22 Mar 2012
S T U P I D is a word that seems sound normal to adults… like you and me. You hear it anywhere, and to me, in some situations, it sounds okay. Like this: A person looks at his muddy face on a mirror and says, “Dang… stupid mirror!”
Or when all the photos we took turned out blurry, “Stupid camera!”
The word STUPID is also commonly used by bullies against other kids or, of course, adults. It’s okay to say, “Stupid mirror!”, but then this opens a gateway to saying this word to other people.
Then when your little innocent toddler says this, “You are stupid!” Boy, this is wrong. Where did she get this?
Ah… that Ooopsies movie (Oopsy Does It!) with the Care Bares. That show is so cute you would not expect a character to say such thing, unless it is the bear antagonist named Grizzle. Oh, yes. And when my daughter turns into Grizzle with her bad tantrums, she exclaims the word to me, or anybody on her pathway, “You’re stupid!”
Now I have to warn her never to say that word, and banned her from viewing “Oopsy Does It!” and all other kid’s books that say words you’d hate to hear from their mouth. This includes the children’s nugget book Snow White, where the sentence “I’ll kill you” exists. You would not like your child screaming it at you or anybody, right?
Even in libraries and book stores, there are kid’s books which the word STUPID is included in the title. I’d say – these are irresponsible authors and publishers. That word may mean nothing to you, but then, as I said – we are leading our little ones into the world of the bullies. This ain’t right!
Lessons learned: Authors of children’s books and shows, please, if possible, do not mention those mean words in your cute books even if it is by your antagonist character. It just sucks to hear it from smart kids. You take part of their innocence away!
Being careful of what your child hears or sees would also help end bullying, which is today’s concerning problem in the society.
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Comments
a writer weaves a tale
hate to break it to you, but "stupid" will become a word that just is ingrained; it's everywhere, even in some of their favorite bedtime books.. So what I've taught them is that we try not to use that word, it's an ugly one, but worse of all you NEVER use it in reference to another person. a movie might be stupid. But never a person. ANd never you're momma! The older they get, the more quickly you realize, unfortunately, we can't keep them under glass. The glass will break anyhow. Visiting from milkshake!
The Words We Use
I teach Pre-Kindergarten and have to constantly remind myself how my children are absorbing and understanding the words I use. I censor a lot of what I read to my students (sadly, we don't read "The Dumb Bunnies" even though it children love the silly things they do. I wish it was called "The Silly Bunnies"). I think it's important not to hide the words from her since she will inevitably be exposed to them and need to know how to respond. When you come across those things, talk to her and tell her how you feel about those words and how it makes others feel. Help her come up with better ways to communicate her feelings/needs. By exposing her to them young, you'll be able to teach her the way you want her to behave earlier.
Btw...I found you via blog hop and love your passion for caring for your daughter and wanting the best! Do what you believe is right!
I agree with you:) Being a
I agree with you:) Being a new parent this was hard to me at first, but we also need to do something, as we could not control (in significant moments) what they hear or see. Letting them know it is wrong is a good thing to do. Time-outs are still important when, despite how you explained it to them - those poor kids would tend to do it, anyway.
It never ceases to amaze me
It never ceases to amaze me the violence and foul language that is present in books, tv, and movies made for toddlers. As a parent, you can never let your guard down. My children are older now, but I've spent years policing what they read and see. It's too bad the authors won't stop using the violence and foul language.
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