In this short YouTube clip, a caregiver (referred to as Mimi) shares a real-life parenting moment with her 6‑year‑old grandson during a car ride. The child asks why clouds look like they’re about to rain elsewhere, prompting Mimi to explain cloud movement with a travel metaphor. The conversation shifts when the boy repeats the phrase “damn hard” to describe past rain, revealing he has heard a curse word. Mimi seizes the teachable moment, explaining what a curse word is, why it’s inappropriate, and how it can cause harm. She introduces alternative intensifiers—"extremely," "massively," "very," and "really"—and encourages the child to use his "big, brilliant brain" for positive expression. The boy embraces the lesson, acknowledges God’s wisdom, and vows to correct his friends when they use curse words, illustrating moral reasoning, spiritual framing, and empowerment to influence peers.
Chapters
Me and my 6-year-old grandson were driving and he said, Mimi, why does the sky look like it's about to rain over there, but it's not raining here? And I said, just like we were traveling and we were just at the store and now we're at home, that's the same way the rain clouds are traveling from one place and they might end up here next time. He said, oh no, no, no, no. I don't want the rain to come here because last time it was raining, it was so bad and damn hard. And to confirm that I thought I heard what I thought I heard, I said, did you say sand hard? He said, no, damn hard. I said, damn hard? He said, yeah, it was raining damn hard. As I caught myself, because I realized he must not know what he just said, I said, hey baby, I know you probably heard an adult say the word damn, but that's not an appropriate word. As a matter of fact, did you know that it was a curse word? He said, what's a curse word, Mimi? I said, a curse word are words that people use to wish harm on another person, place, or thing. I said, there are 5 curse words that people use a lot in conversation. I believe it's because they don't want to challenge themselves to use their big, beautiful brain that God has given us to find another word. So let's find another word like extremely, massively, very. He touched his forehead and said, let me think for a minute. Then he said, how about really? I said, yeah, that's another great word. Because words can either harm or heal, and we don't want to use words to harm people, places, or things, now do we? He said, no. The next thing he said made me smile from ear to ear. He said, God is so smart. He says stuff to us to help us so we can help each other. I said, yes, that is a great way to use your big brilliant brain. And he said, Mimi, I want to always use my big brilliant brain. My friends say curse words, and when I hear them, I'm going to tell them that is not appropriate to say, let's use our big brilliant brains another way.
