Here are 5 reasons why I think swearing in front of your kids is totally fine:
1. Because I'm grown up.
OK, so being a grownup has fewer perks than my 11-year-old self imagined that it would (I sort of saw myself settling down with Zack Morris and finally acting blasé about menstruation while I drove a golf cart on the beach, but whatever). But one of the true benefits of adulthood is being totally free to say whatever I want, whenever I want, without getting grounded. Boom! Soft benefits, baby!
2. Because they are kids.
Look, I get that I need to be setting a good example. That is why I wear pants to drop them off at school, even though under my winter coat it is not *strictly* necessary. But while I'm on board with showing them the ropes as they grow up, they are not grownups yet and until further notice, it is "do as I say and not as I do So they are not allowed to swear, nor are they allowed to drive, use the toaster, cross the road alone, or drink watermelon martinis. Them's the breaks! I like to give them some stuff to look forward to
3. Because with kids, everything is baby talk, euphemisms, and indecipherable kiddie code.
Making a tinkle, doing a doodie, eating our trees, going night-night, minding our p's and q's, going bye-bye, using our words... I mean who knows what the hell I'm even talking about half the time. I've lost track. The benefit to (strategic) cursing is that it cuts through this gobbledygook. When our normally chill eight-year-old son made his sister cry out of spite, I sat him down, looked him in the eye and told him straight: quit acting like a little sh*t to your sister. A couple of big blinks told me he got my point: I was not effing around.
4. Because parenting is a series of inscrutable WTF moments
I need to give true voice to my feelings as I dig the embedded Lego Batman from my heel (again), remove the sock from the toilet bowl ("But mom! It looked like a paper towel"), bake and frost 24 cupcakes at 1 AM for the class party at 8 AM, try to make sense of third-grade math (just no), or switch lanes on the BQE while three kids argue to the death about which of them likes cheese the most
5. Because I have given up so much crap already.
At the altar of motherhood, I have already sacrificed sleeping, sanity, perky boobs, knowledge of popular music, career opportunities, manicured nails, all of our money, fashion, an understanding of current events, and the energy to complete even a TV marathon, slim fit jeans... I could go on. Must I also give up my communication style and my preferred mode of self-expression? Oh, f*ck no, babies, no way.
Read the rest of Levkoff's hilarious blog HERE