This toddler is only allowed to swear in the bathroom—and you might just die laughing

Try as we may (and oh, do we try!), the occasional curse word sometimes slips out in front of our kids. Listen, it happens… we’re only human. Of course, it seems like they particularly latch onto our four-letter words of choice, so one mom came up with a truly creative solution to curbing her 2-year-old daughter’s penchant for swear words (toddler swearing is incredibly common, FWIW). And now, she’s only allowed to say them when she’s in the bathroom.

TikTok user @sobermama82383 recently shared a video to her 53,000 followers of her adorable toddler posted up at the bathroom sink. In the clip, mama can be seen telling her little one the ground rules.

“Since you can’t stop saying bad words, this is the new rule. You can only say bad words when you’re in the bathroom. OK? So that’s the only place you can say them. So get ‘em out now while you can, and I’ll be back,” she says, as the tot nods in agreement, showing that she understands the assignment.

Mom then leaves her to it, standing outside the door. Her little one looks straight into the mirror and utters “stinkin’ a–,” before looking back into the camera and waving as if she’s a mini vlogger. “Hi, guys. Today we’re saying bad words in here.”

Back to her mission, she utters a few more, including another couple rounds of “stinkin’ a–” and “sh–.” Mom then asks if she “got ‘em all out,” and she says no, breaking out one final f-bomb before responding from behind the door, “I said them all.”

When her mom returns, she says, “From now on, if you need like you need to say bad words, you just tell me and we come in the bathroom. You don’t say them out there anymore, OK?” The little one cosigns the agreement, stepping away from the sink. Mission completed.

In her caption, the little girl’s mom notes that she’s “aware that toddlers are sponges,” adding, “We are being extra careful around her now!” Commenters had mixed reactions, with some finding the clip hilarious and others concerned about where her kid is learning such language.

“That’s really mind-boggling to allow your child to curse,” wrote one person. “They know these words from hearing them from their parents. It’s not cute at all!!!” 

Others argued that toddlers will parrot just about anything they hear, and instead of punishment or criticism, children should be taught how to express emotions in a healthy manner. One person called it “a very thoughtful way to allow expression in a safe place instead of lashing out and creating an actually bad situation.”

Plenty found it downright hilarious, with one person jokingly asking, “Can we give her suggestions?” Another added: “The fact that she turned to the camera and spoke to her audience almost took me out.” 

“This is cute,” said one user. “My parents always said they aren’t bad words, just not socially polite and need to be used in proper context/not in professional places.”

Of course, when it comes to all things parenting, what works for one might not work for another. But we must give props to this 2-year-old’s stellar vocabulary. In fact, we’re gonna go ahead and call it freaking amazing… as long as she’s in the bathroom.