to be embarrassed to death. You're little darling will have perfect timing in using the F word in a public place while you are trying to impress others. On the other hand, children understand early on when it is ok or not to swear. When my son was four, he asked me one day if he could say "shit." I paused a moment and thought, well, his dad says it all the time. I don't want to be hypocritical. So I said, "You can say it at home but not at Calvina's." (Calvina was the daycare provider.) "Oh, I know," he replied, "at Calvina's you say, 'God Damn it."