Sports is a part of our lives..watching, playing, coaching.  Even though our kids are of a young age, they’ve heard their share of profanity on the fields or courts by players, coaches, parents, and spectators.

Tonight, my oldest son (age 10) wanted me to tell him all of the “bad words” in existence.  He mentioned he had heard a few of them on the field tonight (soccer tournament).  He wanted to go through every letter of the alphabet to make sure that we didn’t miss any.  He also wanted to know if there was a pattern (no, homeschooled kid, there’s no pattern).  So, I proceeded to name all of the bad words I could think of.  I’m sure I missed some.  Did I say the actual words?  Yes, I did.  Why?

My rationale in this scenario and with almost any other scenario is that I want our kids to hear things first in our home so that we can discuss them.  Doing things this way helps them to not be so taken by surprise when they come across things being done or said differently by their friends or the media.  I”m not saying I know what I’m doing or that I even recommend it.  It’s just how it works in our house.

Which leads me to a question…  Why are certain words considered profanity?  Why aren’t words like “java” or “orangutan” the “bad words”.  I mean, can you imagine saying, “Oh, orangutan!”?

I’ll have to research this question more.  Wikipedia states the history of profanity goes as far back as Shakespeare and the Bible.  Might make for an interesting research paper..