Pain treatment that parents can swear by

IT’S fair to say that most parents are careful to curb their language around their young children.

But research has found swearing within earshot of your toddler so they learn ‘taboo’ words could actually be beneficial.

Dr Emma Byrne, 43, said the gratification youngsters get from later blurting out an expletive when they know it is not allowed can trigger an explosion of happiness in the brain.

She explained that as long as this happens before adolescence, the lesson learnt – known as an ‘emotive reaction’ – lasts into adulthood and can help ease pain.

Dr Byrne, author of the book the Science of Swearing, will present her findings at the Edinburgh Science Festival next week.

The academic, who has a two-year-old son, said: ‘We know that toddlers like to experiment with taboo words, right from when they are potty training.

‘This is because as soon as something is considered taboo, it triggers a response from a parent, which is something children revel in. That same emotive reac- tion then becomes forever connected to those words.

‘Essentially, as we grow up, swearing can then be used as a coping mechanism or as a way of instinctively killing pain, and it all stems from those first experiences challenging our parents by saying the word we aren’t allowed to.’

Dr Byrne, a former Edinburgh university lecturer, said the study was carried out by asking two people to place their hand in a tub of icy water. one person was given permission to swear, and the second was not.

It was found that the person turning the air blue suffered less pain.

But Dr Byrne added: ‘In order to have a positive impact later in life, a swear word has to be learnt before adolescence, as this is when we are most responsive.

‘It’s not the words themselves that give the emotive response, it’s the reaction to them.’

The Amazing Science of Bad Language will take place in the Dissection Room, Summerhall, Edinburgh, on April 5.