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I believe that people use swear words for one of two reasons:
Shock value
or
To reinforce a weak position
I've taught my children that using 'bad words' shows them to be a less than classy person and that if they feel it necessary to use curses to get their point across, they didn't have much of a point to begin with. The great debaters and most influental people in history had no need to use vulgar language to be effective. I've taught them that when one pepper's ones language with swear words and profanity, the people hearing them tend to filter out everything but the shocking words, so that what they hear is...blah, blah, blah shit, blah blah fu*king blah, blah g'damn blah blah blah.
On the other hand, I don't punish them for using bad words, I mostly just ignore it. I think everyone in our family uses them in frustration now and then, but I feel that making a big deal of it tends to give it the draw of the 'forbidden'.
One line that no one in my family is allowed to cross is that we do not tolerate verbal abuse of another human. Obviously, verbal abuse encompasses much more than just swearing, it is blame, shame, humiliation and control. I'm teaching my kids that they 'own' the words that come out of their mouth and how to communicate effectively.
Hopefully, this will help them grow up to be wise, compassionate, and loving individuals.
Stormie
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