OT - is this a "bad" word?

[ICan'tWait]

This is really OT, but I lurk here the most... I try to teach my kids appropriate language. We don't really say things are "stupid" or use curse words or anything. My youngest still thinks the S word is "stupid." haha However, I had a friend mention another kid we know uses the word "sucks" alot and she was surprised at his "language." I guess I've never really thought of that word as being "bad."

I'm curious - Do you think "sucks" a bad word???

Not sure if it matters but we're talking about 10 year old boys....

 

[tigger51276]

OMG yes that is a "bad" word. If I had ever said that around my mom as a kid/teenager/young adult I would have been slapped and grounded. I can't even imagine what I'd do if I heard my kids say that. Definitely not a word for kids to be saying.

 

[hambirg]

OMG yes that is a "bad" word. If I had ever said that around my mom as a kid/teenager/young adult I would have been slapped and grounded. I can't even imagine what I'd do if I heard my kids say that. Definitely not a word for kids to be saying.

Really??

I don't think it's a "bad" word. If my kids say it like, "Gee, Mom, those new (insert garbage bags, paper towels, etc) really suck." That doesn't bother me.

There is a boy on my son's football team that likes to tell the other boys that they "suck." I think that's rude to say about a person, but I still don't consider "suck" to be a bad word. JMHO

 

[familydisney]

Well, sucks comes from the phrase to suck...you know what. That's why the "older generation" thinks it is a bad word. It got shortened and my/your generation equate it to "stinks". In its spirit, it is most definitely a filthy word or phrase. Its modern connotation, maybe not so much. Still, I don't love my kids saying it, though I've been known to use it myself. I think so much of a word's offensiveness comes from the user and hearer's knowledge base. My students truly would be shocked to hear what it originally meant!

 

[superme80]

My mom thinks it is, but I still over use it. I do need to watch it, because I REALLY don't want my son saying it at some inappropriate place like church!

 

[KAA1972]

I don't necessarily think it is a bad word -- it is definitely more commonly accepted than many other curse words. However, I do think it is one of those words that makes the user sound uneducated -- even though I've been known to use it -- and I'm working on my doctorate. BTW, my educational psychology class really sucks this semester.

Seriously, I actually cringe when I hear myself saying it.... My aunt used to say that people who use curse words are too uneducated to think of a better word to use and I have to agree with her. Although, I have to admit, I am often guilt of worse words than sucks too.... As I type this, I am vowing to clean up my language.

 

[mrsxsparrow]

This is really OT, but I lurk here the most... I try to teach my kids appropriate language. We don't really say things are "stupid" or use curse words or anything. My youngest still thinks the S word is "stupid." haha However, I had a friend mention another kid we know uses the word "sucks" alot and she was surprised at his "language." I guess I've never really thought of that word as being "bad."

I'm curious - Do you think "sucks" a bad word???

Not sure if it matters but we're talking about 10 year old boys....

In elementary school, my mom would totally ground me if I said suck(s/ed)! But now we both say it all the time

 

[cglaura]

Not allowed in this house! Along w/ stupid, idiot, hate, freakin', freaking, and of course the usual curse words.

I'm also a stickler for "can I" vs. "may I". For example, if dd were to ask, "Can I have a bowl of ice cream?" I'd say, "I don't know...caaaannnnn you???? Pause pause...But yes, you may." Really long out. It is sort of a joke now in this house.

Our go to bad word is "Oh crudmuffins". I guess we are quite square, actually!!

...My aunt used to say that people who use curse words are too uneducated to think of a better word to use and I have to agree with her. Although, I have to admit, I am often guilt of worse words than sucks too.... As I type this, I am vowing to clean up my language.

So funny, my dad used to say similar: Profanity is just a feeble mind trying to express itself. Was your Aunt from the depression era? I had a mixed bag growing up, my dad was 22 years my mom's senior, so I had his depression era and her wild '60s. The range of music in my house was great though! Ok, that went totally off topic. Onward and upward.

