Is it ever OK to swear in front of your children?

Half of UK parents think its acceptable to swear in front of their children, according to a new study.

Recent research conducted by online parent community, ChannelMum.com, which surveyed 2,000 parents of kids aged 0-16, found that over half of parents think it’s okay to swear in front of their kids.

The survey found that nearly two thirds of respondents have sworn in front of their children or someone else’s.

One in five parents claim they only swear in front of their kids because the children are “too young to understand what’s being said”.

And one third of parents will continue to use swear words even if their children know what they mean – as long as they know they aren’t allowed to repeat them themselves.

Speaking about the study, founder of ChannelMum.com, Siobhan Freegard said: “The topic of swearing in front of children is definitely something of a taboo among many parents.

“Before kids learn to talk, parents often feel they can continue speaking the same way they always have.

“But it’s not long before children are picking up bits of language from their parents – and by age two are very adept at parroting words back that they’ve heard mum or dad use.”

The research also found that one in five parents believe swearing is harmless, and simply a part of everyday language, while there is disagreement over what exactly constitutes as a swear word with six in ten believing “bloody” is fine.

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