swear jar

This beautiful bone china teacup is our swear jar.  I love the irony. 

This spring we were having difficulty with the potty-mouthed Boy.  We instituted the swear jar.  One dollar per explitive for everyone in the family.  The difficulty at first was that the money-hungry Boy was using it as a bank account.  He'd swear as often, or more so, and gladly put the cash in the cup.  Once he understood that the profits were NOT going to be divied up, but rather given to charity, he quickly decided to watch his mouth.  I have to say it's been a pretty effective means of stemming the tide of swear words in our house.

But here's the thing, sometimes I pay in advance.  Sometimes that bad word is the only one that will effectively convey both the emotion and sentiment that I require.  Paying in advance means I have to be fully conscious of what is coming out of my mouth.  And sometimes I still decide that's the way to go.  When DH sees the china cabinet door open and a loonie drop into place, he knows he'd better brace himself, 'cause what follows won't be pretty.

I say this so you will understand my actions earlier this week.  Boy had been bothering Girl all day long.  He wouldn't let  her sit on the couch.  He kicked her doll.  He said everything he could think of (that didn't involve swearing or money) to bug her.  While she complained a bit, she largely put up with his bullying.  That is, until late afternoon.  I was in the kitchen so I didn't see what happened, but I can imagine based on the rest of the day's antics.  Girl shouted "Boy, you are being such a dick!" 

I paused.  Thought about it for a moment.  Decided she was right, and put a buck in the cup on her behalf.  And that was that.