That Christian family with all the kids…

Friday, Feb 22, 2008

66 Comments »

1. in our house, KFC was known as “Ken-f***y fu-whyd ticken” for awhile.

   what can you do? only laugh.

   Comment by Elizabeth (February 22, 2008 @ 11:37 am )

2. *laughs* My brother (now 25yo) had the same problem with the same word. My mom did not want to bring him out in public! Finally one day she very determinedly decided that her goal for the day was to teach my brother to say “tr”. They practiced a lot, and he finally got it! When my dad got home, my mom said, “Ben, show Daddy how you can say ‘truck’.” And he did. Yes, your son will get over it :-).

   Comment by Susan (February 22, 2008 @ 12:00 pm )

3. Don’t feel bad… my youngest was exactly the same way. In fact, he had a video he loved that was all about construction equipment. Imagine what he called it. My maiden aunt was so tickled by this situation that she deliberately sent him a beautiful cardigan sweater covered with trucks for Christmas and my brother amused himself taking video of my son gushing over his F*** sweater. He sent the video to my aunt, who laughed and laughed. One of the joys of having a larger number of children (we have six) is the wealth of hilarious stories you accumulate.

   Comment by Ana (February 22, 2008 @ 12:03 pm )

4. I am laughing so hard that my three year old is asking me if I am all right and I can’t type straight (will fix before posting). Thanks for this laugh.

   Comment by Thia (February 22, 2008 @ 12:13 pm )

5. Oh my! I used to babysit a kid who did the exact same thing!! We would be taking a walk and lo and behold he would see a truck and exclaim it very loudly!!!

   Comment by Kelly (February 22, 2008 @ 12:31 pm )

6. Hi Amy,
   We’re in a similar boat here. Our two year old cannot say “fork”. We try to remember to give him one before he has to ask.

   Comment by Dene (February 22, 2008 @ 12:54 pm )

7. My oldest used to call a “back hoe” something that sounded much like a , ahem, rectal sphincter…

   Feeling your pain, and laughing with you…

   Comment by Reformed Grits (February 22, 2008 @ 1:03 pm )

8. Very common, and very funny! That, and leaving the “l” our of “flag”. I can’t tell you how many times, in front of God and everyone, one of my toddlers yelled, “Look, Mommy! A ____!” (flag with no “l”)

   I might advise Greg, instead of saying, “Don’t say that word” to say, “A TRUCK? That’s right, a TRUCK” so at least those in hearing range know where it’s coming from.

   Or maybe consider washable tattoos, so Charles at least looks the part.

   Comment by Jeana (February 22, 2008 @ 1:04 pm )

9. Our old neighbor had a child that loved dump trucks. Except he couldn’t say either. It always came out dumb f***. Too funny!

   Comment by Jennifer (February 22, 2008 @ 1:08 pm )

10. Oh, we have a similar experience too. I used to take tea on the front porch in the afternoon with my two olders, when they were toddlers (now that I have four and one on the way, I take tylenol in my bedroom in the afternoons, but I digress…) during the time that the loud, unruly high-schoolers were walking down the street. Our tea-times quickly changed when my 2yo began waving and shouting “F***! F***!” to the teens as they walked by….

    Comment by Moey (February 22, 2008 @ 1:11 pm )

11. I am collapsed with laughter . . . oh, Amy. Of all your many talents and gifts, truly, your ability to appreciate the humour in life is the greatest!

    Comment by Mrs. P. (February 22, 2008 @ 1:19 pm )

12. These comments are great too. Humor is missing in my house today and I appreciate coming here for some giggles.

    Comment by Thia (February 22, 2008 @ 1:21 pm )

13. I was kind of worried about offending people. But no worries there with ya’ll upping the ante here in the comment section.

    So before I wouldn’t leave the house because of catching all these viruses. Now, I really can’t because I have cussing children.

    Comment by Amy Scott (February 22, 2008 @ 1:25 pm )

14. You made me laugh out loud. My Asrat had the same trouble, but with the word “frog”. Came out sounding like the f-word.

