Mom Goes Viral For Her Hilarious Family "Bathroom Rule" About Swearing

I swear like a sailor, and I do not censor myself much in front of my four-year-old. I try to keep it PG, but occasionally (usually when I drive), I slip up and drop a couple of f-bombs.

The funniest part of it all is that my daughter is completely unphased when I swear. She doesn’t seem affected. Unless I say the word “stupid,” then she’ll yell at me and say, “MOM! DO NOT SAY ‘STUPID!’”

Since my husband and I don't exactly have the cleanest vocabulary, our four-year-old has slipped up a time or two. He and I usually give each other a look, chuckle, and move on with our lives.

We’ve learned that if we make a big deal out of her swearing, we’re not only encouraging her to say those words more, but we’re also giant hypocrites. We tell her those are “at home” words that she can say only at home when it’s just family time. It’s a successful plan so far.

One mom has another brilliant hack for letting kids get their emotions out how so many of us (ie. swearing!) won’t offend the in-laws if they’re visiting. She calls it: the bathroom rule.

In her viral video, Kylee Brindley takes her son into the bathroom and shuts the door.

“You want to hear the new rule? It's called the bathroom rule. If you ever feel like you need to say bad words or flip the bird or anything, you have to come in the bathroom, shut by yourself, shut the door, and you can say all the bad words you want,” she whispers to the young boy.

“You can flip off the bird. You can do whatever you want, but it has to be in the bathroom all by yourself. Okay?”

Brindley leaves, and her son doesn’t say a word. He does, however, hilariously flip the bird at the bathroom door for a good 15 seconds before raising his arms in the air, seemingly celebrating his victory.

After he feels he’s completed his bathroom session, he yells out, “I’m done!” before Brindley returns asking how it went.

“I didn't really do good,” he admits.

Brindley’s “bathroom rule” is actually brilliant. She sets clear boundaries with her son while still allowing him to express himself. He’s going to do it anyway, so why not have some control over the situation?

“I love that this validates a child's frustration and gives them a safe place to decompress,” one user wrote on the video which now has over 8 million views.

Another said, “I did this with my kids. My daughter was in the bathroom repeating the F word for like 2 minutes then came out happy as could be 😂”

“Our rule is you can say it in the car or at home if it’s just us. Some won’t agree but she knows she can always trust me without fear of my anger,” another noted.

There is actually evidence that swearing is linked to honesty, better vocabularies, better credibility, and improved camaraderie among peers. Swearing can also help us process and handle anger.

According to The Sunday Times, the self-titled “Sweary Scientist” told the audience at the 2018 Cheltenham Science Festival that “we try to keep strong language away from kids until they know how to use it effectively,” adding “I strongly argue that we should revise this attitude.”

“Learning how to use swearing effectively, with the support of empathetic adults, is far better than trying to ban children from using such language.”

Agreed! If you can’t beat ‘em, join 'em!