Ma’ma always said that cussin’ would gain me nothing… of course all moms probably say that to little boys that start cussin’. And then there are dads… who cuss when they smash their thumb, or drop something off a ladder, or get mad at little boys for ice skating on the hood of the car. So a lot of us grow up learning its wrong… because mom said so, and dad would bite his lip half-way into a cuss word when mom was in ear-shot. Yet, the first time dad takes you along to hang-out with the guys, like maybe hauling a repair to the welding shop, or to take the car into body shop for an estimate on repainting the hood, little boys learn all about cussin’ in the real world right quick…… or, we think we do.
Then, just to add to a little boy’s confusion… about the third time mom catches you cussin’ she gets dad involved. Dad acts extremely concerned in front of mom and hauls your little butt out to the shed for “talk”. Standing there, amongst the tools and power equipment (and the place where dad does most of his cussin’, or at least where the little boy hears dad cuss), the little boy learns it ain’t proper to cuss wherever, and whenever you want… and cussin’ in front of mom ain’t proper. The problem with this is, and what makes it so confusing for little boys, dad never gives any direction as to where and when it is proper. But, as we grow up, we learn the places and times when it is less-offensive… We learn that you don’t cuss in front of the preacher even when you smash your thumb while working in the shop… meaning, it ain’t always appropriate to cuss even in the places where you do most of your cussin’.
No wonder it’s so confusing for little boys.
So where am I going with all this?
Well, two things have happened this week. First my wife informed me that my little three-year-old (soon to be four) son has picked up a couple of cuss words somewhere, and I need to have a “talk” with him… I’m trying to figure out how to keep the “talk” as less-confusing as possible for him. And second, I received both a warning and an infraction from AS because of my language used in a couple of recent posts. I’m dealing with the easy one first…
I would like to extend my sincere apologies to the ArboristSite entire for my language. I knew the rules and intentionally broke them. I make no excuses and fully admit my wrong doing. I hope any member that may have been offended by language will forgive me.
Whitespider
(Now, let’s see, how am I gonna’ get the boy to understand what I’m trying to tell him…??)
Then, just to add to a little boy’s confusion… about the third time mom catches you cussin’ she gets dad involved. Dad acts extremely concerned in front of mom and hauls your little butt out to the shed for “talk”. Standing there, amongst the tools and power equipment (and the place where dad does most of his cussin’, or at least where the little boy hears dad cuss), the little boy learns it ain’t proper to cuss wherever, and whenever you want… and cussin’ in front of mom ain’t proper. The problem with this is, and what makes it so confusing for little boys, dad never gives any direction as to where and when it is proper. But, as we grow up, we learn the places and times when it is less-offensive… We learn that you don’t cuss in front of the preacher even when you smash your thumb while working in the shop… meaning, it ain’t always appropriate to cuss even in the places where you do most of your cussin’.
No wonder it’s so confusing for little boys.
So where am I going with all this?
Well, two things have happened this week. First my wife informed me that my little three-year-old (soon to be four) son has picked up a couple of cuss words somewhere, and I need to have a “talk” with him… I’m trying to figure out how to keep the “talk” as less-confusing as possible for him. And second, I received both a warning and an infraction from AS because of my language used in a couple of recent posts. I’m dealing with the easy one first…
I would like to extend my sincere apologies to the ArboristSite entire for my language. I knew the rules and intentionally broke them. I make no excuses and fully admit my wrong doing. I hope any member that may have been offended by language will forgive me.
Whitespider
(Now, let’s see, how am I gonna’ get the boy to understand what I’m trying to tell him…??)