    Call me crude, but I thought it was funny. :O Of course embarassing, but luckly it was a word that he didn’t use a whole lot, unlike “truck”.

    Comment by Margaret (February 22, 2008 @ 1:29 pm )

15. I sing Amazing Grace to my kids everynight, so they learn the words early in life. My mom had my son, then 2, sing it to my older relatives at Christmas, then called me that night. She said, do you realized he sings “Saved a b-tch like me?” We had no idea b/c we’d never heard him sing it. Turns out, yes, that’s what he sang, loud and clear! Took a few months for him to enunciate a little clearer. Aren’t children the best medicine (and the cause of the most need for medicine) in the world??

    Comment by Dee Dee (February 22, 2008 @ 1:38 pm )

16. Amy,

    I’m laughing.

    And just so you know, our two-year old boy had the very same problem. And he LOVES trucks. We’d be driving in the car and he’d be pointing and happily cussing out the window over and over again. I couldn’t help but laugh. I *tried* to get him to pronounce it correctly, but he would just exuberantly and so-proud-of-himself say even LOUDER, “F***!!!”

    I confess: Just once we *might* have encouraged him to talk about trucks to some dear friends of ours. So that they could laugh with us.

    Thankfully, that season passed in about a month.

    ~Stacy

    Comment by Stacy (February 22, 2008 @ 2:09 pm )

17. How is this the one post of yours that doesn’t cause controversy? I think you need someone to say that foul language is never funny and what are you teaching those dear children! I am soooo joking.

    Comment by sara (February 22, 2008 @ 2:12 pm )

18. Hahaha, my neice did the same thing. She excitedly walked in the house and announced loudly that “Uncle Tom has a NEW F***!” And Daddy drives a big one, and I like Fs, etc. It’s so hard not laughing when you’re trying to gently correct, since you try hard not to draw attention to it. Also, my mom, when she was little, the fried chicken came out with a (soft “ch”) chitten. Aren’t kids great.

    Comment by Kate (February 22, 2008 @ 2:16 pm )

19. Bawhaahaa! Too funny, y’all. My only “episode” with any of my three kids was with my oldest when she was starting to learn phonics. We were in the grocery store, and she began practicing out loud….itch, witch, ditch, b****, nitch, litch…and on. I was mortified! I told her to never say that word again. And, of course, she said…”what word?” I just told her to forget it, and laughed all the way home!

    Comment by Kari (February 22, 2008 @ 2:23 pm )

20. When my 6 year old was about 2, she pronounced “fireworks” as “F*** Up!” My in-laws thought this was a fun party trick. And would often say, “Cailey, say fireworks.” She would throw her little hands up in the air and comply. Laughter ensued. Until one fateful day at church, when a video was played in the crowded church, featuring a fireworks display.

    Well. Let’s just say that we’ve changed churches.

    Comment by Fiddledeedee (It Coulda Been Worse) (February 22, 2008 @ 2:26 pm )

21. Who’s Jane Austin? tee hee. If it would have said “Jane Austen” then by golly I wouldn’t have read it!

    Comment by Andrea (February 22, 2008 @ 2:56 pm )

22. My good friend’s son did the same exact thing. He used to run around the house with his little book of trucks, saying things like:

    “Fast F***! Big F***! Woo-woo-woo…Fire F***!”

    Heh. heh. So sad when he grew out of that. I think I could laugh because it wasn’t my kid.

    Comment by colicmommy (February 22, 2008 @ 2:57 pm )

23. My daughter was about 7 or 8 when she tried to make an acronym of the “faith, hope, charity” verse in our memorization of 1Cor13.

    I about jumped out of my skin at the word proceeding from her innocent mouth! She, of course, had no idea.

