I have a Cussin' Kid

Yeah, this isn't something I'm proud of to say the least. It started off with a word every now and then, but last week it escalated.

Her cuss words of choice are 'Oh my God', which taking God's name in vain is a cardinal sin, and 'damn', which she uses to describe an object. When I explained that using damn as an adjective is inappropriate, she asked what an adjective was.

*sigh* When do they teach proper grammar nowadays?

So, hubster and I are nipping this in the bud. When she uses a cuss word, she loses TV for the rest of the day. If it is late in the day when she cusses, she loses TV privileges for the next day. This includes Nintendo DS, Wii, and the computer, anything electronic. She lost TV for Saturday AND Sunday. And no, we aren't punishing ourselves, we make the child go to her room if we want to watch something.

I also told her not to hang around any kids who cuss, because then it will be harder to break the habit. I know hubster and I do use cuss words. Hubster is worse than I am, and we will have to catch ourselves before we say the bad words. So this is good practice for us, too.

Anyway, one good thing HAS come out of her punishment--she's started reading again. Over the last two days, she finished Judy Moody and started a Junie B she got for Christmas. So I'm pretty happy with that outcome.

Write on!

Addendum: Child fessed up that a friend at school is the bad influence. Hate to say it, but I suspected this child was the problem.