Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell’s two daughters, Lincoln and Delta, are now 12 and 10. Kristen and Dax have protected their identities online by putting emojis over their faces. That hasn’t stopped them from embarrassing their daughters in other ways, like oversharing some of their more controversial parenting methods. Over the years, we’ve heard about how they drink non-alcoholic beer and don’t bathe until they get too smelly. On a recent episode of his podcast, Armchair Expert, Dax confessed to another “unorthodox” parenting decision. He told his guest, Seth Meyers, that he and Kristen allow their daughters to use curse words at home.
Dax Shepard has some unorthodox rules when it comes to his and Kristen Bell’s kids using curse words.
“I fully swear in front of my kids. They are allowed to swear, not with impunity, but when it’s called for, and they land it, and it’s in the house and not out at a restaurant, it’s OK,” Shepard, 50, explained during the Monday, July 28, episode of his “Armchair Expert” podcast.
“My defense of it is, I just told the girls, like, ‘Hey, these are noises that come out of your mouth, and you assign what they mean to you,’” he continued. Shepard and Bell, 45, share daughters Lincoln, 12, and Delta, 10.
While Shepard said kids cursing isn’t a big deal in his household, guest Seth Meyers offered a different perspective. He shared that he and wife Alexi Ashe try to avoid letting their children, son Ashe, 9, son Axel, 7, and daughter Adelaide, 3, use swear words.
“Sometimes the kids will curse and she’ll look at me again, like they learned it from me,” Meyers, 51, explained. “And I’m like, we walked them to school in New York City. Yesterday, someone’s on the phone saying, ‘Tell them to f*** around and find out.’ And then the kids are like, ‘What does that mean?’ I’m like, ‘Well.’”
He continued, “For us, it’s the fear that they’re gonna take it to school. … “Also, by the way, let’s not underestimate girls and boys. I think with my daughter, 100 percent. You could probably trust her with it. ‘Yeah, I’m gonna tell you this word, don’t say it at school.’ The boys?”
“They’re gonna say it immediately,” Shepard agreed.
However, Shepard pointed out that their children are likely already being exposed to curse words by other students at school.
“There’s no way you’re introducing [them],” he added.
“You just don’t want them to say it in front of a teacher,” Meyers said.
Meyers also joked that the “bummer” is not when kids say the curse word, but when they “steal your delivery” of the word.
“‘Cause I will say, I’ve got a bad habit. Alexi and I are having the most minor of disagreements. I’ll say, like, ‘Jesus Christ,’ as I, like, walk out of the room. And like, the other day, for real, I just heard Ashe be like, ‘Jesus Christ.’ I’m like, ‘All right, we got to talk about it,’” he said.
I 100% understand trying to teach your kids about adult activities in a controlled environment. Those girls are tweens and at the age where, yeah, they probably are hearing students swear in school. I don’t think letting them curse at home is the deterrent that Dax and Kristen think it is. Kids love to do things that make them feel either cool or like a grown-up, especially in front of their friends. Every kid is different, though, so maybe they are dropping the S-word when they make a mistake at home, but also going, “Oh, schnikes!” in front of their friends at school.
I do like that Dax and Kristen are teaching them that there is a time and place for swearing. When I grew up, I was simply told, “Young ladies do not swear.” That, of course, made me want to do it more. I still remember the very first time I cursed out loud (and what I said). It was 6th grade homeroom, and yes, it was an F-bomb. I never looked back, lol. My kids don’t like hearing me swear, so I’ve always made an effort not to do it in front of them. If one does slip out, they’ll say, “Language, mommy!” Thank goodness no one has told them about the swear jar yet. My bestie used to say, ”Refrigerator!” in place of profanity. I tried doing that, but kept forgetting. I need to figure out a random replacement word of my own.
photos credit: Jennifer Graylock-Graylock.com/Avalon, MediaPunch/INSTARimages
Do they have a following? Everything they share about their family lives is gross and off-putting. Dax has also begun aging at light speed since starting roids.
What? Dax is on roids??
Meh. There are much worse things that kids can do than express themselves with curse words. I am much more concerned about the type of parents who get so up in arms about swearing. It’s about inculcating good judgment in your kids about when and where they can do it. If it’s fine around you, and that’s where they do it, ok. Source: this was basically me like a kid. I turned out a very fine, well-educated and outspoken member of society who doesn’t take much BS from anyone.
That is what I taught my kids. You have to know what setting is ok for it what setting is not.
I try not to swear too much around my kids, but I also listen to a lot of uncensored music at home so they hear it all. I’ve taught them the same thing I was taught by my dad: it’s an adult thing. Like drinking a beer, driving a car, voting, watching R movies, etc. When you’re an adult you can curse. They get it. But they do use replacement words like shoot and flip and “Jesus Christ!” but I don’t mind as long as they’re not getting in trouble at school for cursing.
I have a 17 year-old and a 12 year-old and I know that they know alllll the words (and maybe a few I’m not familiar with?) and that they use them when they’re around friends. We’ve told them both that they are old enough to know when it’s not acceptable to use off-color language and that they need to be aware of their surroundings/audience when choosing what to say. I’ve also told the 12 year-old (who needs more of this kind of instruction than her brother) that it’s a really dumb thing to get in trouble for, so make sure you know who is around before you let fly.
Having said that, the 17 year-old told me recently that he was going to hang out with a friend after dinner and I said, “sure, what are y’all going to do?” He said, “I don’t know, maybe go get ice cream or some shit.” He immediately realized that he forgot to switch into “talking to mom mode” and turned BRIGHT RED. I died, it was hilarious. He’s not the kind of kid to casually drop a curse word into conversation with me and it. was. hysterical.
If they make a tv movie out of the Coldplay kiss cam situation, he should be cast as the cheating CEO.
They should just teach them all the Good Place replacement words.
When my oldest was 5, he used the word “bitch”. So I asked him what he thought a bitch was. Without missing a beat, he looked me straight in the eye and said “It’s a lady who almost hits us in the car.”
😆
Wow, do I pity whatever teacher these kids get. I don’t see either parent letting the subsequent punishment happen if or when one of them swears at school.
I don’t think I can read any more about Kristen Bell or I’ll never watch Veronica Mars again.
My kid is allowed to swear in the car. This is how I choose to tell him what words are most offensive and to opt to avoid. He’s smart enough not to do it in school or around littles (he is 13)