    Comment by Grafted Branch@Restoring the Years (February 22, 2008 @ 3:06 pm )

24. I’ve been reading your blog for a bit now, as well as those of some people who respond. I’m surprised at how many times I want to respond.
    This blogging is interesting business, no? Wanting to correspond with folks you don’t know at all.
    Anyway, this post wore my “no respond” resovle down.
    I am a teacher and a few years back I had a beautiful red haired, freckle faced first grade boy with the same speech difficulty. When his dad got a job driving a truck and going to truck stop, I spent half my days trying to keep a straight face as he shared story after story. Nothing though to top his excitement in sharing with the class when he saw dad drive up in that truck outside the classroom window.
    Thanks for the chuckle and sweet memory of a precious little one.
    Best,
    Kimberly

    Comment by Kimberly (February 22, 2008 @ 3:07 pm )

25. Oooo. So embarrassing!

    Do you know what is sad, though? I know so many little children who know and say that word, FOR REAL. So sad for those little ones, and so glad for your little guy for whom this will only be a stage.

    Comment by Holly (February 22, 2008 @ 3:33 pm )

26. Alright. That’s it. I’m offended.

    Comment by Brian (February 22, 2008 @ 3:40 pm )

27. This, too, shall pass. I’ve been very thankful that, for the three little boys and speech problems we’ve had, the worst variation we’ve had of that very popular word is, “Cuck!”

    There are times when I’m grateful for kids’ misunderstandings and mispronunciations. Last week one of my kids heard a song using the word, “s**y,” and had spread it to the other kids, mispronounced as “saxxy,” before I got wind. I was grateful for the out when asked what “saxxy” means. Not wanting to have that particular conversation then, I was able to honestly say, “Why, I have no idea! I guess there’s no point in repeating it then, huh?” =)

    Comment by Marian (February 22, 2008 @ 3:47 pm )

28. My youngest sister was the same way. On family trips we would point out the window and say “What’s that”?

    Of course she eventually graduated to “vr” sound, and now she says it fine (as you would expect from a 22 year old!).

    Comment by MInTheGap (February 22, 2008 @ 4:01 pm )

29. When my oldest daughter was little, she also could not say “truck” or “fork” correctly. They always came out the same way…just as you described. She is 15 now, and emphatically denies that she would ever do such a thing, being as properly proper as she is!

    Her next sister down couldn’t say the “k” sound when she was small. She pronounced it as a “t”. (Her sister Keilah was pronounced Teilah, etc.) One Christmas, we were at Grandma’s and all of those once-a-year relatives were over. My little one wanted to share about the two new cats we just acquired. Out of her mouth? “I have two kitties!”

    Minus the “k” sound.
    Plus the “t” sound.

    My female cousin, always the comedienne, replied, “Yes, well, I do too, sweetie, but I don’t talk about them!”

    That same girl, at the ripe old age of 13 was riding with me on some errands. “F*** You,” she said.

    My hands gripped the steering wheel. Certainly she didn’t say what I thought she’d said. I turned off the radio.

    “Um, sweetie, what did you just say?”

    “F*** you,” she responded.

    My eyes got really REALLY big. “W-w-w-why did you say that?”

    “F*** you? What does it mean, Mama?”

    (Now, having heard this vileness several times out my precious daughter’s mouth, I was struggling for an answer. You can imagine.)

    “Well,” I explained, “You might have heard someone refer to the “F-word”? That’s what that is. The F-word. It’s swearing, and I don’t really want to hear you say it again. Why did you say it?”

    She pointed to the dirty truck ahead of us. Sure enough, in the grime someone had fingered the horrible words. I hadn’t seen them. She was musing over them.

    Glad we got that one out of the way!

    Comment by Karen (February 22, 2008 @ 4:12 pm )

30. You guys are making me blush. Who knew my blog readers were a bunch of sailors!? Extra points to Fiddledeedee for the church aspect. Gotta love it.

    Who’s Jane Austin? tee hee. If it would have said “Jane Austen” then by golly I wouldn’t have read it!

    Doh!

