The average British child will have said their first swear word by the age of FOUR years old, says new study
The recent poll found that most UK kids cursed almost as soon as they can talk and parents say rude TV shows are to blame
A NEW study has revealed that the majority of British children have already said their first swear word by age FOUR and parents say rude TV shows are mostly to blame.
The research, conducted by , asked 2,360 British parents with children aged 5- 16 about their children’s first words and language habits.
Parents responding to the poll were first asked to select how old their child was when they said their first words.
And shockingly, the results showed that 84 per cent of parents said that their children started speaking between the ages of 1-2 years.
Next they were asked how old their child was when they spoke their first swear word, with the average age emerging as 4, while only 3 per cent of parents responded that their child had not sworn yet.
Parents were then asked to provide which swear word their child said first and these were the top 5 most common swear words:
1. F*** – 32%
2. D*mn – 28%
3. S*** – 14%
4. C**p – 11%
5. T*** – 9%
Parents were also asked where they’d though their child had learnt to curse and 62 per cent claimed their child had heard it on inappropriate television programmes and films.
Some 18 per cent blamed their children’s friends or other parents for the bad language, 14 per cent said they believed their child had heard it from an older sibling and the remaining 6 per cent admitted their child might have overheard them swearing.
The final question asked parents if they swore in front of their children regularly, be it by accident or on purpose, to which 68 per cent stated they did.
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George Charles, spokesperson for www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk said the following concerning the research:
“Being a parent is one of the hardest jobs in the world, and it is understandable that every now again parents will slip up and swear in front of their children.
“We know how impressionable and easily influenced children can be, repeating words they know they shouldn’t to get a reaction from their parents.
“It is a bit worrying how young children seem to be swearing these days, especially as they don’t always realise that the words are naughty and can cause offence!”