Dad Mortified at Toddler Shouting 'Very Inappropriate' Word at Disneyland

A California dad has recalled the day his two-year-old son began repeatedly shouting a "very inappropriate" F-word during a trip to Disneyland.

Bad language is all around us in modern society and while parents can lead by example, the reality is that, by and large, they can't prevent their children from eventually being exposed to it.

A 2013 study published in the American Journal of Psychology estimates that by the age of eight, children know as many as 54 "bad" words. The research found that, at that age, most of these taboo terms kids knew referred to "god" or revolved around other basic derogatory terminology like "stupid." It was only as they got older, and reached the ages of around 11 to 12, that they shifted on to more serious swear words.

So, to hear a two-year-old repeatedly using one of these more serious terms in a family-focused setting like Disneyland would certainly be unusual. However, the situation dad-of-two Bryan Lambillotte found himself dealing with was a little more complicated—and a whole lot more hilarious—than that.

Back in March, Lambillotte was visiting Disneyland with his son Brecon as part of a special "father son" trip to mark the toddler's birthday. However, their day was in danger of being derailed when Brecon began repeatedly shouting a word that sounded a whole lot like "f*****."

Lambillotte told Newsweek: "The first time was in Cars Land waiting in line to meet Lightning McQueen, the second was at lunch at The Wine Trattoria and lastly was at dinner at Tortilla Joes."

Lambillotte said he and his husband Chris have always made a point to avoid using bad language around Brecon and his twin sister London.

But then Brecon wasn't actually trying to say the word that kept coming out of his mouth. "His favorite type of animal at the moment is a frog," Lambillotte explained on TikTok, under the handle itsbryanandchris. "But for some reason he won't say the word frog, it has to be frogger."

"Unfortunately his 'g' sound sounds a lot like 'ck' instead of 'g' and his 'r' sound isn't very noticeable," he said. The result sounds a lot like Brecon is saying a very bad word—but he's not.

"Brecon loves to talk—just like his dada, so I knew at some point something like this would happen," Lambillotte said. "I never thought of it as an issue because I knew he wasn't trying to say an inappropriate word. Also, he's a two year-old toddler; enough said."

However, when Brecon began repeatedly saying it during their day out at Disneyland, Lambillotte felt compelled to try and curb his son's efforts. Part of that was down to the disapproving looks of some of the other parents out that day.

Those reactions surprised Lambillotte who had hoped for a little more understanding. "Parents can be so quick to judge when they themselves have experienced or will experience a similar situation with their own children," he said.

He was nevertheless able to stay calm and manage the situation effectively. "To be honest, it was easy because at the end of the day, my son did nothing wrong," Lambillotte said.

"After shouting the word a few times, I got down on his level and tried to steer the conversation away from said word. We were at Disneyland so I mentioned seeing Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater, two of his favorite characters. Unfortunately, he was super focused and my talking to him about Cars was completely ignored. At this point, I took his hand and we made our way into the nearest merchandise store where he noticed all the cool toys."

Thankfully, Lambillotte has been able to laugh about what happened. He posted his video on TikTok in the hopes that others would see the funny side too.

"I wanted to provide something honest and real that other parents could relate to. I know I'm not the first parent (and certainly won't be the last) to experience something like this," he said.

The response has been an overwhelmingly positive one. "I received thousands of positive and supportive comments from other parents, telling me how much they admired my vulnerability and how I remained a calm and collected father rather than shaming or disciplining my child in a stressful situation," he said.

So while Lambillotte's experience might be an amusing one, his response is probably one most parents would swear by.