    Comment by Amy Scott (February 22, 2008 @ 4:32 pm )

31. That is hilarious!!

    Comment by Leah (February 22, 2008 @ 5:16 pm )

32. So was that with the AMISH contractor listening?! Haha! I can see it now!

    Don’t worry… we’ll still be friends with you even if you try to tell us your kids really mean something else.

    Comment by Petersonclan (February 22, 2008 @ 6:17 pm )

33. I take care of 2 kids who just learned Ring Around the Rosy and instead of saying “ashes, ashes” the oldest one says “a**es, a**es”. I nearly died when their mom came home and we were singing that last part. We’ve been practicing the SH sound much more since then. Ring around the Rosy is much more fun.

    Comment by C. (February 22, 2008 @ 6:40 pm )

34. My son used to say the same thing!
    His older sister’s name is Ashley and we often call her Ash for short. Well, as you can imagine he couldn’t pronounce it correctly and it came out A**. Funny thing was she always came when he called. She had no idea what he was saying was anything other than his name for her.
    Thankfully he outgrew all of the above!

    Comment by Becca (February 22, 2008 @ 8:38 pm )

35. I’m laughing so hard I’m crying! Thank you!! Meanwhile, our soon to be two is blowing raspberries with his dad over my shoulder–he’s not talking much yet. Oh, the joys to come!

    Comment by Another Heather (February 22, 2008 @ 9:00 pm )

36. My middle daughter used to talk about her dump truck, which of course came out as dumb ****. We had to correct that before we went to see the “tons of trucks” event in our town.

    Comment by Doug (February 22, 2008 @ 10:21 pm )

37. Jeana’s advice to Greg (#8, I think) is very good.

    When my kids did embarrassing things, I was a pro at not being embarrassed–just pretend it’s all completely normal and go on with the business of parenting and, yes, perhaps a bit of casual speech therapy.

    Which is hard if you are busting your gut laughing. But whatever. It’s all good.

    Comment by ruth (February 22, 2008 @ 11:34 pm )

38. We have the same problem—-just with casual rhyming. They’ll start out with the word “truck” or “ditch” or “pass” (all very standard “boy” vocabulary) and end up places I’d rather not have them be! So no rhyming around here…..

    Comment by Mrs. MK (February 22, 2008 @ 11:59 pm )

39. LOL!! Yes, trucks were also “f***s” around our home, too, until our little guy could pronounce them better.

    Comment by Mommy Cracked (February 23, 2008 @ 4:27 am )

40. Thank you SO MUCH for that laugh!!!! That was priceless

    Comment by Anne (February 23, 2008 @ 6:53 am )

41. Amy, I have to tell you that this little error goes W-a-a-a-y back. My sister-in-law, who is 62, apparently had the same problem. My mother-in-law discovered it on the street one day, when little Betty pointed to a huge truck, and yelled at the top of her lungs, “F***! F***!”

    Mom’s solution?

    “No, Betty, dear, that’s a Transport.”

    Betty: “A Fransfort?”

    Mom: “Yes, dear, a fransfort.”

    So, there you go, folks. Worked in the 40’s.

    Janet

    Comment by Janet (February 23, 2008 @ 8:16 am )

42. Mrs. MK, (#38) I was going to tell just about the same thing! When My brother was little he would always say something and then start rhyming. Whether they were real words or not. Well, one day he hit that one and my older brother decided to tell him that that was a bad word. SO, a couple of days later we were playing and he tells me if I say shucks with an “f” it is a bad word. Of course I had to figure out what it was and go ask my mom of “f***” was a bad word. I knew from the look on her face that it was!!

