For what it's worth, I've had good results with the opposite approach. My daughter (now 7) has been allowed to curse as long as she's been allowed to talk.
That said, there are boundaries that she understands clearly -- she's not allowed to use curse words at school, for the same reasons I choose not to swear at work. She knows and understands that it isn't an appropriate place to use foul language. At home, she's free to use whatever language crosses her mind.
She is also not allowed to curse AT people anywhere, because it's mean.
She's a smart, responsible, well adjusted child who rarely uses foul language. Occasionally we'll hear something like "I can't figure out how to work this damn thing," when playing on the Wii, but she doesn't run around like a Tourette's sufferer either.
My daughter is 6 now and we approach her swearing EXACTLY the same way that you do. She is in 2nd grade now and knows that swearing is not appropriate at school. She also knows that it isn't appropriate at certain relatives' houses (one set of grandparents; at the other set, it's ok). At some relatives' places, it's perfectly ok. At some of her friends' houses it's no problem; at others' it would not go over well. Stephy (my daughter) knows that swearing is entirely and completely acceptable at home at all times, so she exercises that right with a full range of expletives, without punishment, at home. She has learned where it is appropriate and where it isn't from growing up with it from day one of learning to speak.So-called "swear words" have always just been normal words for her, with a healthy sprinkling of knowing when and where to use them properly (for example, she knows, even at home, that it isn't acceptable to swear AT someone; that is literally her only limitation on it. But "conversational swearing" is perfectly fine and normal at home all the time). She has never crossed the line or been inappropriate, and I don't suspect that she ever will. She is growing up with a full range of colorful words at her disposal, but also with the intelligence to know when to use them. To us, that is the way it should be and we are perfectly content with letting her swear to her heart's content anytime she wants at home.
The beautiful mystery of parenting is that neither of us really knows if we're right, and we might not ever.
I'm not saying that my way is the right way. It might be, and I suspect that it is for my daughter, but I don't know you or your family. The premise for my ideology focuses around 2 things:
1) I don't want to be a hypocrite. I curse all the time, and while I'm mindful of my tongue in professional / social interactions, I do use foul language, and
2) I was more worried about banishing expletives making them into a forbidden fruit.
That said, there are boundaries that she understands clearly -- she's not allowed to use curse words at school, for the same reasons I choose not to swear at work. She knows and understands that it isn't an appropriate place to use foul language. At home, she's free to use whatever language crosses her mind.
She is also not allowed to curse AT people anywhere, because it's mean.
She's a smart, responsible, well adjusted child who rarely uses foul language. Occasionally we'll hear something like "I can't figure out how to work this damn thing," when playing on the Wii, but she doesn't run around like a Tourette's sufferer either.