"You're an oozer"

I feel old saying this, but really, where do kids today find the nerve to say some of the things they say? Today, my almost 4-year old sister, Bayan, called Salaam, 17, a loser. Well, actually she called her an “Oozer.” Speaking of which, when do you stop kids from saying things in that cute way of theirs by giving them the correct pronunciation. Even if I told her, “Honey, it’s pronounced loser,” do you think it would matter? Most assuredly, no. She would stare me down as if I had committed some great offense and likely stomp off – perhaps to tattle on me to our mom!!!

Of course, that is what happens when you live in a house with younger children – there is always someone to tattle on you…. That’s not to say that there isn’t tattling amongst us ‘older siblings’ – however minimal, but that’s a different story.

Now, the members of my family are not in the habit of calling each other “losers” or “oozers” for that matter. Outside of a friendly but competitive game of taboo or scrabble with my friends, I can’t even recall ever using the term in reference to someone. So where do you suppose Bayan, my innocent little angel of a sister, learned to label someone as an “oozer”? From the other 3 and 4-year olds in her PreK but of course! In all seriousness, parents, older siblings, and adults in general need to be cautious of the language they use in front of children. When somebody called another human being a ‘loser’ in front of my sister, she didn’t only pick up the phrase but the condescension and superciliousness that is inherent in the word/phrase. She doesn’t comprehend the meanings, yet they are implied in her words. Something needs to change because 3-year old little girls are not supposed to sound mean and condescending!