The Bad Words

It all started with Shrek telling the donkey to "Shut up!" Then, it was the beast in Beauty & the Beast saying, "Stupid!" I remember the day Alyssa put all of her dolls and stuffed animals in time out for saying "Shut up!" She'd tell each one that they were in time-out for saying "Shut up!" Essentially, she was repeating it over and over without getting in trouble because, after all, they were the ones that said it, not her.

We try to be mindful of the things that we say and the word choices that we make. We try not to use words that we don't want to hear repeated. However, in case we forget, we now have a little person to remind us exactly what was said.

"Is 'weirdo' a bad word?" Alyssa asks. I tell her that it's not exactly a bad word, but it's not really nice either. It's a silly word that people say when they see someone who is different or acting goofy. She tells me she heard the word from a friend at school. Her friend said, "You're a weirdo!" She seems a bit sad and says, "But I'm not a weirdo!" We have a talk.

"Is 'crazy old buzzard' a bad word?" Alyssa asks. I couldn't help but laugh. It's not a bad word, but it's also not nice to call someone that. I gave an example and told her if she said that to her Grandma it wouldn't be very nice. Sure enough, the next time we see Grandma she looks at her and says, "You crazy old buzzard!" Grandma's looked at her sternly and says, "I don't like that!" Alyssa cried. Talk not required.

"Is 'friggin nuts' a bad word?" Alyssa asks. I turned my head and busted laughing. Upon gaining my composure, I asked where she heard that. She tells me she heard it at school. Interested, I asked what the kid said to her. She told me the kid looked at her and said, "You're friggin' nuts!" I tell her it's not nice to say and we have another talk.

I was driving home on the highway and there was a slow car in front of me going about 25 in a 55. As my patience was wearing and I said out loud, "I have to change lanes... this car is driving me friggin' nuts!" Oh my! Did she hear that from me? How often do I say that? Is "friggin" even a word? Maybe she didn't hear that from a kid at school? Well, it's better than the alternative. Ohhhh boy!

As I said before, in case we forget what we say, there's always someone to remind us.