 

[WheelCEO]

really? there is much worse they could be saying/doing

 

[MoniqueU]

To me no its not bad at all. I have Jr High and up kids. The words my daughter is learning in spanish from the Native speakers of it are much worse then the phrases that come out of their mouths in English. Now if I had said that back in thd day in front of my grandmother all hell would of broken loose big time. I once when I was younger said that is a "cheap" price. I got corrected big time and was told no it wasn't it was "inexpensive". I also was told never to tuck my hair behind my ears or that young ladies don't wear black dresses. All sorts of stuff. Stuff is generational.. My grandma wouldn't let my mom wear tights to school or listen to the beatles. I guess it all comes down to your own comfort level but I am around alot of kids mostly teenagers and while maybe some of their language is questionable their actions are far better then back when I was their age.

 

[ssawka]

If I had ever said that around my mom as a kid/teenager/young adult I would have been slapped and grounded.

Really? I would rather have kids using "bad" words than teaching them that hitting is OK.

 

[DisneyFan32WI]

Stupid and sucks are both on the don-not-use list-and can you believe my kids are 14 and 12?? LOL.....

 

[torinsmom]

It used to bother me, but now the main meaning has totally morphed to mean something stinks or is lame. Doesn't bother me now.

Funny thing is that my 4-5 year olds at school still consider stupid, and dumb to be bad words. They will tell me "So and so said the S(or D) word!" Once, a child came up and told me someone said the F word. I was thinking the worst, but the word was fart, LOL.

Marsha

 

[MinnieForMe]

I don't like the words but it really depends on who is saying them and what they are talking about. I don't have a problem with my teenager saying after three hours of homework that "homework sucks". I also don't mind when our dog decides to poop on the floor for no reason that "the dog is stupid". However, these words can NEVER be said to or about a person. I also would freak out if they were said by my five year old!

There are a few exceptions to my people are never stupid rule. When I see teenagers standing at the bus stop on a negative degree day without a coat I tell my kids they are stupid. When we talk about texting while driving, drinking while driving and smoking, I use the word stupid!

 

[LoriKutchey]

My DD is a freshman in college and even she realizes that is an inappropriate word to use in our household. I guess it all depends what the parents find acceptable behavior and that varies household to household.

 

[luvmy3]

To me it depends on the context. My kids don't really say "suck" but they do say "stupid" as in this is so stupid, which to me is not a big deal at all, and not a curse word. I feel the same about suck, to me it means stink, so I wouldn't care f my kids said "this sucks".
However they aren't allowed to call anyone stupid, and they woudln't be allowed to tell anyone they suck. There are far worse words I don't allow, these two aren't even a blip on my radar.

 

[Hannathy]

No I don't think sucks is a bad word at all. I have heard it everywhere including church and have no problem with it.

 

[gk90]

Well, sucks comes from the phrase to suck...you know what. That's why the "older generation" thinks it is a bad word. It got shortened and my/your generation equate it to "stinks". In its spirit, it is most definitely a filthy word or phrase. Its modern connotation, maybe not so much. Still, I don't love my kids saying it, though I've been known to use it myself. I think so much of a word's offensiveness comes from the user and hearer's knowledge base. My students truly would be shocked to hear what it originally meant!

This! I think it's inappropriate and don't let my kids use it, the first time I heard it was in a Dracula spoof movie, "Love at First Bite" when the character trying to catch Dracula scrawls "Dracula sucks d---" and quickly erases it. After that I heard it used in a filthy way and to me that's still what it means, even though the kids don't mean it that way.

 

[gillenkl]

Yes we consider "sucks" to be a bad word and it's not allowed in our home - we also do not allow "what the...", stupid, dick, idiot, retard, shut up, pissed, and the usual curse words.

 

[moopdog]

It's a bad word in my house along with "hate, stupid, and shut up". Of course freakin' and friggin are really bad!! I agree there are much worse words they could be saying, but what it comes down to is that I want my children to speak in a respectful way, and that is not how people sound when they speak using those words. Am I a HUGE hypocrite? Yes, I curse but NEVER in front of my kids and I hope that's how they are some day with the next generation.

In the grand scheme of things I know it's small potatoes. If I heard the word "sucks" come out of my kids mouths (ages 7 and 9) I would not scream and ground them, but I'd give them a "look" and they'd say "sorry". No biggie.