And so la la what?

There is this adage (I think Igbo, I am not quite sure) that says, when mother goat is chewing cud, baby goat is watching and will most likely chew exactly the same way. In other words our children will most likely do things the way we do them, say what we say, the way we say them. so we should take pains to mind what we say, the expressions we use etc. if we ban swear words and foul language it can only be effective if we ourselves give it up. So when I have had it  up to here(top of my throat ), instead of saying and so f**king what?, I say and so la la what? and this has become a popular phrase in my household even down to my eight year old, the phrase is used to express indignation, exasperation, all sorts of mood and sometimes just for the fun of it.When children are grown enough to know what "la la" represents, they would have been matured enough to know how to be in charge of their own use of language responsibly.

We know that children can be very infuriating most of the time, so if you are really mad at your children, which is very often,(if mine should be used as yardsticks), instead of using words such as stupid, daft, idiot and asking questions like are you daft,  are you cra*y etc, it is better to just ask the question,"What kind of child is this?". God knows that he is a good child, it is just that he is driving you up the wall at the moment. This question was a question I grew up with and any child that it was used to refer to at the time knew that they had overstepped the boundary set for them. It was capable of having more effect than all those abusive words and questions put together, it would make you feel guilty and remorseful and do a thorough self examination. However as to the question whether it can still be as effective at this modern time, your guess is as good as mine.