It is necessary to create a space for dialogue between the child and his parents to encourage him to understand that these words are immoral (Shutterstock)
It is common for parents to feel anxious about their children hearing words spoken in the street, at school, or even on television, for fear of repeating them unconsciously and falling into an educational dilemma that is difficult to correct without facing a lot of stubbornness.
But a new trend has been launched on the “Tik Tok” platform, urging children to utter objectionable words and sometimes profanity, so that their parents secretly photograph them and publish them on the Internet to gain views and likes.
The popular challenge, called the Bad Word Challenge, sparked a wave of widespread interaction across various social networking sites on the one hand, and widespread criticism and attacks on the other, as a result of educational and psychological concerns about children’s health and their concepts.
What is the story of this strange challenge, and what is its impact on the young people participating in it?
A safe space for bad language
In the new challenge that became a popular trend on TikTok, some parents believed that they found the perfect outlet to allow their children to have the “experience of saying bad words,” by giving them a safe space by leaving them alone - in this case in the bathroom - to say all the bad words they want. In chanting it without any fear of possible punishment.
Within minutes of the “safe space” granted to the children, a camera hidden in the place captures a video recording of the “spontaneity of the children” as they chant obscene words, before it is sarcastically circulated on social networking sites under the name “Bad Word Bathroom Challenge.” Challenge).
The controversial experiment sparked a fiery reaction to the words chanted by the children, as many considered the topic a source of laughter and sarcasm. But on the other hand, the challenge sparked widespread rejection and disapproval from experts and specialists in mental health and education, who stressed the necessity of categorically rejecting this behavior, considering that it actually confuses children and enhances their use of bad words.
Experts considered it contradictory to describe the experience as a “safe space” for children to repeat forbidden words, while a camera was secretly hidden that filmed the child, in addition to the error in describing the repetition of obscene words for a temporary period as a “safe space.”
Challenging profanity contributes to children getting used to practicing unacceptable behaviors (Shutterstock)
Negative effects on the child’s psychological and mental health
Mental health and child-rearing specialists believe that the new challenge has many potential harms, ranging from privacy violations by secretly recording children and publishing content online, to psychological effects on the child, which may also be long-term.
Instead of ignoring the negative behavior so that the child can overcome it, their attention is drawn to the topic more, and they even laugh and favor their behavior, which enhances their chances of using those words later, and causes a moral problem and distraction in the children’s concepts about right and wrong.
Dr. Tariq Omar, a psychology expert and trainer of effective communication and treatment of speech and language disorders for children, told Al Jazeera Net that the psychological consequences of this challenge on young people are undesirable.
The specialist considered that providing children with the opportunity to engage in any wrong behavior constitutes “liberation from morals and values,” and it will not release any energy they have or give them a ceiling of freedom - as some promoters of the challenge claim - but rather it will confuse their concepts of right and wrong.
Expressing obscene language is not considered good behavior in general, regardless of the context (Shutterstock)
The importance of protecting the child from “the habit of bad words”
Omar said, "A challenge in this way would contribute to getting used to unacceptable behaviors, even temporarily, because experiences, regardless of their size, are stored deeply in the brains of young people."
While acknowledging that it is very common for young people to be exposed to such words in various social contexts, the expert stressed “the importance and necessity of creating a space for dialogue between the child and his parents to encourage him to understand that these words are immoral.”
Omar pointed out the importance of taking into account moral and religious commitment in the child’s environment in the first place, given that the language exchanged at home is the cornerstone of the child’s morals and his way of expressing himself.
Commenting on the statements of the American neuroscientist and author of the book “Insults Are Good for You: The Amazing Science of Bad Language,” Emma Burney, who said that children should learn the meaning and impact of bad words from their parents and not from their friends, and she considered that the challenge offers a practical solution to that, he said. The psychological expert said, “Expressing obscene words is not considered healthy behavior in general, regardless of the context.”
He concluded his speech by emphasizing the importance of educating the child that it is unacceptable to express oneself with words and insults, and that expressing anger, rage, and disagreement can be done in many other healthy ways.
Source: Al Jazeera