Be Careful What You Say...

 I wasn't going to write this post because I am deeply ashamed of what I'm about to say, but the subtitle of my blog is "The good, the bad, and everything in between." Well, this definitely counts as the bad. Are you ready for it? Okay, here it is...

I taught my two year old son the term "damn it!"

There, I confessed. Albeit, it was an unintentional lesson, but still learned just the same.

We were grocery shopping a few weeks ago when it happened. I handed him something to put in the cart and the object slipped through his hands and onto the floor. My precious two year old son exclaimed "Damn it!" as he reached down to pick it up. As I gaped at my child, I frantically wondered who had heard that expletive come out of his mouth. Luckily the store was fairly empty and there was nobody else in the produce aisle to witness my horrible parenting at that moment. I chose to ignore the comment, thinking that if I didn't give it any merit, he wouldn't say it again. I was wrong. He repeated it three more times, waiting for me to respond. I finally told him that he could say "Oh, darn" instead, which apparently doesn't stick like "Damn it" does, because he is still saying it, weeks later.

I wish I could blame Nathan for teaching him this kind of language, but when I hear him say it, there is no denying that Benjamin learned it from me. The pitch, the volume, the way he draws out the words...it is a perfect impression of myself. It is very humbling to hear myself through the mouth of a two year old. Other words and terms I have taught Ben include:

• "Oh my God"
• "That sucks"
• "Frickin'"
• "Oh crap"

Now that I have admitted that I curse like a sailor in front of my children, can I at least point out the good things I have taught Benjamin to say? Things like:

• "Please"
• "Thank you"
• "I love you"
• "It's okay, Brayden. We're almost there." (Consoling his baby brother when Brayden isn't so thrilled to be in the car.)

So now I must really watch what I say in front of Benjamin, because apparently he is listening intently. Of course, I shouldn't use that kind of language anyway, but now I have a 30 pound reason to quit. Hey, it's better than washing my mouth out with soap, right?  I'll try that next.