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The use of profanity is something that must be considered no matter what you write, but the decision becomes even more important when dealing with books for children. And it isn't simply a yes or no proposition because it isn't a single word. There are levels of appropriateness, and along with those there are the questions of reality.

No matter what you write in your book if the kid reading it is over the age of 13 it is unlikely they haven't heard the word before. That said it doesn't really matter. There are two reasons for this. The first is that books have a level of social importance, especially with the use of language. This means that while a kid may have heard his friends use a word, or even seen it written on the internet these don't have the weight it will in your book. The second is that you don't write young adult fiction purely for the young adults. The parents who are going to get upset that there is profanity in this are the ones who are going to flip through the book before the kid reads it or possibly even read it themselves. When they flip through the book assume that their eyes are going to fall on the worst word in the book and you'll be safe.

The counter argument comes in the question of reality. Writing a story where kids say things like dad'blamit and shucks aren't likely to get the interest of kids and while sometimes you can simply avoid the subject there are times it's what would happen. For these times it is useful to understand the movie rating system. There are words that will always get you an R, words that can be used once and remain pg-13. Think about which one of those this is, each level becomes more dangerous. Typically if you use a word that is age appropriate but still harsh kids will understand.

Beyond realism there is a sociological effect of profanity that a skilled writer can use. People have specific reactions to these words and kids are no exception to this. These can be extremely powerful tools but, just like cursing in real life using it too much diminishes its strength so even if you choose to use some profanity use it sparingly or it loses its value.

Parents are very cautious about what their children read, and rightfully so. Keep this in mind no matter what you write. The books that we read as children effect us far more than those that we read as adults and because of that they should be treated with a high level of care.

Learn more about this author, Elton Gahr.
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