Cat Litter - Dover AFB,DE

No would not do that. it is a chore not a punishment.
Age wise ? no clue.... 10 maybe ???

I was a child that got soap in the mouth.
My kids got soap and it only took once and it never
happened again. ( liquid very mild and not swallowed )
The "act" or idea was enough for them to never talk back again.

My daughter was cleaning her cat's litter box at that age, but under close supervision, both while scooping it out and making sure that she washed her hands well after - it was not a punishment, just one of her responsibilities as a pet owner. She wanted the cat, she had to take care of it, including the icky bits.
BTW, according to my vet, toxoplas is pretty rare, and cats pick it up by eating infected birds and mice. So i f you have a strictly indoor kitty, there's no risk of toxoplas. The top concern regarding litter boxes and mouths is E.coli.

As for potty mouth, I actually didn't have an issue with her using "special" words, as long as they were at home, AND as long as she used them correctly. She knew that there were times and places where certain words simply were not allowed - school, for example.
I would NEVER put soap in a child's mouth.

I would not make pet care a punishment - your child may come to resent the cat and that would be unfortunate. Pet care is a great way to teach our children responsibility for others.

K. and Amanda had some good suggestions. (I am sure everyone did - but honestly, I didn't read them all - lazy me).

When my son curses or sasses he gets a warning then I take a privilege away. Since he is 14 he does get away with more language mishaps now then when he was 6 - but only in the privacy of our home.

It's not your cat's fault that your child says bad words, is it?

I'd say six isn't old enough to do a good job of it. Wait another year or so. And be teaching your child to wash his hands after every dirty job in the meantime.

Is he picking up words from other kids, or from television? Ask, "Do you know what that word really means?" You may get, "I don't know," or you may get some sort of answer that you'll have to keep from laughing about. In any case, you can then tell him what the word really means (think it out first) and why it's a bad word. Sometimes really understanding can help make the enchanting word, well, not so enchanting.

Um....I don't know if he's old enough that toxoplasmosis isn't an issue or not. I'd ask the doctor. BUT I wouldn't use this as a punishment for ANYTHING. This is a responsiblity - the sort of thing a kid should be rewarded for doing.

Six year olds LOVE potty talk. I don't know if you mean curse words or the usual "pee poop" talk 6 yos LOVE LOVE LOVE.

When we have potty talk at inappropriate times, we say "that's enough." If he doesn't stop, depending on where we are, we ask him if 1) we need to leave (he knows that means we WILL leave if he doesn't stop) or 2) he needs to go to his room (Which he hates being told to do, even though his room is awesome).

We do allow some potty talk in very specific settings.

I think my stepdaughter was 8 when she scooped cat litter, but she was responsible for other cat care when she was younger - brushing, feeding, watering, playing....I wouldn't want him to resent the cat.

The "potty mouth" would depend on the infraction. Is it cursing or talking about things that are inappropriate? Early on we taught the kids what isn't appropriate to say and if they continued to use that language after a warning (even now sometimes they'll slip in front of the toddler), they can go to their rooms, write an apology, do time out...whatever works for the infraction. It may be that he's simply saying things that get a rise out of you or are shocking or he thinks are grown up. Sometimes it's better to ignore or quiet reminder than have a big reaction. I personally don't like "Oh My god" or "That's so gay" so we had discussions about why.

I second the not using pet responsibility for punishment.... as for the toxoplasma parasite that ALL animals carry and you can get from eating raw meat regardless if you have pets or not - - it's a low risk situation.

I'm having my second pregnancy and during my first one I lived alone with 6 cats. Who else was going to do the kitty litter duty? ME! I asked to be tested for the parasite and had a 100% negative result, I didn't even show titers for a past infection!

I still use a mask when I do the kitty litter now, but only out of the very slim possibility of exposure since I'm pregnant with #2.

I agree with other posters who have said that cleaning the litter boxes is not a good idea for a punishment. This is a serious responsibility for anyone. My son was about 7 when he started to help clean the boxes. This job is important to help keep the cat well and part of household chores.
The punishment for having a potty mouth, depends on your style of punishment.

Toxoplamosis is a parasite that can live in cat feces that can cause a host of complications in young children or pregnant women. The larger cause of this parasite is the eating of raw or undercooked meat. The debate about this is mainly around determining how common it is. Some studies show it is common, and others show that it is rare.

Either way, I wouldn't use cleaning the catbox as a punishment - both because I wouldn't be sure a five year-old would wash his hands well after doing it, or clean up the area appropriately, or would possibly develop a resentment to the pet itself, which would be an unfortunate side-effect I think. I would think of a different disciplinary action.

Hi K.,

I think that's a bit young. I would wait a couple of years before he takes on that chore. I would not at any age use cleaning the cat litter box as a punishment, though. My first approach would be to praise him verball when he is using kind, appropriate words. Kiss him and say.... "I am please with your the words that came out of your mouth today. You didn't use any potty words. Boy you're acting like a mature boy!" Lay it on THICK!! Verbal praise is positive attention and he wants a reaction. So praise him when you caught him refraining from using potty words. (Using potty words gets him attention... it's negative attention, but still attention.)
If praise alone does not work, then I might take a privilege away from him. He should know about the consequences ahead of time..... "If you say those inappropriate words again, this (state the privilege) will be taken away from you. What does he like A LOT??? A special tv show, computer time, Nintendo DS, etc..?? But I would not use food as a reward or punishment nor would I ever take away reading time.

Good luck!

J.

I wouldn't use it as punishment. He might end up hating the cat and not learning anything about potty talk. When I was young I had a neighbor who hated his cat b/c scratched him all the time (probably b/c the kid wasn't nice to it) He took care of the problem by putting the cat in this big freezer they had in the garage. I don't think he meant to hurt it - he just wanted it away from him. It didn't end well.

ummm, I think that it's not that dangerous -- the kitty litter. You can check it out on the CDC website -- they have a whole section on pets and health. I think the illness that you can get from kitty litter is fairly rare and the concern is mostly with immune compromised people (as you are somewhat when you are pregnant). However, I would not use chores -- maybe especially those associated with taking care of a pet -- as a punishment. Sets up a very negative relationship with household chores and caring for the pet.

i dont think my 6 year old is. not that shed eat it or anything but i feel like i'd be cleaning up after her. but if you are doing it as a punishment and you watch him each time and make sure he washes his hands well afterwards. then after awhile if you feel he's good at it you can start letting him do it on his own.