A mom has revealed why her decision to let her kids curse has helped improve their relationship.
Australian mom of two Penny Brand explained to ABC.net that she decided to let her children swear because she thinks using expletives can be cathartic, funny, increase pain tolerance, and are a great way to release pent-up emotions.
All of which she claims has "completely changed" the relationship she has with her 10-year-old daughter.
"I threw away any outdated parenting rules on swear words and we've made serious inroads in improving our relationship," she said.
"She knows she can be authentic with me and it means she tells me more so that I can help her out.
"I want to meet my kids where they're at, not where old-fashioned rules and conventions say they should be."
However, she made a point of stressing that her two children, aged 10 and eight, do understand that it is not appropriate to use swear words all the time.
"Kids have a good grasp of the rules and conventions of swearing that they learn in the schoolyard," she says.
"They can get in the car and say they had a 'sh** day' or that something was 'f***ing awesome' without me ignoring what they're trying to communicate to scold them for swearing - that's tone-deaf parenting in my books."
Communications, media studies, education, and social justice lecturer, at the Queensland University of Technology Jason Sternberg told ABC that children are aware from an early age that they are not allowed to swear.
"Gordon Ramsey gave us prime-time swear words," Dr. Sternberg said. "And social media allows us to swear without really swearing.
"Kids are saying 'WTF' and things are 'cool AF' as a part of their normal language and they mean no harm by it."
He said that fundamentally, a person's use of language should always be about choice.
"Language is about giving people the opportunity to express themselves," he says. "If that means not swearing for you, that's 100 percent okay.
"I have a colleague who doesn't swear and I am very careful of my language around her out of respect for her."
Meanwhile, Monash University lecturer Catherine Cook told ABC that Brand's decision to let her children swear could be a reflection of a wider societal change in Australia that permits swearing in certain contexts.
"Like any social function, we need to be 'trained' to use swearing properly," Dr. Cook, who creates language learning programs for written and verbal communication, said.
"Both how and when to swear appropriately ourselves, and how to interpret it and react when we hear it from others.
"Much like all interactions, the dynamics of this are very complex and are learned behaviors we gain through encountering them over time."
All of which begs the question, do you think it's appropriate for children to swear? Let us know in the comments.
