How to handle kids’ swearing

Some recent research has discovered that we’re all cursing more, but Emma argues that parents do need to be careful

kids swearing

by Emma Kenny |
Updated on

Your guide to emotional issues and family life with psychological therapist Emma Kenny

I have only sworn in front of my teenage sons on a few occasions and apologised immediately each time. I know they swear with their friends but have never done so in front of me, so my behaviour has rubbed off on them.

The number one rule is to never use bad language when chastising kids. It can feel brutal for a child if an adult swears at them in anger, and kids are likely to mirror this behaviour, which might be damaging if they direct it at a teacher, say.

If you regularly swear, it can be hard to educate them on why they have acted inappropriately if they do. Telling your child it is fine for adults to swear but not kids makes little sense and is likely to increase their desire to do it.

Check out: 129 pretty girl names and their beautiful meanings

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129 pretty girl names and their beautiful meanings! - SLIDER

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pretty girl names

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Pretty girls names beginning with A

AbigailMeaning : With Hebrew origin, Abigail means to 'Give Joy'AcaciaMeaning : With Greek origin, Acacia means 'Guileless' and 'Honorable'AimeeMeaning: A beloved friend in French!AlexandriaMeaning : With Greek origin, Alexandria is a feminine version of Alexander, which means 'Defender of Men'AmberMeaning : With English origin, Amber is a jewelled name, from the yellowish resin used in jewellery makingAmeliaMeaning : With a blend of origins, Amelia means 'Industrious' and 'Striving' and is often associated with 'defender'AmélieMeaning : With French origin, Amelie means 'Hard working'AngelinaMeaning: With Greek origin, Angelina means 'Messenger' and 'Angel'AoifeMeaning : With Irish origin, Aoife is a tribute to 'the greatest woman warrior in the world'AprilMeaning: With English origin, April means 'Opening buds of spring', a traditionally seasonal nameArabellaMeaning: With Latin origin, Arabella means 'Yielding to prayer'AriaMeaning: With Hebrew origin, Aria means 'Air' but is derived from Ariel, which means 'Lion of God'AspenMeaning: With English origin, Aspen comes from a popular tree in the West that has heart shaped leaves that quiver in the lightest breezeAthenaMeaning: With Greek origin, Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfareAubreyMeaning: With a French and German origin, Aubrey means 'Fair Ruler of the Little People'AurelieMeaning: With French origin, Aurelie means 'Sun'AuroraMeaning: With a Latin meaning of 'Dawn', Aurora was the Roman goddess of the morningAutumnMeaning : A seasonal nameAvaMeaning : With German origin, Ava means 'Bird' and is the Hebrew form of EveAveryMeaning : Originally an English surname that was derived from a French version of Alfred, very means 'Counsel'AzaleaMeaning : With Greek origin, Azalea means 'Dry' and is representative of a flower

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Pretty girls names beginning with B

BelleMeaning : With French origin, Belle is short for Isabella and means 'Beautiful'BridgetteMeaning : With French origin, Bridgette means 'Strength' and is associated with the mythological Celtic goddess of fire and poetryBlossomMeaning : With English origin, Blossom means 'Fresh'

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Pretty girls names beginning with D

DahliaMeaning: 'Dweller in the valley'DaisyMeaning : Derived from the flower, Daisy comes from the Old English word dægeseage, meaning 'Day's eye'DakotaMeaning : Dakota is representative of the two US states and means 'Friend'DelilahMeaning : With Hebrew origin, Delilah means 'Delicate'DawnMeaning : With English origin, Dawn means 'Aurora' and represents the appearance of daybreak

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Pretty girls names beginning with E

EdenMeaning : With Hebrew origin, Eden means 'Delight'ElizaMeaning : With Greek origin, Eliza means 'Oath of God' or 'God is Satisfaction'EllaMeaning : Short for Eleanor and Ellen, Ella means 'Light' and 'Beautiful fairy woman'ElodieMeaning : With French origin, Elodie means 'Foreign riches'EloraMeaning : Inspired by the city in Ontario, Elora is a variant of Elenora and LauraEvaMeaning : With Latin origin, Eva means 'Life' and 'Living one'

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Pretty girls names beginning with F

FernMeaning : With English origin, Fern is representative of a green plant that loves shadeFionnualaMeaning : With Irish origin, Fionnuala comes from Irish mythology and means 'White shoulder'FloraMeaning : With Latin origin, Flora means 'Flower'FlorenceMeaning : With Latin origin, Florence comes from the French name Florentia and means 'Blossoming'

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Pretty girls names beginning with G

