'Modern Family' Under Fire For "Tot" Swear Word

[Hopeful One]

Seriously?? Come on, is this really that big of a deal? Don't we have more important things to worry about??

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/toddlers-cuss-word-modern-family-draws-ire-024407751.html

 

[Marie]

:floorlaugh: Ridiculous! All of my kids inappropriately repeated one of mommy or daddy's cuss words when they were toddler's. It's a natural part of parenting... and no, you are not better than me if you say "fudge" or "golly gee whiz" instead, a cuss is a cuss no matter how you pronounce it.

One of our most laughter inducing memories is of our truck loving 2yo excitedly screaming out "TRUCK"!!! with an "F" at the top of his lungs every time he saw a toy dump truck on a store shelf, or a semi-truck on the interstate, or a back hoe working on the restaurant parking lot... there sure are a lot of * UCKS around when you least want your child yelling out a normal everyday word that's mistakenly pronounced like a cuss word. The looks people gave us horrible parents were priceless :innocent::crazy:

PS> I bet McKay Hatch, the 18yo college student who founded the No Cussing Club in 2007, is a real fun guy.

 

[oh_gal]

When I was in my early 20's, my ex-husband took me to a friend's house (both my ex and this friend were 15+ years older than me). They thought it was hilarious that the friend's 3 year old son couldn't pronounce "fork" correctly -- it ended up sounding like the "f" word. They made the poor kid say it over, and over, and over again. He had no idea why they were laughing like hyenas.

When I was around 8, my older sister got married. Her husband had a sticker on the dashboard of his car, I can see it now, it was a picture of a tipsy cat in a martini glass, and it said, "happiness is a wet p*ssy". They offered me money to say it, and so did his mom (??!!). I didn't, because even then, I didn't think it was right.

What the heck is wrong with people, that they get a kick out of kids doing things like this?

And yes, I personally think it's a big deal, because it acts like a barometer for what we, as a society, think is "ok". And I think we've really lowered the bar on what is acceptable, as situations like this will show.

 

[longtallcold]

All I know, is thoses dresses in the pictures are awesome and I want to get my daughter one lol

 

[Donjeta]

If a word that does not actually get pronounced on TV counts as a problem things must be pretty good otherwise.

 

[Hopeful One]

When I was in my early 20's, my ex-husband took me to a friend's house (both my ex and this friend were 15+ years older than me). They thought it was hilarious that the friend's 3 year old son couldn't pronounce "fork" correctly -- it ended up sounding like the "f" word. They made the poor kid say it over, and over, and over again. He had no idea why they were laughing like hyenas.

When I was around 8, my older sister got married. Her husband had a sticker on the dashboard of his car, I can see it now, it was a picture of a tipsy cat in a martini glass, and it said, "happiness is a wet p*ssy". They offered me money to say it, and so did his mom (??!!). I didn't, because even then, I didn't think it was right.

What the heck is wrong with people, that they get a kick out of kids doing things like this?

And yes, I personally think it's a big deal, because it acts like a barometer for what we, as a society, think is "ok". And I think we've really lowered the bar on what is acceptable, as situations like this will show.

Really?? It's a word. Just a word. I don't know a child who hasn't said a swear word when they're little and don't know better. It's not like we encourage it, it's just a funny little mistake.

I just think that in this world, we have bigger fish to fry.

 

[oh_gal]

Really?? It's a word. Just a word. I don't know a child who hasn't said a swear word when they're little and don't know better. It's not like we encourage it, it's just a funny little mistake.

I just think that in this world, we have bigger fish to fry.

Maybe I (and others) are perceiving adults laughing over it as them condoning the behavior, I don't know. If the parents were laughing in embarrassment, I can understand that, too.

 

[oh_gal]

Really?? It's a word. Just a word. I don't know a child who hasn't said a swear word when they're little and don't know better. It's not like we encourage it, it's just a funny little mistake.

I just think that in this world, we have bigger fish to fry.

Bigger fish to fry than raising our kids?

