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pianistclare
Guest
I had to lose the habit, because my boss (the pastor) reads us the riot act if he hears us saying omg.
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heart4home
Guest
I think it’s the tone, or the action happening for the most part. It becomes flippant.
Like when somebody says or does something that makes them look foolish, kids will say it in a negative tone to the person… “OMG”, often meaning/implying …how can you be so dumb.
It’s like saying Jesus Christ, in anger, when something hasn’t gone your way or somebody or something has annoyed you
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pensmama87
Guest
https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u...6/bazinga-with-sheldon-tshirt-logo-hr.jpg&f=1Just try replacing it with something really different that they will only use in your home.
How about Bazinga?
Anything. Holy Doodleboop. Kids love a made up word.
While this one doesn’t bother me personally, I can relate the being annoyed by something like this. My son is taking to saying “Huh?” And his little sister is picking it up too. I’m working on breaking that habit of it kills me.
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Graceful_Lamb
Guest
I still say OMG and I catch myself after I say it. I don’t say it nearly as much as I used to. I’m working on it. 
I would tell the kids that you don’t allow anyone in your house to say that and they could instead say “Oh my goodness!,” or something else besides OMG. Yes, I am working on saying “Oh my goodness” instead.
I would tell the kids that you don’t allow anyone in your house to say that and they could instead say “Oh my goodness!,” or something else besides OMG. Yes, I am working on saying “Oh my goodness” instead.
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bitterhope
Guest
My mother in law says Ay Dios! about everything. Oftentimes accompanied with the sign of the cross. I think it is cultural honestly. My mom is half Irish and says Jesus, Mary and Joseph all the time too. My dad used to say Good God. At school the principal was a nun and she said Good God as well, but oh my God would get us sent to the corner. I try to stay away from most phrases because growing up it seemed different phrases bothered different people and I never knew what was appropriate. So I just said none of them. My kids are pretty similar and don’t tend to use filler phrases either.
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Graceful_Lamb
Guest
In the past, I worked with an Atheist who regularly said OMG and JC. When they said JC, it was because they were upset that something didn’t go their way.
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pensmama87
Guest
https://images.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u...remera-bazinga-sheldon-roja-tntecno-m.jpg&f=1Just try replacing it with something really different that they will only use in your home.
How about Bazinga?
Anything. Holy Doodleboop. Kids love a made up word.
While this one doesn’t bother me personally, I can relate the being annoyed by something like this. My son is taking to saying “Huh?” And his little sister is picking it up too. I’m working on breaking that habit of it kills me.
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LongingSoul
Guest
‘Jesus wept’ is another one that we hear that came from Ireland. It’s more an expression of exasperation.
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Techno2000
Guest
Maybe deep down they wanted believe and this was the only way that this could come out.
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HungerNThirst4R
Guest
I have this same problem, but with adults.
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lax16
Guest
This is very common among my Jewish friends and relatives (in laws). I also find it to be too “strong” of a phrase.As of this week, I’m back in the babysitting game. So far it’s been going pretty well. The kids are a bit older so I only have them for a couple hours after school - two boys, 6 and 8. They are for the most part sweet, they listen well, and play nicely with my kids and are respectful.
They do have a habit of casually saying, “OMG” (the whole thing.) I don’t think my kids have ever even heard that phrase before. My boys have not repeated it. I didn’t say anything the first time because I was taken aback (for some reason I didn’t think kids that young would say it - I have no idea why I thought so, probably just being naive. At any rate, it’s probably uttered 1-2x per day by one or both of them while they’re here.) I know I need to say something and soon because I want it to stop ASAP.
Would you address it directly with them or with their parents, and how would you do so? The family are secular Jews. They know we are Catholic.
I would normally say, “We don’t use that word/phrase in our home,” but most of those would be things almost anyone would find offensive (or at least be unsurprised by). Maybe I’m overthinking it. I’m willing to be told so.
Well, here in Utah the Mormons do not say it either. In fact, a Jewish kid from New Jersey was sent to the prinicpal’s office for cursing when he said it!
Around here, the phrase is “oh my heck” and I find myself using it often. It is far enough away from “oh my gosh” that I don’t slip up and say God and besides I think it’s kinda catchy.