    Comment by Rhonda (February 23, 2008 @ 8:33 am )

43. BTW Amy, I will never cease to be amazed at what posts bring tons of comments!

    Comment by Rhonda (February 23, 2008 @ 8:34 am )

44. This has made my morning, I’m wiping the tears off my face right now The little boy I babysit had the truck problem, Very loudly in Walmart he would exclaim over all the wonderful f***s! I would just turn red and hot and say “yes, look at all the trucks!” While everyone in the department rolled on the floor. He also had the common “sit” problem where the s gets turned into an sh–yeah that was fun .
    My daughter, when she was about 2 had trouble with bear, somehow it came out like b**ch, she also had trouble with fork, I had a relative that entertained the family by holding each object up in turn for her to identify!! Thankfully she’ll be 11 on Tuesday and her pronunciationn is much better

    Comment by Kelli C. (February 23, 2008 @ 8:45 am )

45. Oh my goodness, give the dear boy his truck already!
    blessings, Penny Raine
    http://www.pennyraine.com/blog

    Comment by Penny Raine (February 23, 2008 @ 8:58 am )

46. […] candidate for the job as a…well, you already know my vocation. (I lock kids in the basement and teach them how to cuss, apparently.) Truth be told, though, who is really prepared for parenthood beforehand? And since […]

    Pingback by Amy’s Humble Musings » Alone (February 23, 2008 @ 9:12 am )

47. I had a friend whose daughter had this f problem with the word quack- she would chase the ducks at the park scearming F.
    This week as our family went to Applebee’s for diner- when at the same time my 2yr old daughter points to a ladys bare midriff and says “Look mama naked” and my 5yr old son is pointing at the bar screaming “Mama,they are making bad choices drinking alchohol.” Which stemed from a conversation we had at a stop light next to a biker bar-where my son was telling me how “cool” all the guys in that parking lot where. I just explained that motorcylcles maybe cool for people over 21 yr but drinking alchohol causes people to make bad choices (personal experence). I honestly don’t know how he knew Applebee’s was serving alchohol. But my husband and I felt like the unoffical sin patrol.LOL-Amie Ladd

    Comment by Amie (February 23, 2008 @ 11:06 am )

48. Oops- forgot to spell check my comment. Please forgive me I am simply a product of our public school system. A very embarrassed-Amie Ladd

    Comment by Amie (February 23, 2008 @ 11:11 am )

49. Halarious! My son did the same thing when he was a toddler.

    Comment by Sarah (February 23, 2008 @ 12:48 pm )

50. Btw, Amy, to make you feel _really_ comforted (hey, what else is the token Irishwoman-living-in-Canada here for, eh?), I have a full-grown, very well-educated Spanish friend who has a real problem with his “s” and “sh” sounds at times, and needs to learn that “to take a seat” must be pronounced very, very carefully . . . . I’m serious. I was heartily confused and distressed with him in a very refined museum in Spain earlier this month over just this matter.

    Also, at least your wee ones aren’t doing as I did at two (so my mother claims), and telling my older brother, “I’ll have a beer” when he asked the family what everyone would like to drink. The family group then including my elderly great-aunt. Who was a nun.

    Hey, could I make this stuff up? COULD I?

    Comment by Mrs. P. (February 23, 2008 @ 12:58 pm )

51. My kids had problems with all words ending in -uck also. Fortunately, they outgrew it.

    My 10-year-old son was commenting the other day that he’s sometimes worried that he’s going to use a swear word because he doesn’t know what the swear words are. He’s says he’s sometimes afraid to say a word he hears because he has no idea whether or not it is a swear word.

    He is homeschooled, and he doesn’t watch TV. I guess that explains it, hey?

    Not a bad problem to have.

    Of course, being a big fan of Calvin and Hobbes, he also quotes Calvin as saying, “It’s a lot harder to vent your frustration when you don’t know any swear words.” (or something like that)

    Comment by Kelly (February 23, 2008 @ 1:08 pm )

52. Oh, dear … we haven’t had problems with trucks, but were worried every time our little boy shouted “digger” that someone might mis-hear him.

    Comment by dawn (February 23, 2008 @ 1:40 pm )

53. That is too funny! Ours like to play rhyming games and inevitably come up with some colorful words. We’ve had to put a stop to the rhyming games…isn’t it weird the rules you have to come up with as parents? No rhyming and oh, no sweating on Sundays either (so I don’t have to go through the bath routine for the evening service). You can imagine the looks we get when people say “Did you play outside today?” and our littles ones say “Nope, we’re not allowed to sweat on Sundays.” ????