Yeah, I know. It's just a show. But this is how it starts. I don't expect that some will understand what I'm saying. Not because I doubt your intelligence, but because you have already passed that point to where it is no longer a big deal.

 

[Donjeta]

In the episode titled "Little Bo Bleep" airing 9 p.m. EST Wednesday, 2-year-old Lily shocks parents Mitchell and Cameron (Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet) with her first expletive.

The dads, who are preparing Lily to serve as flower girl in a wedding, now have an added parenting challenge.

It sounds to me like the point of the cussing episode is raising our kids. Apparently the parents are trying to teach the child not to say it again. That's not a bad thing in my book.

The children wouldn't require raising if they knew in the womb which words are acceptable and which aren't.

 

[my_tee_mouse]

The hooplah is nonsense. Kids hear words and repeat them. Kids mispronounce words and leave their parents with beet-red faces. It happens. It's not like the parents were encouraging her. This episode is just a depiction of a real-life "episode" that many many parents have encountered. The focus isn't so much on the word itself but how the parents handle it, and many a parent can relate!

The little actress didn't really say the word, and "the" word wasn't said on the show, so what the heck is the big deal? Too many people with too much time on their hands, IMO.

 

[Hopeful One]

Bigger fish to fry than raising our kids?

Yeah, I know. It's just a show. But this is how it starts. I don't expect that some will understand what I'm saying. Not because I doubt your intelligence, but because you have already passed that point to where it is no longer a big deal.

Nowhere in my post did I say we have bigger fish to fry than raising our kids. That's the most important job in the world.

IMO, we have bigger fish to fry than worrying about a little kid pretending to say the F word on a television show - especially when it's bleeped out AND her mouth is blurred AND she really said "fudge" during recording. I know that I have much more important things in my life (and the lives of others) than to worry about something so silly.

 

[oh_gal]

It sounds to me like the point of the cussing episode is raising our kids. Apparently the parents are trying to teach the child not to say it again. That's not a bad thing in my book.

The children wouldn't require raising if they knew in the womb which words are acceptable and which aren't.

I agree, it's not a bad thing at all to explain to your kids which words are appropriate and which are not. My point was, and remains, that the response of, "so what's the big deal...it's cute!" is a barometer for what we find acceptable in our society. It is confusing (to me, anyway) when someone laughs something off, I'm not sure whether they're laughing because they find nothing wrong with the behavior (whatever that behavior may be) or because they're embarrassed by it. Saying something is "cute" to me = condoning it.

 

[Donjeta]

I didn't see anybody in this thread saying that bad words are cute.

 

[oh_gal]

The hooplah is nonsense. Kids hear words and repeat them. Kids mispronounce words and leave their parents with beet-red faces. It happens. It's not like the parents were encouraging her. This episode is just a depiction of a real-life "episode" that many many parents have encountered. The focus isn't so much on the word itself but how the parents handle it, and many a parent can relate!

The little actress didn't really say the word, and "the" word wasn't said on the show, so what the heck is the big deal? Too many people with too much time on their hands, IMO.

I don't know about anyone else, but for me, the issue was never, "this little actress pretended to say a swear word". The issue is how many are saying, "so what's the big deal? It happens." (or something similar -- you'll have to make the leap, here, not exact wording). The issue, and again, I realize it's not a popular concept in today's world, is the simple fact that people are NOT bothered by this, and think..."what's the big deal." Again, as I said, many have already passed the point where this is not a big deal. They don't see it (children swearing, not this show episode) as a big deal. It's a snowball effect. It starts with something small, and then it takes more and more, bigger and bigger, more heinous things to shock us. (Case in point: this wouldn't even be discussed 50 years ago -- no one would be laughing about it, it would be unheard of to even think it was funny, or just one of those silly little things that happen with your kids. People would be embarrassed to even admit it, if it did happen in their house. See how far we've come? Now it's no big deal.) Hope that explanation helps.

