This Post May Contain Strong Language

My little almost 2-year old boy has become quite the little chatterbox. We go on walks around the block and he identifies as much as he possibly can. He recognizes houses, trash cans, pumpkins, cats, dogs, planes, trees, people, cars and on and on.

I have taken it upon myself to teach him the difference between cars and trucks - mostly because I think there are some people around this town that will get offended when anyone, even a 2-year old, calls their truck a car.

So, every time we go past a truck and Jack says car I correct him. And then I cringe.

I've heard the stories of countless families whose toddlers voice unfortunate mispronunciations of words like truck and fork. While there are those who would take advantage of the situation I am pretty against children cussing... even if it is unintentional.

Don't get me wrong. I cuss. A lot. And I don't mind if other people cuss around me. Perhaps I am of the opinion that there is a proper way of cussing.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about this subject lately. I didn't start cussing until I was in 7th or 8th grade. No reason really but I do recall feeling icky when my friends or older brothers did.

When I was in Sunday school my teacher had a wonderful discussion about swearing and cussing. She was of the opinion that the words that many find offensive aren't really that bad if they're used in the right context. What I took from the discussion was that it was OK to use them in general because they were just words, but when you used them in anger then they became bad.

So does Shit by any other name sound more sweet? I am fairly good at turning it on or off, so when I knocked some clothes off the table the other day at a garage sale I was hosting I exclaimed, "Oh goodness," rather than "Shit" like I normally would have.

So technically goodness was shit, but a socially acceptable shit - but why? Fiddlesticks, shoot, frig, arse, dang, etc. are all ways to cuss without cussing. Why are the words offensive when they can easily be replaced with something else? For me it goes back to the feeling that is being conveyed.

Perhaps because of that one Sunday school class I remember, I rarely cuss to express anger. For me swear words are nothing more than my regular vocabulary only sassy! Or something. I know when I take a cue from Ghost Hunters and say 'What the frig?' my brain is saying something else.

Still, I am not encouraging little Jack to cuss and I control my sassy vocabulary around him. However, I dread the day he decides to point out a dump truck to someone or asks for a fork at a restaurant.