Doug and I were both surprised by a recent Noah-ism. I was especially interested in the comments his readers made about what children should and shouldn’t say. When I was a child, it didn’t just matter what the word was, but also how the word was used. Anything said wrong could get me in big trouble with my father. He did try to practice what he preached since I never heard him swear until I was a teenager and I was a teenager who deserved curse words inflicted upon me. I was married with children before I ever heard anything even remotely questionable from my mother. Several months ago, Amy said “butt” and a visiting preschooler told her that it was an ugly word which she shouldn’t use. His family used cute little words for body parts, like booty and bottom. Shortly after that, Amy declared that she would just call it a “bootus”. I see nothing wrong with my children saying that babies eat from their mommy’s breasts. My children all know exactly what body part babies use as a doorway into the world. I’m less clear on the use of words that aren’t in Carlin’s dictionary.