Urban Thought | 1 Observation I found myself on the train the other day listening to a conversation that made me wonder, “Is profanity child abuse?”
We know child abuse to be of a physical nature. Someone beating their child excessively or one good smack on the face can land you in jail or at least a court date. But do you ever wonder if child abuse can be of a verbal nature?
The child in question was expressing himself to his guardian of the time (what could have been his grandmother had I not been paying attention to the conversation). He told the woman, “I don’t want to go to grandma’s house. She curses too much.” The woman and his brother of the same age (they are identical twins) told him to “get over it. You should be used to it by now.”
Why should he get over being cursed at? I guess its better than getting beat on.
He told them, “But she curses every time she opens her mouth. From morning to night always the same thing with her.”
Verbal abuse has a lasting effect on children. I’m not sure if grandma realizes that this child will one day grow up. He will either resent her and/or take on her bad habits. Then again, maybe he’ll learn from the situation and be a better person to everyone else than she has been to other people (crossing fingers).
At any rate, profanity can be abuse (in excess) and he shouldn’t have to deal with it.
But that is just my opinion.
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Tags: child abuse, parenting
I feel that excessive profanity is child abuse if anything, it’s definitely emotional abuse.
What tips it over is “excessive profanity” - I know a few parents that swear around there children but it’s not directed at their children and it’s certainly not excessive.
In many ways I think it’s fine for them to swear if they have to - they are not overprotecting their children. People swear out there in the world and if mom or dad say, “SHIT!” when they stub their toe or whatever, people say these things.
When I tried to imagine someone who swears excessively, I only imagine anger - constant anger or even rage. I swear but I can’t even imagine where I would have to be emotionally to swear all the time. In fact, as I’ve worked on myself, to become less judgmental and more accepting, the less I have felt the need to swear. Not that there’s a need per se - my guess is that I find less in my life that frustrates or upsets me and not swearing is a side effect.
Which brings me back to excessive profanity and child abuse - I can’t imagine someone who swears excessively to have their emotional “shit” together. People who don’t have it together will either take it out themselves (depression) or on others (unacknowledged depression -> rage).