Teaching a parrot to talk is a tough job. It requires a lot of time and patience and the tips and tricks that promise to help you achieve success within less than a month do not always work. It may take months for a parrot to finally say that "hello", "pretty bird" or whatever you are teaching him to say. And just when you think that you are starting to make progress with the parrot talking thing and begin to show off to your friends with your talking bird, he says something he should not. Yep, it is embarrassing when your bird does that to you. And when the embarrassing moment passes and you finally start enjoying the conversation with your friends, he does it again.
It is not funny at all to hear those ugly words coming from a parrot. Most parrots learn to speak only a few words and do not pick up the wrong ones as easily as seen on TV, however, it is a good idea to watch your language in the presence of your bird because it is not impossible for him to like the sound of the wrong word and start using it. If you already have a problem with your parrot speaking the wrong words, it is obviously too late for prevention measures but this does not necessarily mean that he will continue to embarrass you in front of your friends in the future as well.
Ignoring your parrot when using those ugly words is the best thing you can do because you really cannot prevent him. There is no guarantee that he will eventually stop but if you pretend that you do not hear him and much less give him a reward for it while rewarding him for other words, there is a great chance that he will stop one fine day. The thing is that parrots quickly figure out that mimicking human sounds is normally rewarded with a treat or special attention. However, if they see that some words are never followed by a treat and that they do not even attract your attention, they will rather use the ones for which they are always rewarded one way or the other.
If you do not want your parrot to continue to use the wrong words, you should stop using them too at least in the presence of your bird. Simply ignoring your parrot while he is using those words and continuing using them yourself will not help. It is important to be aware that parrots pick up the words they are exposed to on a regular basis. This means that your bird is more likely to pick up an ugly word if he hears it often from you or other members of your family. So do not use the words you do not want him to pick up in front of him. If you have kids, make sure that they understand that it is not "cool" to teach a parrot to say swear words and to curse.
Article By Alana Wickman
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