's a good sign that he is paying attention to the world around him...
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. It always makes my day to read a comment from you :)
Hi Judy,
I totally agree with you. It shows me that he is doing things, well, in someways that maybe a child of 4 or 5 may do, but it's good and well, bad. LOL! Just like you said " ... he is paying attention to the world around him ..." Such a good thing, encouraging. :)
Thanks so much! That's so sweet of you to say and you're welcome! :) I always look forward to your input/comments, and as you know, I LOVE your blog!
*HUGS* :) Heather
I think this is a normal developmental stage for most kids. I almost fell out of my chair the day my son, who was about 3 or 4 at the time, reported to me, "Mommy, Daddy called the driver of the other car a 'stupid f**k'!" Needless to say, I wasn't very happy with my husband that day.
It doesn't take long for kids to figure out that certain words have power and to experiment with that. You can tell them they shouldn't say those words, but the attraction is there when they know certain words can instantly get them lots (not always the right kind) of attention. Unfortunately, it's the world we live in. I've totally cleaned up my language since Jack came along, but he still hears it. You do the best you can and hope they turn out okay.
Debbie :-)
(I accidentally posted my previous comment under my hubby's account! Ack! Can you delete that one? Thx!)
Hi Debbie,
I totally understand. I am always on my husband or using that word. What can you do, we all slip up at times but yes, we must watch what we say for sure!
I was upset but surprised that Austin could use the word correctly. Definitely a good/bad thing, right? lol! (In Austin's case anyway.)
You are right again. We can only try our best and lead by example to help them turn out to be wonderful people. :) :)
Thanks! *HUGS* :) Heather
(Sorry I could not remove this part from the comment. I did delete the other one as requested. *HUG*)
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