Here’s another indicator of impending fatherhood: my opinion on the word “fuck” has changed considerably recently, even over a very short period of time.
My attitude towards it used to be that it was a heavily trafficked word, generally used gratuitously beyond the point of diminishing returns, but if used at the right time it could often add the necessary spice to a presentation.
Today, I looked at some of my old writings elsewhere on the web, and it suddenly seemed excessive and inappropriate. I think to myself, is this really the example that I want to be setting for my son? I personally consider it a harmless enough word, but I am aware that grandparents and teachers are less impressed when it sprouts from the mouth of a four year old. Not that I really care what they think, but it would make life unnecessarily difficult for both me and the child.
Obviously sheltering a child from unsuitable language is an impossible task, so I suppose that the best that I can hope for is to make it clear to the child that these words are just words, though considered offensive by some. This is probably one of those concerns that takes second place to more pressing matters as soon as the baby is born, so it’s probably not worth getting too worked up about at this stage.