I ain't paid to talk pretty...

So, a couple of days ago a colleague of mine berrates me for cursing near a table of children. Let's get this straight, I wasn't standing over them laughing meniacally as the air turned blue and their mothers wept. In actual fact I was standing in the (staff only) kitchen area and uttered my curse - which incidentally was not the worst word in my repetoire - to which my colleague reminded me of the table of under 10's but inches away from the open door.

The point of this thrilling anecdote is that it got me a-wondering about the severity of swearing around children. Needless to say I DO NOT condone the use of abusive language or behaviour towards the vulnerable, I am merely referring to the art of cussin' in front of children.

Whenever I proudly exclaim "My mother taught me all the swear words I know" I am only half-joking. She is a woman of great wit, an impressive vocabulary and an unique sense of humour that often borders on the irreverent. However, despite my blue tongue coming from her I have known from a very early age that using foul language is wrong. I remembered being mortified in primary school when one of my classmates told our teacher I had sworn.

I vehemently protested yet the teacher would not believe me and insisted I washed my mouth out with water. I may have been humilated in front of my peers yet I KNEW I was right, I had said "fat" (in reference to a crayon of all things) which was certainly not on my mother's list of prohibited words.

Anyway, my point after this long ramble being how bad is it to swear in front of kids? Parents could always play the "do as I say, not as I do" card to avoid their little angels cursing or simply explain to children WHY swearing is an adult thing. If adults can explain to children why films may not be suitable for them, why touching a hot oven is dangerous or even the merits of homework, then why not explain the downside to swearing?

Ok, maybe my working-class roots are showing here but with a little time and explanation the appeal of swearing will wear off. If you make something not taboo then it loses its allure.

To conclude, swearing is not the sign of a limited vocablary and not always necessary but it sure is fun.

(Completely off topic here, word of the day 'avarice'. A very sexy word).