Last week while dropping off my older daughter in her pre-school classroom, I was chatting with her teachers when I heard another child call from across the room:?‚? “You shouldn’t say ‘Oh my God’.?‚? My mommy says so.”
Feeling a little bit feisty, I replied, “Well, your mommy’s not here; I am.?‚? And I say that it’s okay to say that.”
But is it?
Obviously the children don’t set and enforce the rules in the class; the teachers do.?‚? And while I know that the hallowed Seven Dirty Words are off-limits (plus a few others), what about taking the Lord’s name in vain?
My personal standpoint is that I don’t mind if my children say words like “God”?‚? or “Jesus”.?‚? I want them to understand that other people may take those words much more seriously and will alter their personal usage accordingly, such as saying “Gosh” or “Criminey”.
I don’t even mind if the girls come home repeating choice phrases straight from the Seven Dirty Words.?‚? That’s my opportunity to let them know exactly which words I don’t consider appropriate.
But what I do mind is when other people try to enforce their arbitrary rules on my children.?‚? For example, my mother-in-law once tried to teach my older daughter to respond “God bless you!” when people sneeze.?‚? My husband shot that lesson down right away.?‚? Saying “God bless you!” is not mandatory, nor is it even necessarily good manners.?‚? I say “Thank you” when someone blesses me, but I wouldn’t be offended if they didn’t.?‚? I probably wouldn’t even notice.
Likewise, I don’t mind if my older daughter’s classmate doesn’t take the Lord’s name in vain.?‚? I think it’s admirable that she is following her mother’s rules.?‚? But those rules apply to her, not to my daughter or anyone else in the class.
Where do you draw the line in terms of others extending their rules to apply to you or your children?