 

[my_tee_mouse]

I would never encourage a child to use a cuss word, nor would I indicate to them that it is "cute" if they did. That is not the point of my post at all. MY point is that this episode is dealing with the real-life situation where a kid uses an inappropriate word and how the parents dealt with it. I have seen nothing to imply that anyone thinks it is cute or "no big deal" when a child uses an inappropriate word. I NEVER implied that I think it's "no big deal" for kids to use cuss words, and if anyone is getting that out of my post, then they need to re-read the post.

As far as no one would be laughing about this 50 years ago...I betcha parents would correct their child and then giggle behind their hands or with each other 50 years ago. I guar-on-tee you that when I began singing "jingle bells jingle bells, jingle all the way, oh what fun it is to ride in a one soap and sleigh," and my minister father came in and told me not to sing that song...he went right back into the kitchen and said to my mother, "You won't believe what ****** was just singing!" And they had a giggle over it. Does that mean he encouraged me to do it? Nope. And I think anyone seeing this episode...or the posts here...as "no big deal, let the kids cuss" is seeing them with skewed eyes.

Again, I see no one saying that it's okay for a little kid to use inappropriate words. The episode dealt with a real-life situation and how the parents handled it.

I saw a comment under the article to the effect that someone guessed now they'd go after Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" for saying, "Oh, 'fudge!'"

 

[oh_gal]

I would never encourage a child to use a cuss word, nor would I indicate to them that it is "cute" if they did. That is not the point of my post at all. MY point is that this episode is dealing with the real-life situation where a kid uses an inappropriate word and how the parents dealt with it. I have seen nothing to imply that anyone thinks it is cute or "no big deal" when a child uses an inappropriate word. I NEVER implied that I think it's "no big deal" for kids to use cuss words, and if anyone is getting that out of my post, then they need to re-read the post.

As far as no one would be laughing about this 50 years ago...I betcha parents would correct their child and then giggle behind their hands or with each other 50 years ago. I guar-on-tee you that when I began singing "jingle bells jingle bells, jingle all the way, oh what fun it is to ride in a one soap and sleigh," and my minister father came in and told me not to sing that song...he went right back into the kitchen and said to my mother, "You won't believe what ****** was just singing!" And they had a giggle over it. Does that mean he encouraged me to do it? Nope. And I think anyone seeing this episode...or the posts here...as "no big deal, let the kids cuss" is seeing them with skewed eyes.

Again, I see no one saying that it's okay for a little kid to use inappropriate words. The episode dealt with a real-life situation and how the parents handled it.

I saw a comment under the article to the effect that someone guessed now they'd go after Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" for saying, "Oh, 'fudge!'"

I wasn't noting your posts, specifically. Probably more likely you said something that made me think of something, and that's why I chose your posts (if I did) to respond to.

 

[SuziQ]

I think the story line is great. This is what really happens, and what parents have to deal with. I know I can relate. I had to live through my kids saying ***** instead of shirt and **** instead of truck. And I'm pretty sure my son swore on purpose a time or two. It was never ok'd or condoned but I did laugh inside.

 

[Donjeta]

I like to see it this way: the less time I spend being upset about relatively benign things like kids saying undesirable words the more time I can spare trying to do something about some of those more heinous things.

With my children I've noticed that getting upset when they said bad words only tended to make my son say more of them. A more relaxed approach has helped me to clean up his language (he can't get me all worked up about a bad word so he doesn't bother any more).

 

[angela]

I remember when my daughter was about 2 and she kept saying the f word over and over excitedly. It was plain as day so my ex and I were arguing over who she had heard it from (neither of us ever use that word :innocent when she picked up a book and pointed to a frog on the cover and said it again. She was trying to say frog but boy, was she wayyy off.

 

[davehead21]

I think the story line is great. This is what really happens, and what parents have to deal with. I know I can relate. I had to live through my kids saying ***** instead of shirt and **** instead of truck. And I'm pretty sure my son swore on purpose a time or two. It was never ok'd or condoned but I did laugh inside.

BBM

Exactly. No one I know would laugh and encourage their children to continue to use bad language. But behind closed doors, you laugh because it's one of those moments that most parents have to deal with. This is one of those situations that people should laugh about instead of being upset and I think that's the point of the entire episode of Modern Family. :twocents: