Child likes the attention he gets from others for saying bad words. The toddler years are a time of language exploration. He is not only learning words and sentence structure; he is also learning the power of language on those around him. “We do not use the word in our family and do not want to hear it again”, then completely ignore it; do not respond if he tries saying it again. Don’t make a big deal out of the word by yelling and acknowledging it; this will only give him the attention he wants and give him reason to keep saying it.

If you are starting to get embarrassed at your child saying bad words in public, use this as a teaching opportunity. When it happens, immediately talk to your child calmly but firmly and say “when you say these words, it makes other people sad/ upset and we do not want to hurt their feelings”.