What to Know
If you have kids, then you already know how good they are at bargaining with you to get what they want. They’re like lawyers, except they still need help tying their shoelaces. In this viral TikTok, one mom shares the chore chart process that their family follows, highlighting her daughter’s weekly progress. All of it looks pretty standard—except for one category titled “No saying bad words.”
The other categories are your run-of-the-mill, normal chores and responsibilities: Clean toys, brush teeth, stay in bed (because kids just loooove to come up with a zillion reasons to not stay in their own bed), and be kind in school.
Apparently, the reward system is based on her achieving six out of the seven chores during the week (realistic, we love to see it). But once her daughter figured out she could slack on at least one list item per day, she knew exactly which one she was willing to sacrifice for her greater good.
The bad word loophole, of course!
“My daughter did the math and realized she only needs to get six out of seven stickers per day to still get her prize, and this is the one she decided she’s going to sacrifice,” her mom shares in the video, gesturing to the entirely blank “No saying bad words” category.
“So every morning, she hits me with a ‘good morning, motherf—er,’ and that’s how our day begins.”
Honestly, don’t we all wish we had parents who allowed us that kind of freedom of expression during those early school mornings when we didn’t feel like going to school? Wouldn’t we all have felt so much better about eight hours of multiplication, soggy lunches, and a classroom full of nose-pickers if we were able to just get a solid “motherfucker’ off our chests?
People in the comments seem to agree:
“As a child therapist and a mom, you are doing a great job. Her decision making is impressive and I respect her creativity,” one of the top comments reads.
“She’s committed to the bit and I admire her for it,” says another.
“Well her teeth are clean and she’s nice at school so I say she’s doing pretty good,” says another. Which is an excellent point, tbh.
“That just shows she understands there’s a time and place for bad language. Great job on that cause not all parents help their kinds understand it,” another woman shares.
Others commented that they find this an “excellent use of free will” and that this is the kind of “girl math” we should all support.
According to Wake Forest Pediatrics, “Swearing can reflect developmental exploration, boundary testing, or emotional dysregulation. It’s important to approach the behavior with a calm, informed mindset.”
They also share that it’s important to understand the motivation behind the swearing. In this particular case, it seems like it’s just a simple and harmless way the little girl starts her day to make herself feel better (and likely to get a laugh from Mom).
Since she’s being taught to not use bad words at school, she knows she can use them in her safe zone—her home. And what’s so bad about that?
