Is "goofball" derogatory?
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Anonymous
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I called my 3-year-old a goofball at Gymboree today and the mother next to me gave me the dirtiest look. I tried to ignore it and later said it again and she very loudly proclaimed to her DS, "that's not a word we use is it Larlo? We use helpful words."
I was kind of taken aback. I consider myself pretty progressive and I've eliminated many words from my vocabulary but goofball is not one. Is there some negative connotation I'm missing or was this woman just particularly sensitive. |
Anonymous
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The woman was a passive-aggressive bitch. There is nothing wrong with "goofball," and even if there was, it's none of her business what you call your child (assuming you're not cursing the child out in the middle of class). No reason why she should comment on it at all, to her son or otherwise.
(Full disclosure: I call my son "goofy" or "goof" all the time.) |
Anonymous
| My kid is a goofball and gets in trouble for silliness. It's not a compliment. But it's not a bad word. That lady was a nut. |
Anonymous
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On a scale of 1 to 10 of derogatory, I'd say it is a 3 (or a 2 if spoken lovingly by a parent.)
Hardly offensive, about the same level as "silly billy" |
Anonymous
| nope. We call our son goofball also. Not a protected class. |
Anonymous
| Lady is nuts! Goofball is positive, imagine a world without goofballs. |
Anonymous
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She was implying you insulted your child by calling him a name. It wasn't the word you chose, it's that you referred to your child by an insult.
She is an idiot. |
Anonymous
| less derogatory than "stinker". About the same as "rascal" |
Anonymous
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I was talking to a mother a few months ago who had a 2.5 yr old (same as mine) and a little guy - maybe 8 months - who was teething. We were talking about his teething and I said to the baby something like, "I am sorry you feel so cruddy" - and the mother bristled and asked me to please not use that word around her 2.5 yr old. I asked again if she meant "cruddy" and she said yes, it was inappropriate. I went home, looked it up on every slang dictionary I could find on the internet and asked everyone I knew - and DCUM - is "cruddy" has some sexual or otherwise inappropriate connotation and got a resounding "NO!".
Same with "goofball". Who the hell knows what is wrong with some of these women. |
Anonymous
| Parenting brings out the crazy in some folks. Feel free to ignore it. Goofball is not all all offensive. |
Anonymous
Wow, she is sad. You could have then said to your child, "Well, Larlothy, we don't make passive-aggressive comments loud enough for other people to hear. Nor do we glare at other people we don't even know." |
Anonymous
| What a Bitch, move away from her. Plus she and child are probably boring (which for me is derogatory) Love goofballs and its a compliment in my book. |
Anonymous
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lol forever. Good luck to that lady. I can't wait until some kid calls her a stupid fat fart face. Not sanctioned, btw.
Also, what you should say is, get an actual problem passive agressive loser. Seriously. Help her out. |
Anonymous
I remember your post! I agreed that it was ridiculous to think "cruddy" was a bad word. Same for "goofball." I mean, I can vaguely see a desire to not label your kid as something, but even if that's what you think, it's ridiculous to judge someone else for saying something like that to THEIR kid. I often call my toddler a "goof" or "goofball" -- when I just mean, "You're being silly, aren't you?" Like, he'll intentionally hide something and smile playfully at me, and I'll say, "You're being a little goof, aren't you?" or "You goofball!" when he does something a little weird but hilarious. It's affectionate. |
Anonymous
| You should have called him "Snowflake" |