Celebrity Parents Talk About Kids and Curse Words

Language is super abstract, and it’s just another convoluted concept parents — famous and non-famous alike — have to explain to their children. While some are vehemently against allowing their kids to use curse words, others are a bit more lax about their children letting a “bad” word fly every now and then — or whenever they choose.

There’s a heated debate about what exactly makes a “bad” word so bad, and where precisely the line is drawn. We all know “f—k” and “sh*t” are atop the list of naughty words, but take, for example, the words stupid, dumb, and crap. Some parents are okay with their kids using these words, some parents are okay with a few but not all of these words, and some are against every single one. So how do you make a hard rule for your kids when that same rule may not apply to other kids they know?

In most households, the understanding is that kids don’t curse — ever. In some families, exceptions are made for cursing, like when a toe gets stubbed and all little Jimmy wants to do to relieve his pain is yell “F—k!” (That’s valid, Jimmy.) And in some households, kids are allowed to let colorful language fly to their heart’s content with an understanding that bad words are not to leave their mouths in such a loose fashion at school or in other public settings. It’s a spectrum, if you will, and every parent has the agency to decide where their kids will be planted on said curse word spectrum.

From potty mouth extraordinaire Gordon Ramsay to beloved child star Hilary Duff, navigating “bad” words with their children has been just as much a challenge — and a laugh — as it is for every other parent. For some hilarious tales of celebs catching their kids cussing, and insight into the rules some of your favorite celebrity parents choose to apply to their kids in terms of swear words, read on. We think you’ll be quite surprised by some of their stances, and we know for certain you’ll get a good giggle out of some of the anecdotes to follow. Kids say the darndest things!

Kristen Bell & Dax Shepard

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Kristen Bell explained to E! News in 2018 that while she and husband Dax Shepard don’t censor their language in front of their daughters, the girls themselves are not allowed to swear.

“We don’t limit ourselves as much as we should at home,” the actress admitted, continuing, “The way we explain it is, ‘Look, you’re five years old. You can’t drive my car. You can’t vote. You can’t drink alcohol. You can’t swear.'”

Despite the rule, though, Shepard revealed on Ellen that his girls — Lincoln, at least — has let a foul word fly. “Lincoln’s in her room trying to get a sweatshirt off, and her arms are all bound up in it,” he told Ellen DeGeneres, “And she’s getting frustrated, and she goes, ‘Ow, f—k!'”
Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis

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During an appearance on The Late Show with Seth Meyers, Ashton Kutcher revealed that he’d learned firsthand how quickly kids will pick up a cursing habit when the family dog, Ricky, peed on the stairs.

“I’m like, f—k! Ricky!” Kutcher said. “And I’m walking, and my daughter’s right behind me and all of a sudden I just hear, ‘F—k! Ricky!'”
Amber Rose

In 2018, Amber Rose told Us Weekly, “I let my son curse in the house because it’s a form of expression … Kids like to curse. I tell him when it’s appropriate and not to say it at school. That’s it.”
Pink

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Pink’s daughter Willow made her presence known to her mom in a spectacularly potty-mouthed way. Pink told the tale during an appearance on Ellen, and we can’t help but laugh.

“I’m getting ready to go out on stage,” Pink said, setting the scene. Her daughter ran into the room with what Pink could only describe as “a bit.”

“[Willow] must’ve been preparing this,” she said. “And she came in and she’s like, ‘I’m f—ing here!!'” She threw her arms out with a flourish, because what other way is there to make an entrance?

Pink’s response? “I’m sorry, I can’t — I don’t — my ears don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Gordon Ramsay

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During a 2015 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, famed chef and potty mouth Gordon Ramsay shared that, contrary to what some might expect, he did not permit his four kids to use cuss words while they were growing up.

He explained to Kimmel, “I said, ‘Look, cursing is not smart, it’s an industry language and sometimes Daddy lets it slip’… 20 times a day. So I came up with some really nice, sort of alternatives to curse words.”

Ramsay went on, “So rather than saying the word ‘s—t,’ which, you know, is not nice… ‘Shiitake!’ Like the mushroom. It’s not nice saying the word ‘f—k,’ so we say the word ‘fructose.’ ‘A—?’ ‘Asparagus!'”
Hilary Duff

Hilary Duff told Bustle about how she taught her daughter Banks a hilarious parting phrase of affection — one that may or may not involve the “b” word.

“We think it’s hilarious when Banks says ‘b—ch.’ She says, ‘bye b—ch,’ and I love it,” the beloved actress said with a sheepish laugh. Duff continued, “She heard me say it to my friend once leaving the house. I was like ‘Bye b—ch,’ and [Banks] was like, ‘Bye b—ch.’ It’s hilarious. I would be lying if I said I didn’t love it.”
Chris Pratt

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“I had this rule with my old man and I have it with my son [Jack], which is when you’re fishing you can swear,” Chris Pratt revealed on The Graham Norton Show in 2018. “It’s just the guys; go ahead and let loose.”

Pratt continued to share one hilarious memory in particular, explaining that Jack caught a fish, and as he was about to snap a photo of his son with his catch, the fish flopped out of Jack’s hands and poked him, causing him to cry. The actor shared that his then 5-year-old told him he was about to swear, and Pratt encouraged him to take advantage of the swearing rule to get all his emotions out.

What choice words did Jack go with? According to Pratt, “That stupid bass is a f—king p*ssy!”
Bill Hader

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Bill Hader is dad to a trio of young daughters — Hannah, Harper, and Haley – whom he shares with ex wife Maggie Carey. On an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Hader told Jimmy about a time when a then-5-year-old Hannah reacted to a cereal situation in, well, a pretty understandable way.

“She’s like, ‘I’m going to make my breakfast,'” he relayed. “And she walked into our pantry and she saw we had no cereal, and I just hear her go, ‘F—K!'”

We can’t say we blame her. Haven’t you ever been excited for a particular food only to find there is none? Yeah. F—k, indeed.
Christina Applegate

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Someone has cursed around Christina Applegate’s daughter Sadie — but not her mom. In fact, according to Applegate, when Sadie was caught saying the S-word she played dumb.

“The other day she was in the bathroom and she, like, hit her knee when she was coming out,” Applegate said on Conan. “And I heard her go, ‘Oh sh*t!'” But Sadie tried to convince her mom that her ears were deceiving her.

“I said, ‘What’s that now?'” Applegate relayed, “And she goes, ‘Hmm, what?’ and then she just walked away. And I was like, ‘Someone’s been cussing in front of my kid.'”
Soleil Moon Frye

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If you’ve ever felt personally victimized by a “threenager” you’re not alone. Punky Brewster alum revealed to Us in 2019 that her then-3-year-old son, Lyric, dropped a quite-unexpected f-bomb during a call.

“I’m on speaker on a business call, and he’s like, ‘Who is that f—ing man that you’re talking to? And I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh,'” Moon Frye said. But luckily, no harm was done: “That just really is not the way to be on a business call, but he didn’t know. Then it’s hard because I tried not to laugh, but it’s, like, I couldn’t not laugh.”