So my vote is to start a Utah trend and say “in this house we say oh my heck!”
Utahns are known for substituting curse words with other funny words. It’s hilarious but it works! Comedians have done routines and they even use it for advertising.
wesclark.com/ubn/swearing.html
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lax16
Guest
It think because it is said differently.I wondered the same thing?
I have a dear friend, a very old Sister of St. Joseph, who, when she is exasperated, says “Jesus, Mary & Joseph!”, just like her sainted Irish mother did, and the good sisters who taught her many moons ago.
I dare anyone to tell her she is taking the Lord’s name in vain!!
Oh.My.God. in a snarky tone vs Jesus, Mary and Joseph! in a frightened tone. At least, that’s how me and mine would say it.
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Little_Sheep
Guest
Agreed. I myself am partial to “Mary, Mother of God!” or “Sweet baby Jesus!” as an exclamative. It’s never crossed my mind to confess those things. That said, we have raised our boys to know their audience when it comes to language that invokes God.I wondered the same thing?
I have a dear friend, a very old Sister of St. Joseph, who, when she is exasperated, says “Jesus, Mary & Joseph!”, just like her sainted Irish mother did, and the good sisters who taught her many moons ago.
I dare anyone to tell her she is taking the Lord’s name in vain!!
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WillyAL
Guest
As one with atheistic leanings, I’m not especially offended.
I suspect that 99 percent of the people who use this expression are giving no thought to God when they utter it. It’s much more likely that they’re thinking about the toe they just stubbed or the thumb they just smashed with their hammer.
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Techno2000
Guest
I agree.
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grannymh
Guest
When OMG, or something similar, came out of the mouths of my children and grandchildren …
I looked them in the eye and asked – “Are you praying?”
I looked them in the eye and asked – “Are you praying?”
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Allegra
Guest
This is a good thread! I teach in a public elementary school and I have to deal with this issue delicately. 90% of the time when kids use this phrase, they mean something along that line of “that’s so dumb!” or worse, “you’re so dumb!” The attitude they use with it makes it an issue for me. Once I had a 1st grader shout it out in class and another child said, “Uuuuuuuuummm!” (which is the standard 1st grade expression of outrage) The second child said it was a “bad word”. The first child said, “No, it’s not.” Then a third child said, “It’s not a bad word, but how would you like it if someone said your name every time something bad happened?” I thought it was a very good explaination. So now, when a student says it, I tell them that it hurts other students’ feelings when they say that because it’s like saying their father’s name whenever something bad happens. I haven’t had any complaints so far.
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EasterJoy
Guest
It depends very much on context. When it is spoken as a prayer–oh, my God, help me not to kill this kid or even oh, my God, what a beautiful waterfall–then that is a prayer. When the phrase is used in a way that makes it clear that the Creator is the farthest thing from the speaker’s mind–oh, my God, what an idiot you are, get out of my way!–it is using the Lord’s name in vain.
On that note, I have known people who finish other people’s use of the phrase or even their own habitual slip-up in order to make it into a prayer. When these people hear “OMG” coming out of someone’s mouth, they “finish” with their stock phrase, such as “bless America” or “who is kind and merciful” or something like that. If they get a question, they say, “It’s using God’s name in vain unless you’re actually talking to God. I mean, you wouldn’t want the whole world walking around saying, ‘O in Kevin’s name, get out of my way, you idiot,’ right? When your name comes up, you want it to actually be referring to you, and in a nice way. That’s what it means to avoid using God’s name in vain. When God’s name comes up, he ought to at least be the topic of the conversation.”
The good sisters could throw “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph” around all of the time because their conversation never strayed all that far from their constant reliance on the Holy Family to get them through the day!
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zamyrabyrd
Guest
Sounds like a great pastor. OMG is usually heard as an expression of frustration or empty expletive, that is, in vain.
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fin
Guest
I’m surprised by this too. I see some traditional Catholics and other devout religious people including orthodox Jews who say OMG (the whole thing) or Oh my L_ . I’m unsure, but I thought that was considered to be using God’s name in vain??
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