GardeniaMeaning : With English origin, Gardenia means 'The flower'GenevieveMeaning : With German origin, Genevieve means 'Famous bearer' and 'Of the race of women'GeorgiaMeaning: 'Farmer' and 'Worker of the earth'GiselleMeaning: With French origin, Giselle means 'Hostage' and 'Pledge' and is thought to have originated as a nickname for a child given as a pledge to a foreign courtGraceMeaning: With English origin, Grace means 'God's favour'

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Pretty girls names beginning with H

HazelMeaning : With English origin, Hazel comes from the nut-bearing shrubHeatherMeaning : With English origin, Heather is a flowering evergreen often found in ScotlandHelenMeaning : With Greek origin, Helen means 'Shining light'HollyMeaning : Taken from the Holly tree, whose sharp leaves come from the Old English word holegn, which means 'to prick'HyacinthMeaning : With Greek origin, Hyacinth is a flower that sprouted from the blood of Hyacinthus who was accidently killed by Apollo

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Pretty girls names beginning with I

IrelandMeaning : A destination name. Ireland evolved from the word Eriu, a Gaelic goddess who was the goddess of sovereigntyIsabellaMeaning : With Hebrew origin, Isabella means 'Devoted to God'IslaMeaning : With Scottish origin, Isla is the name of two Scottish rivers and also the name of an island just off the west coastIvoryMeaning : With English origin, Ivory means 'Pure'IvyMeaning : With English origin, Ivy means 'Faithfulness' and derives from the plant

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Pretty girls names beginning with J

JadeMeaning: With Spanish origin, Jade means 'Stone of the colic' as it was believed that the green stone could cure colic in babies if placed on their stomachsJanuaryMeaning : Aside from just being a month of the year, January means 'Month of the wolf' and 'God of the doorway'JasmineMeaning : With Persian origin, Jasmine comes from the English word for the climbing plant with fragrant flowersJaylaMeaning : With African-American origin, Jayla means 'One who is special'JosephineMeaning : With French origin, Josephine means 'May Jehovah'JulietteMeaning : With Italian origin, Juliette literally means 'An Italian'JuneMeaning : With Latin origin, June means 'Young' and is known as the bridal month in modern times

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Pretty girls names beginning with K

KatherineMeaning : With Latin origin, Katherine means 'Pure' and 'Clear'KensingtonMeaning : With English origin, Kensington means 'The town of Cynsige's people' and is also a district within West London's Royal Borough, known as Britain's richest streetKieraMeaning : With Irish origin, Kiera means 'Little dark one' and was originally bestowed upon those babies born with dark hair or a dark complexion

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Pretty girls names beginning with C

CarmelMeaning : With Hebrew origin, Carmel means 'Garden' and is a mountain mentioned in the Old TestamentCelineMeaning : With French origin. Celine means 'Sky' or 'Heaven'CharlotteMeaning : With French origin, Charlotte means 'Free man' or 'Petite'ClaraMeaning : With Latin origin, Clara means 'Clear, Bright and Famous'CloverMeaning: 'Lucky'ColetteMeaning : With French origin, Colette means 'Victorious'

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Pretty girls names beginning with L

LaylaMeaning: With Arabic origin, Layla means 'Night' and is the object of romantic poems that was written by the 7th century poet QaysLilaMeaning: 'Dark beauty'LilacMeaning: With English origin, Lilac means 'Flowering pale purple shrub'LillianMeaning : With Latin origin, Lillian means 'Pure' and is representative of the flowerLilyMeaning : With English origin, Lily means 'Pure' and is the symbol of innocence, purity and beautyLondonMeaning : Representative of the city, which is derived from LondiniumLottieMeaning : With French origin, Lottie means 'Tiny' and 'Feminine'LotusMeaning : With Egyptian origin, Lotus comes from the Lotus flowerLuluMeaning : With Latin origin, Lulu means 'Famous warrior'LunaMeaning : With Latin origin, Luna means 'Moon'

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Pretty girls names beginning with M

MarilynMeaning : With Hebrew origin, Marilyn means 'Wished-for child' and 'Rebellion'MarnieMeaning : With several origins, namely Hebrew and Latin, Marnie means 'Rejoice' and 'Of the sea'MathildeMeaning : Originating from two German words 'Maht' and 'Hild', meaning 'Strength' and 'Battle', making Mathilde have a meaning of 'Mighty in battle'MayMeaning : Representative of the month, May is also a name for the hawthorn flower

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Pretty girls names beginning with N

NoraMeaning : With Latin origin, Nora means 'Honour' and 'Reputation'NessaMeaning 'Ambitious' and 'Fierce'

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Pretty girls names beginning with O

