Adult Dopers (which I assume is the vast majority of us here), do you swear around your parents (assuming you swear, of course)? When did you start feeling comfortable swearing around them? Do you feel as comfortable swearing around them as with friends, or is there always just a little hesitation to let loose in front of dear old mom? Are there certain things that you just won’t say in front of your parents?
I’m just curious about other people. I don’t swear much these days (usually - my husband has heard the occasional blue streak), but even in my trucker-mouth days, I tried not to swear too much in front of my mom. It just didn’t seem like a good thing to do, probably since she doesn’t swear at all.
I’m 35 and said my first bad word in front of my Dad on Saturday. And it was “Bitch.” I’ve never heard my father or mother say anything worse than “hell”, but according to my ex-husband, my daddy cusses like a sailor when he’s in the shop working. I was brought up in a household that didn’t curse (at least in earshot of the kids). My ex was raised in a family that used them all the time. So I try to be respectful and not swear in front of my parents. I think I told my Mom that my ex was a “fucking bastard” when I caught him cheating on me, but she understood.
My folks weren’t big swearers when we were kids (and my mom didn’t swear even after we grew up) but all three of us just kind of naturally flowed into it as we got older. My dad swears now, but he does it in a clever way, usually, where I just let the words leave my mouth and burst into flames without even thinking about it.
Nope, but my parents don’t swear themselves, so the tone has already been set. Well, my mother doesn’t swear at all, and my dad only swears when he is angry and even then it’s the “Jesus, Mary and Joseph!” kind (making the whole scene rather humorous). It’s definitely a vocabulary issue, not a moral one. I said “crap” once in front of my family a few years ago, and got the :rolleyes: from everyone, the look that says “surely we raised you to speak more creatively.”
I never had problems swearing around my parents. They taught me the difference between swear words and non-swear words, and what was appropriate to say in what company. To them, swearing wasn’t a big deal as long as you weren’t doing it in front of the wrong people; they figured, we were gonna start swearing with our playground buddies just cuz anyway, so at least teach us not to do it in front of certain people.
Nowadays, I swear like a Marine and my dad laughs every time. Good thing I work in a newsroom where swearing is essentially the norm.
More and more. Neither are big swearers, and my mum in particular is an example of the ‘keep it until you really need it and it’ll be more effective’ school of thought. My swearing in front of them has gradually built up, and it’s now almost to the point where I don’t stop myself from saying anything. Mind you, I’ve had some close friends have surprised faces when they’ve seen me talking to my mother about something which has really wound me up, and therefore has got the anglo-saxon flowing freely.
No. I don’t swear much but I do some, but never in mixed company. Only when I’m by myself or sometimes I’ll let loose in front of the Mrs. Mom in particular is sensitive to “language” (though I think there are some swears she wouldn’t recognize in the first place, let alone consider them obscene) so I’m always on my best behavior.
Once, I did say “sucks” in front of my mom, and my wife was appalled. Since mom didn’t grow up in this country, I don’t think she recognizes it as anything besides “bad”.
My mother has always had a shock-talk mouth so I don’t worry about that much. However, I subconciously alter my speech based on who is around and what the situation is. I talk like a sailor during some meetings at work and other times I just switch over to the King’s English without ever thinking about it. I think I cuss in front of most family but I wouldn’t mention felching for example just because I don’t what to sit there and explain it right in the middle of Thanksgiving.
Absolutely. I started when my Mom and I worked the same factory job together one summer. I don’t pull out the Really Big Guns (“cunt” among others), but I do even say “fuck” around her.
When I was a child, it was a big no-no. You just didn’t say those things.
As I grew older though, things relaxed. It was not unusual when I was in my teens to hear a crash in the kitchen followed by my mother cursing in some fashion. Or my Dad saying something impolite while working on a DIY project around the house. Similar sentiments from me were permissible, as long as I had a reason–in other words, no using those words as an adjective in normal conversation, but I could use them when things went badly wrong.
Mom’s been gone for many years now, but now that I’m starting to get past middle age, my Dad is more of a buddy than he is my father. As such, we can sit back, discuss sports or current events or DIY projects as a couple of guys would; and if we intensify our conversation with certain words, well, what of it? We both know that there are certain places where our conversation would not be tolerated (at my maiden aunt’s place, for example, or during coffee hour at Dad’s church), and I like to think we are perfect gentlemen at those times, but between ourselves, we can sound like a couple of truckers, or sailors, or Marines. And sometimes, all three.
I used to really watch it around my parents, but lately my mom’s new favorite word has become “shit,” so I feel free to say the same if the occasion arises.
