F is for frog, not that other word!

My daughter summed up the past week perfectly, when she blurted out the f-bomb the other day.

OPINION:

MY DAUGHTER summed up the past week perfectly, when she blurted out the f-bomb the other day.

The initial shock when I was told by my partner of what happened was nothing compared to the following morning when I heard the word come out of her mouth myself.

Laughing her head off as we enjoyed a bit of Octonauts and some breakfast, 'f--k man' as she was cackling was about the last thing I expected to hear.

It took all I had not to erupt into laughter.

The delivery was absolutely perfect.

It was an enlightening morning.

I already suspected she may be inclined to snitch on me when put under a pressure test, having already stitched me up this week declaring I bought her ice creams all the time and said they were good for her.

A fairly significant inflation of the truth there.

I think at last count I'd bought her two ice creams in her entire life.

So when I asked her where she learnt the new word, I was hardly surprised when the finger was pointed straight at me.

To be fair, it's been used fairly frequently in my household over the past week, so I only have myself to blame.

But I probably do need to scale it back a bit.

I find the f-bomb an extremely versatile word.

When your job involves writing day-in, day-out, and the f-bomb is one of a few words you cannot print, it's a real treat to be able to let it flow freely when I can.

Obviously it may have flowed a little too freely of late.

If I'm honest, I thought I had a bit more time before this would be an issue.

She's three in about three weeks.

I was expecting maybe another two years before I had to worry about her throwing out cuss words.

I guess she's smarter than the average bear.

If this has been contained to the lounge room, and hopefully not to be repeated. If the solemn promise is to be trusted, then I'm OK with it.

But I'm a little concerned if she starts channelling Chopper Read at daycare.

It puts a different context on all the bright, happy photos of her and her buddies playing if she's been spraying f-bombs around all day.

Obviously it's less than ideal that my daughter, who is in love with books and the wonder of words, has discovered swearing.

But part of me hopes she at least enjoyed the feeling of release and sheer freedom that comes with letting one fly.

I find the particular word she learnt to be really handy in most situations.

When everything is heading south very quickly, f--k is there.

When you've enjoyed a success against all odds, f--k is an excellent precursor to any statement.

And when you've simply got no f--ks left to give, f--k is still there.

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