6-year-old listening to music in the car hears 'bad word' in lyrics — her mom's response changed her whole perspective

As parents, we try our best to incorporate the right values among kids. For smaller children, many believe this is best done by avoiding negative approaches and instances altogether. However, instilling good morals and the knack to decipher good from bad comes only through exposure. Children will learn to choose good only when they see and understand what is good and bad and pick the better option with their own mindset. A mom named Layla Shaikley (@laylool) revealed that she doesn’t keep her daughter from listening to curse words but instead uses a more rational and productive approach to explain that words have power.

The woman mentioned that her 6-year-old was in the car with her when someone yelled a curse word. She added that even in regular instances like music playing and so on, exposure to curse words is as good as inevitable. “My immediate reaction was to be like, 'Oh my gosh, let's turn this off, that's terrible',” Shaikley mentioned. However, the mom found it too “ineffective” a method to communicate the fact that curse words are bad. Instead, the mom pointed out two choices that parents can opt for. "We can either stop listening because we really don't like to hear these things or we could choose to ignore it, move on and realize that we don't speak like that,” she noted. 

Shaikley mentioned that there is a better way to teach toddlers that “we speak in an articulate way that really makes the points we want to say land.” The mom explained why the latter is a more effective and lasting lesson to impart. “I realized that people are going to be cursing around my daughter whether or not I’m in the car. She’s going to hear things I don’t want her to hear,” she noted. The woman added, “I can trick myself into believing she's gonna be in a car with her friends one day and say, ‘Hey, let's turn this off. They said a bad word.’ But she's not.” Instead, she insisted on ensuring her daughter knows there’s a more “effective way to speak.” 

Shaikley suggested explaining to kids, “People can choose how they communicate but she should communicate in a way that's effective and aligned with her values. The reason behind this idea is to ensure that kids learn to take the right approach and make the right choices even when faced with the immoral realities of the world. The mom highlighted the importance of letting kids know how to choose not to do bad things than to stay away from the same. “I feel like as parents of young kids, we work really hard to protect and bubble our kids into these realities that just don't exist outside the confines of our own cars or homes,” she added.

Several moms appreciated the perspective Shaikley shared and wished to adapt to the same. @thebookishsociologist shared, “We stay super neutral and just explain that some words are used only by grown-ups and when he’s a grown-up he can decide how to express himself.” @salinahamlani wrote, “Great perspective and spot on! We have to be realistic and set up our kids for social success, not naiveness.”

You can follow Layla Shaikley (@laylool) on Instagram for more content on parenting.