The lesson plan with a little cussing room

The insults intensified. In fact, they nearly tripled in volume. This is why something had to be done. The children were so accustomed to hurling insults at each other, it was almost second nature. Of course, kids will be kids, and brothers and sisters will aggravate one another endlessly at times. Furthermore, when they are little, they are fierce with the squabbles.

It was the early nineties and we had one boy and three girls. Age eight down to three. They were close-knit and family oriented. Except when fighting. Since there were four, the battle lines usually divided two against two. However, one of the teams had a sympathy partner. They were so close-knit, that even when at odds, one sister teamed up with her brother. That way he wasn’t on a team by himself.

The war, was a war of words. Bad words to be exact. Learned from certain shows on networks like The Cartoon Network. One of the favorites was buttswipe. That one insult became the unofficial battle cry. If there were tensions, and someone dared utter the word, it turned ugly fast. Because there was a counter measure. It was an equally bad word. Furthermore, if it was the retaliation, the fight could last all night.

The Lesson Plan

It was one of those family problems that can develop between siblings. Likewise, it can be fierce. In this case the older ones were a bad influence on the youngest. It was obvious something needed doing when the three year old began starting fights for fun. It was on the verge of cute, but a three year old armed with the word buttswipe, could set off a huge squabble.

By that time buttswipe, and the infamous buttlick, were just the beginning. New words began to happen. And at times, especially in an enclosed vehicle, those words could cause a sailor to blush. Especially considering it was little ones doing the cussing. Even the penalties, such as losing privileges or groundings for weeks, had no effect.

In fact, it was a game of numbers. The two oldest were experts at finding loopholes in mom and dad’s rules. In fact, if you could do the time, it was entirely acceptable, to do the crime. This was the strategy of the two oldest. Furthermore, they would strong arm the younger two. Now it was a group. A group fighting amongst themselves. So it was time to ban the words.

A Little Cussing Room

Banning the words was a difficult decision. It meant a family rule. And family rules applied to everyone. Furthermore, it had to work for a three year old as well. Therefore, the two oldest had to believe it first. It was a simple plan. All the bad words were under a ban. Anyone heard uttering them would get no Christmas present that year. Santa would be notified, and the guilty party would be off the Christmas list.

However, it was also a good possibility that it wouldn’t be easy to go cold turkey. They were little ones, so the lesson plan was important. It wasn’t as much about the bad words, as it was their willingness to use them against one another. They were siblings. Likewise a family. Sometimes those squabbles really hurt feelings, and caused true heartache. Banning the words was the only solution.

However, to help with the learning curve, and to keep everyone on Santa’s nice list, a room of relief was created. It was a small closet-like room under the stairs. It was not quite big enough for a closet, but too small for an extra room. The little room became a small echo chamber. Or a little cussing room. Any kid was allowed to say any cussword they wanted, as long as it was in that little cussing room.

Lesson Plan with lots of Use

At first it got lots of use. Gradually, over time, the little room served its purpose and the relationship between the siblings improved. Dramatically. In fact, there were times the room became a fun place and not part of a lesson plan. A place where freedom of expression was okay. Furthermore, no one ever got booted from Santa’s nice list. And everyone had a great Christmas that year. Thanks for reading.

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