A.L.
Hi, I feel so bad for you. I would be mortified if that word came out of my childs mouth. You are right that he probably won't forget it, but you can teach him that it is not acceptable to say it. My kids occasionally will say "damit" or "oh my god", which unfornately they get from me and I just remind them that it is not accecptable for them to say and give them an alternative to use. We are Christians, so we say that it is disrespectful to say. That even Mommy and Daddy make the mistake sometimes too, but that we should be reminded too. In the case of the F word, you can leave God out of if you wanted to and it is still disrespectful to say in public. Just as the others have suggested, be very matter of fact about it. It is not a matter of making you mad or being bad, it is just plain and simply unacceptable for a little kid to say. I would also address the relatives who think it is funny. That is also unaccepatable that they are teaching YOUR child things that they know would upset you. Good luck, you can redirect him, it will just take time.