Jackie, until 2 weeks ago, I'd have disagreed with you on this point. That is when I was sitting in a parking lot at the grocery store and happened to see a mom putting her three children in the car, including a toddler. She was using that word in such a common way as one might use an ordinary adjective, and none of the people around me seemed particularly surprised. I felt disgusted by her behavior, and yet I could see that I , not she, am the unusual person in this scene. So when I heard the oldest child telling a younger sibling to get his ** hands off the back of the seat, I couldn't really blame the child for bad behavior since he learned it from mom. That realization has made me feel very sad, tired, and discouraged about the future of manners in our society. I would still flag books as adult if the strong language appears often. For one or two instances, I don't know. I'm glad I won't have to make that decision.
Monica Willyard Jackie McBride wrote:
Shane, clearly u don't have kids, (smile) else you'd know that the f word is everyday fare in the schoolyard. Sorry to say it, but it is--& worse. So, I think it shouldn't be classified as adult for merely that reason, when that particular word is actually part & parcel of kids' standard operating vocabulary, much as we may & many of us do wish it were otherwise. HTH.