OakleyMeaning : With English origin, Oakley means 'Clearing of oak tree', 'Meadow' and 'Clear field'OdetteMeaning : With German and French origin, Odette means 'Wealth'OliviaMeaning : With Latin origin. Olivia is derived from the word 'Olive' and was first used with this spelling by William Shakespear in his comedy 'Twelfth Night'OpalMeaning : Coming from the precious gemstone, Opal means 'Jewel'

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Pretty girls names beginning with P

ParisMeaning : With Greek origin, Paris originates from Greek mythology where Paris, the Prince of Troy had a love affair that caused the Trojan warPearlMeaning: 'Precious'PenelopeMeaning : With Greek origin, Penelope means 'Bobbin'PoppyMeaning : With English origin. Poppy is from the popular flowerPrimroseMeaning : With Latin origin, Primrose means 'First Rose'PromiseMeaning : With French origin, Promise comes from the Old French "promesse," which translates to 'Guarantee' and 'Assurance'

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Pretty girls names beginning with Q

QuinnMeaning : With Irish origin, Quinn means 'Wisdom', 'Reason' and 'Intelligence'

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Pretty girls names beginning with R

RayneMeaning : With multiple meanings across the languages, Rayne means 'Queen' in French and English and 'Mighty' in Scandinavian. It has been disputed that it has a Jewish origin also, meaning that Rayne means 'Song'Rome-MarieMeaning : As this name is split, it's meanings differ, but when brought together means 'Strength' and 'Power'RomilyMeaning : With Hebrew origin, Romily means 'God's beloved one' and is also representative of a French destinationRoseMeaning : With German origin, Rose is representative of the flowerRosemaryMeaning : With Latin origin, Rosemary means 'Dew of the sea'RubyMeaning : With Latin origin, Ruby is taken from the red gemstoneRuthMeaning : With Hebrew origin, Ruth means 'Companion' and 'Vision of beauty'

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Pretty girls names beginning with S

SaffronMeaning : With English origin, Saffron comes from both the spice and the flower it comes fromSaharaMeaning : Aside from being the desert in North Africa, Sahara means 'Dawn'SavannahMeaning : With English origin, Savannah means 'From the open plain'ScarlettMeaning : With English origin, Scarlett means 'Red' or represents those who wear the scarlet cloth.SicilyMeaning : With English origin, Sicily is representative of the city in ItalySophieMeaning : With Greek origin, Sophie means 'Wisdom'SummerMeaning : With English origin, Summer is representative of the season and the carefree attitude that it bringsSydneyMeaning : With English origin, Sydney means 'Wide Island'

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Pretty girls names beginning with T

TinsleyMeaning : With English origin, Tinsley represents a place in South Yorkshire

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Pretty girls names beginning with U

UchennaMeaning: 'God's will'UdeleMeaning: 'Prosperous one'UlaniMeaning: 'Light hearted'

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Uchenna Meaning: ‘God’s will’ Udele Meaning: ‘Prosperous one’ Ulani Meaning: ‘Light hearted’

ValentinaMeaning: With Latin origin, Valentina means 'Strong' and 'Healthy'VeniceMeaning: Representative of the Italian cityVictoriaMeaning : With Latin origin, Victoria means 'Victory' and 'Conquer'ViennaMeaning : With German origin. Vienna means 'White' and 'Fair'ViolaMeaning : The English meaning for Viola is 'Violet'VioletMeaning : From the Old French violette, a diminutive form of viole, which is derived from the Latin viola

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Pretty girls names beginning with W

WillaMeaning : A female form of WilliamWillowMeaning : With English origin, Willow means 'Slender' and 'Graceful'WinterMeaning : Representatie of the coldest season of the year, Winter also means 'Bringing of Renewal'.

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Pretty girls names beginning with X, Y and Z

XanaMeaning: 'Golden haired'YarinaMeaning: 'Peaceful'YeiMeaning: 'Flourishing'ZahleeMeaning: 'Princess'ZahraMeaning: 'Flower'

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If you keep cursing to a minimum, when you slip up, your kids will see this as an exception to the rule. Acknowledge you did it, explain why, then apologise. This helps reinforce that the language was inappropriate and regrettable.

As they get older, they may want to swear in front of you. If you don’t mind that, let them, but make it a rule that bad language can’t be used in hostility – they shouldn’t swear at you when you tell them to turn off their Xbox, for example.

Boundaries are important when loosening some rules. If you don’t want older kids swearing in front of you, meet them halfway – if you hear them cursing on the phone, let it go. Being a parent is as much about allowing your child to grow into an independent person as guiding them. As long as they are respectful towards you, don’t stress over the odd swear.

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