Three-year-old's response to dad yelling a swear word after stubbing his toe is absolutely iconic

Parents and elders often strive to set a good example for their kids by following basic etiquette around them. But when habits from adult interactions slip into moments with little ones, the results can be both surprising and hilarious. One dad, u/G_Affect, shared on Reddit how he accidentally cursed in front of his three-year-old, leading to an unforgettable response from his daughter.

The dad shared how he stubbed his toe and said "F***" under his breath. "But my 3-year-old was standing right there and heard it. She said, 'Dad, that's a bad word don't say F***!'" the man recounted. The little girl's mom heard her say the curse word from across the room and told her not to say it. "Little girl, don't say that!" the mom warned. "She looks me dead in the eyes and says, 'See it's a bad word,'" the dad wrote, sharing his toddler's reaction to his swearing.

The dad clarified, "My wife and I don't really care or think it is a big deal. But we don't want her to get in trouble at school or with friends so we try to stop it without making it taboo. Her favorite thing to say is 'dumb a******.' Her toy not working, 'dumb a******.' Pool tries to drown her, 'dumb a******.' Brother being a brother, 'dumb a******.' The picture she is drawing does not come out the way she hoped, 'dumb a******.'" The dad's tale left many amused and also sparked a surprisingly insightful discussion about how different parents tackle the matter of swearing when it comes to kids.

u/hiddensideoftruth wrote, "Personally, it's very different when my son says 'Oh s***' after dropping and breaking something, compared to if he would say 'Your parents got divorced because of you' to a classmate. Nobody would bat an eye at any of those words separately, but as a sentence, it hurts way more than an appropriate s*** or f*** or crap." u/thefatrick shared, "I've told my kid that swearing is okay if it's a reaction. If you stub your toe and say 'Oh f***!' I won't get them in trouble. But if they swear AT someone, they will get in trouble so fast their head will spin." u/flechette remarked, "Allowed to swear in the home when appropriate, not allowed to say it outside the house or at school. They will sub in fricks and darns when out and about and even then they don’t seem inclined to curse like sailors." 

u/DadtoOne commented, "Yep. I have a 9-year-old and I tell him that as long as he does not cuss in a place that will get him in trouble or use it to be mean to other people, I don't care. They are just words. And people who think fudge is ok but look down on you for f*** are the fudging worst." u/HyFinated expressed, "I tell my kids that there are kid words and adult words. As a kid, you are only allowed to say kid words. When you grow up you can say grown-up words. My kids have never just thrown out cuss words despite my cussing like a sailor. Granted we let them get away with a lot at home with the understanding that they won’t say that out there because other adults will get mad at them."