2 Year Old Learned a Bad Word!

I agree that ignoring it is the best way to rid yourself of it, but one thing I have done in the past when ignoring doesnt work is to make my own words up that are acceptable to me. Like we say dirty diapers or fudge brownies. I allow my kids to use Tartar Sauce from Spongebob too. I just tell them that that one word is not acceptable to me, but if you need a word try dirty diapers, or whatever word you think is acceptable to you. Dont hesitate to tell him that most people do not like to hear those kind of words either, this always gets my kids thinking, especially since they know that people listen to them. Good Luck!

C.,

I'd try ignoring it and see if it goes away. If he just picked up up from hearing people around (on the street ect.) it should go away if he doesn't hear it again. However, if he is hearing it from a child at daycare, it may not disappear until the other child stops saying it. Maybe a conversation with your daycare provider is in order?

My son picked up "damn!" about that same age. My husband had dropped something glass that shattered in the bathroom, said "damn" pretty loud and it made quite an impression on our son. It took about 3 or 4 weeks for him to stop saying everytime he dropped something. I thought it was horrible, but most people understood... I mentioned it to our pediatrician and she commended him on his ability to use a phrase correctly after only one hearing. So, maybe your son had an impressionable person say it and if he doesn't hear it again, it will go away.

Jess

when my daughter was about 19 mos I accidently taught her sh*&. We spent 2 days driving from Nevada to Colorado and she would only behave in her car seat if we put her in the front seat (this was before passenger side airbags folks) and only for a max of 90 minutes at a time. Needless to say it was a long trip and I ended up spending most of it in the back seat. The car in question was an 85 Camaro so you can imagine how cramped it was.

We found that by ignoring the word totally she gave it up within a couple of days. I didn't hear it again from her until grade school

I would say ignore it. Giving him negative attention when he says this is only giving him the idea, that that is how he will get his attention he needs from you. If he says it dont react to it and keep talking. If he says it more than once than I would gently and calmly say that that is a naughty word that mommy and daddy dont want to hear. And leave it at that, if you make a big presentation out of it, I think he will just continue to say it. If that made any sense!!