When Babies Hit That Unmentioned Milestone

Unfortunately, I have joined one of the many mothers out there that have discovered with great dread that their child has hit that milestone that we dare not mention to family and friends because we are either so embarrassed that our child is doing it, or we blame ourselves for the reason our child is doing it. I call it the "Potty Mouth" milestone...dum dum duuum.

I believe that the label is self-explanatory but let me expound on it nonetheless. The "Potty Mouth" milestone is when your child has reached that stage where they start picking up sufficient vocabulary to express themselves clearly. One or a few of the words that somehow find their way into your child's vocabulary are words that are not age appropriate and parents generally do not approve of the child's usage of these words. These words tend to be vulgar and obscene and can cause utter embarrassment if and when that child uses it in public.

To my dismay, my child has unfortunately hit that milestone. He only uses one particularly atrocious phrase. "Oh S...." but one phrase is enough to have me enter into "potty mouth" eradication mode which doesn't seem to be working at the moment might I add. It is quite stressful. Dad and I are now playing the blame game trying to figure out who he possibly picked it up from and we are both embarrassed to say the least.

My son has grasped the concept of that particular phrase so well that he knows how to say it with emphasis and he understands the circumstances that requires the use of such a phrase. He will say it if he drops something, or if his sister drops something. If he bumps into the wall or furniture, he will say it. If he sees another person accidentally hurt themselves he will say it as well. It is quite disturbing to hear especially because he is only two years old. Every time his dad and I hear our son  using the expression, we stop whatever we are doing to address it. We tell him "No, do not say that word." He grins because I suppose he thinks the whole thing is funny. Then a follow-up "sweetie you cannot say that word."

I hope he grows out of it for his sake. Thankfully, so far, my husband and I have been lucky enough to escape the disapproving glares of other parents but we know if our son continues, those glares are ultimately coming our way. Even though I am not certain that he picked up the profanity from us, we are still being extra careful with what we say around our children because the fact is, a child that is learning how to speak and is building their vocabulary believes that all words are innocent and doesn't understand the social implications of "bad words" until their parents make them understand the difference between normal words and expletives.

I have seen other toddlers do it which proves that the "potty mouth" milestone is not as unusual as a few people might think. It is simply unmentioned by many parents and I can understand why. I am sure many parents like myself think to themselves "why couldn't he/she have picked up a word like auspicious, why a profanity?" but I suppose in the end, it happens and we can only try to discourage their usage of such inappropriate words or phrases and if that doesn't work, just pray they grow out of it. Dear lord, please let my son grow out of it!

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