Parents Using Kids’ Slang

Hello, you have a wait with words.

Hi, Grant. This is Allie from San Diego.

Hi, Allie. How are you doing?

I’m great. How are you?

Super. Welcome to the program.

How’s it going, Allie?

Last month, I was coming to pick up my son from school, and he was across the playground.

And I was shouting his name over and over, and he wasn’t hearing me.

And so all of a sudden, I just instinctually, I yelled,

Dude!

And immediately, it got his attention and turned around,

Because why wouldn’t Mom say dude?

His mom is the only one who would yell boo across the playground.

And it got me thinking about at what point is it going to be inappropriate for me to incorporate new slang or lingo into my vocabulary.

My husband and I own a surf shop, and so I’m constantly being exposed to new words, and I love it.

But I just felt, you know, as moms were turning around to look at me like, maybe I need to cool it on the dude and some of my other favorite words.

The moms were turning around to look at you?

Well, yeah, I don’t think most of them would have thought to yell dude across the playground.

They thought I was a little out of place maybe.

But it worked.

Yeah.

It did work.

It did work.

But it’s not, I guess a lot of my vocabulary words aren’t words I hear the moms in my neighborhood using.

And so I’m just a little curious if you feel like there’s a hard and fast rule about whether you need to start toning it down or if as long as it flows naturally, it’s fair game.

I think the latter is totally it.

You’ve got to let it flow.

Let me rephrase your question.

When should I become square?

That’s what you asked me.

And I say never.

You had the right thing going.

You got a rapport with your son.

You’re using the language he understands.

Job done.

And he’s fine with it, right?

Yeah.

You know what?

They have not given me any grief yet.

They love it when they run off the soccer field, and I’m like, that is so beast, or you were ripping, or, you know.

Right.

Mom’s going to give you a beatdown in Bananagrams tonight.

Now, wait a minute.

Wait a minute.

Okay, I’m square.

I have no idea what you just said, that last one.

A beatdown.

She’s going to beat it.

Like, I’m going to kick your butt in Scrabble or Bananagrams or whatever.

Oh, in Bananagrams.

Okay, which is a game.

Bananagrams, that was my word.

I thought bananagrams was some cool slang term I didn’t know, but it’s a game, right?

Allie, here’s specifically for you is why you personally are okay.

You’ve got two legitimate things in your life that give you new language all the time.

You work on a surf shop for heaven’s sake.

How many people can say that?

That’s like a needle in your arm for slang, right?

It is.

It’s like heroin, you know.

It’s coming down the pipe all the time.

You’ve got three kids.

I mean, let’s just face it.

Kids bring home a lot of disease from school, but they also bring home a lot of new language.

And that’s a legitimate way, you know, with the colds and the flu that they bring home, they’re bringing home slang for you.

These are petri dishes of slang.

Yeah, absolutely.

They are petri dishes of slang.

And I guess as long as they’re not complaining about me picking it up, then I guess I’m good.

Right.

If they’re not mortified, you’re cooler than the other cougars.

I mean, moms.

Oh, okay.

I say carry on.

All right.

Well, I just didn’t know.

I mean, I figured that’s what you were going to say, but sometimes I guess I get a little self-conscious.

I do also have a graduate degree in British literature and with a former professor at some universities.

And so I have these wild wings of remorse about using slang as well.

It’s because the remorse comes from the feeling of transgression.

And I say ride that transgression for all that it’s worth.

Hang ten.

Walk on the wild side.

All right.

Allie, you sound super cool to me.

Thank you for calling.

Well, thank you so much, Grant and Martha.

I’m a big fan.

All right.

Take care.

Bye-bye.

Good night.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

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