    Comment by Ginny (February 23, 2008 @ 1:47 pm )

54. Our neighbor’s child growing up did the same thing. His daddy drove a truck for a living. When asked what does daddy do….. Oh my!!!!

    Comment by Marci (February 23, 2008 @ 7:48 pm )

55. We taught alternative words… like the British “Lorry” for “truck” and we called all of our forks “spoons”. You work with what you have. My oldest son wrote the grocery list for me when he was learning to read & write. I laughed out loud while I was shopping all alone and saw “penis” on the list. He meant peanuts.

    Comment by Geneva (February 23, 2008 @ 9:57 pm )

56. Oh goodness, I can totally relate. My newly 5-year old still has trouble saying CLOCK — just remove the “L” and that is what she goes around saying.

    Comment by Michelle (February 23, 2008 @ 10:47 pm )

57. Oh, you are all making me laugh so hard! Sadly, my daughter developed excellent pronunciation quite young, so we missed out of most of the “joys” of the stories you are sharing. So, I shall have to live vicariously through the humor in your lives, or wait for my son to start talking, I suppose!

    However, we have hit a different stage of “don’t say that!”. The other day, while on the phone with Grandpa, suddenly our daughter says “but Grandpa, you’re a boy and boys have p****** (just to help your site avoid being tagged as that type of site!) and girls have…” and with that my husband whisks the phone away and says “say bye-bye to Grandpa!”. Ahhh, I knew we’d get here someday, I just didn’t know it would be so soon!

    Comment by Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home (February 25, 2008 @ 10:45 am )

58. Too cute. I can’t wait until my son is talking.

    Comment by Ruby (February 25, 2008 @ 10:39 pm )

59. My oldest son (now 19) did the same thing, he would not pronounce his k sounds. So when he went to get his hair cut, instead of Kiddie Kutters, it was Fiddie Futters. His name came out as Fyle, and truck, well that’s the same as your son… Some things just don’t change!

    Todd

    Comment by Todd (February 26, 2008 @ 10:55 am )

60. Amy- same thing happening at our house. My friend who is a speech pathologist says the way to teach the “tr” sound is as an exaggerated “ch” sound. If you say it really slowly to yourself you realize it is less of a “t” plus “r” but much more the “ch”. The refinement of it can come later.

    In the mean time, at our house they are pick-ups.

    Comment by tiffany (February 27, 2008 @ 12:05 am )

61. yep, same problem, almost growing out of it after a year!
    Thankfully our babysitter from church is also a speech therapist and told us it is a very common problem…as evidenced by the above comments.

    Comment by MEG (February 28, 2008 @ 7:06 pm )

62. My little brother did this on Mother’s Day at a very nice restaurant. There was a fire truck parked just outside for most of our expensive brunch. It was a very memorable Mother’s Day, to say the least.

    Comment by Carole (February 28, 2008 @ 7:53 pm )

63. I didn’t read all the comments…forgive me. I am a speech language pathologist. I wouldn’t expect a two year old to say “tr” blends…that’s hard stuff. Take heart, and enjoy toddlerhood. It passes far too quickly.

    Comment by Laura (February 29, 2008 @ 11:00 am )

64. I laughed so much when I read this. We don’t have problems with “tr” but my two (3years and 2 years old) say “arsberrys” instead of Raspberries. And I know another 2 year old who says “jew” for juice and is sometime know to be shouting “JEW” in the street. They get some very funny looks.
    Well… they say laughing keeps you young.

    Comment by Amy Shaw (February 29, 2008 @ 4:19 pm )

65. I think it’s very hard to remain “stuck up” or “holier than thou” if you have kids!!!!!

    Comment by Kelli C. (March 1, 2008 @ 6:22 pm )

66. […] This post is a bit old, but if you haven’t seen it yet, who cares? […]

    Pingback by kids say the darnedest things » Musings from Two-Sheds Gomer (May 8, 2008 @ 1:54 pm )

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