PARENTING 102

Last night, Andrew and I were watching "Family Guy" on Cartoon Network. Andrew enjoys it for the slapstick qualities, while I prefer the subtle pop culture references hidden throughout the show.

At one point, one of the characters used the word "Dammit" when he did something stupid.

So, naturally, Andrew said "Dammit!"

Now ... as a parent, I have to decide what to do at this point.

Most parents would be horrified and say "Andrew! We do not say that! That's a BAD WORD! Never say it again!!"

But in my opinion, when you do that, the kid automatically thinks he's on to something.

So I don't say anything and just hope the kid never uses the word again.

And it's not like he blurted it out while playing with his Hot Wheels. He just repeated what he saw a cartoon say.

But then, one of the characters said "Oh my God!!"

So Andrew repeats that as well.

And to punctuate it, he adds a "dammit" on the end.

So now he's saying "Oh my God dammit!"

While it's mildly cute to witness a four year-old breaking one of the Ten Commandments, when it's YOUR four year-old, you begin to subtly shift into "I don't want my kid going to Hell" mode.

I'm beginning to think we're going to stop watching "Family Guy" for a while and go back to Disney at night.

But goddammit ... I'm really sick of that fucking Lion King.