I let my six-year-old swear and even tell me to ‘f*** off’ – I don’t care what other parents think… I know I’m right
MOST kids wouldn’t dare turn the air blue in front of their parents.
But mum Lucinda Hart take a different approach: letting her six and nine-year-old children swear freely at home, including telling her to “f*** off”.
The author, 47, believes language shouldn’t be censored and allows daughters Rafi and Aelfrida to say what they like in private at their home in Mullion, Cornwall.
However, she insists the girls – who were born via IVF – know the “invisible boundaries” and don’t swear in public.
Lucinda, a single mum, said: “I do not censor words with my children. That is not what language is for.
“I love language – it’s natural to swear.
“I tell them they can say what they want at home. They know the invisible boundaries.”
“The girls might say, ‘f*** off Mum’. But the dinner ladies always says they are smiley and kind.
“I tell them to never make personal comments to people.”
Lucinda “hates” euphemisms and has taught her daughters about anatomy from a young age – using proper terms instead of words such as ‘tinkle’ and ‘minnie’.
She said: “I’m not going to make up words. Anatomy is beautiful.
“They know about a vagina and penis. They knew about egg and sperm from a young age.
“And I say to the girls, ‘Don’t say poo, say s*** or c**p.
“A person at work would always say, ‘Oh sugar’ instead of swearing. I just think say it or don’t say it at all.”
Conversations about swearing
Lucinda talks to her daughters about language to help them become at ease with it.
She said: “I had a conversation with Rafi about the word ‘f***’ and how it originated.
“She is an amazing writer. She’s already at ease with language”
She said the girls know the “boundaries” and don’t swear at school or in front of other mums.
Lucinda said: “They never say it out at school.
“If either the girls did swear at school and the school called me in I would say, ‘Sorry – it spilled over from home’.
“To me it’s not a big deal [swearing]. It’s like an extra bit of punctuation.”
She adds: “There are bound to be people who are disapproving.”
“I know that my girls are great.”
‘Don’t censor language’
Lucinda is encouraging other parents to not censor their language and not worry about holding their tongue.
She said: “What matters is your kids are kind and well-behaved.
“There are so many things to worry about as a parent – don’t worry about things that don’t matter.
“Language has been changed and wrecked in so many ways but these old words are pretty much the same.
“I like the idea that people hundreds of years ago would say the same thing when they stub a toe or whatever.
“These are words that have endured.”