How to flush toilet talk

Most kids at some stage of their growing-up career develop a fascination for toilet words.
The good news is that girls grow out of it. Boys, well, it seems to be a genetic disorder that carries on into manhood.

Parents have long battled with how to bring potty mouths under control. From the name calling to the rhyming songs and the jokes, one of the most difficult things for a parent to do is not to laugh along with the child and immediately lose their ground.

And home ground is important because the battle is not just on the home front. You may be able to tolerate a toilet word or two in your own home, but what about at the supermarket? Dinner with friends? School?

With the old-fashioned washing-out-of-the-mouth-with-soap not so acceptable today, parents need some new weapons in their arsenal.

Here are some ideas:

Keep a poker face
Restrain your urge to laugh out loud at all costs. When your child first starts using a toilet word, they are usually testing the waters. If they get a reaction from you that shows them that it’s hilarious, they are going to want to do it again. In these cases no response is the best response.

Find fun alternatives
If you failed miserably on the first count, try this for size. Attempt to get your child to substitute toilet words for other funny sounding words like shazzam or abracadabra. Try making up your own funny sounding words and make it into a family joke.

Be an example
The old adage “do what I say, not what I do” does not apply here. Kids will copy you and there can’t be two rule books for this one.

Designate an area
Tell your child that toilet words are for in the toilet. They can say their favourite toilet word to their heart’s content as long as it’s in the toilet. Not having an audience or getting a reaction dulls the thrill.

Use other humour
Teach your child that there are other ways to be funny. Try knock-knock jokes and slapstick humour.