We are all guilty of slipping up and saying that occasional not-so-school-appropriate word, but is it okay to cuss? The words may come from anger, frustration, annoyance, pain, and sometimes even excitement, but are we sending the right message to America's youth? Can we not send a better message? It seems that, in today's society, cuss words don't faze anyone. Kids and adults don't react to the vulgarity of television and internet. Excuses of the media and parents who use curse words in front of their children may include:
- Kids will hear it one day anyway.
- It was the only word to express something.
- It is just a word.
Parents have arguments in front of their children. Parents call each other names in front of their children. Parents are verbally abusive toward each other in front of their children. What kind of message do parents send when they are using the exact words they don’t want kids to use? The media is loaded with vulgar language. At a school curse words are extremely common. The truth is, cuss words are inappropriate and uncalled for, both inside the home and in public.
Kids repeat words they hear from their elders. Arguing is not what children need to hear while they are developing. Not only can cuss words corrupt the youth of children, it can cause them to be more disrespectful. We are constantly told we are the “corrupted generation” and we are “immune to violence,” but we are the way we are because of our elders. When parents raise children, parents need to think about what they say in front of those children. As kids grow, they are like glue and they pick up on a lot of their surroundings, including what they hear. It seems like every parent of a toddler has a story about how “Sally heard me say the ‘s-word’ yesterday and she repeated me!”
It might sound crazy, but there are kids in elementary school that are already using curse words. Times have changed... We were the kids who used to whisper "crap" because that was a 'bad word.' Now, kids are influenced by what they hear from friends at school. A lot of parents don't filter what their kids are watching, so when those kids go to school they will talk about bad things they saw and heard, therefore they corrupt the kids who have television filtered.
The media has curse words everywhere! It used to be "safer" to watch a PG-13 movie, but now movies with a PG-13 rating are allowed to use the 'f-word' once per script. Filmmakers are taking advantage of the chance to be able to use the 'f-word.' Why? Does one word make a movie sell that much more? Probably not! A study showed that kids that were exposed to curse words in the media were more likely to become violent with others. Curse words and violence related!? NO WAY!?... Duh!
I challenge you to stop yourself from using all cuss words, at least in front of kids. Kids have parents, friends and media surrounding them with curse words. We as young adults can influence kids with our actions. Why don't we take a stand and stop cussing?
You made some really great points. I especially agree with the one about kids being more disrespectful as a result of constantly hearing cuss words. It seems like I keep hearing younger and younger kids cussing, and it's pretty sad. Kids shouldn't even know those words exist at an early age, and it's even worse when they actually know what some of them mean. I think if we aren't already the "corrupted generation," then we are definitely creating one, or an even worse one.
ReplyDeleteIt really is unbeleivable how much little kids cuss these days. It is such a good point. I really agreed with the part about T.V being way to sexual these days. Just on a regular night you could be watching a show and they say the most inappropriate things. Little kids end up copying it and influencing other kids to do bad. Thus, causing the possibility of the rest of the class "talkin nasty". It is a just habbit that ends up causing more problems later in life. Completely agree.
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