Dax Shepard Explains Why His Daughters Are Allowed to Swear

There’s no swear jar in Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell’s house.

The couple, who are parents to daughters Delta, 10, and Lincoln, 12, have no reservations when it comes to allowing their children to swear, at least on some occasions, a parenting decision that The Ranch alum opened up about on the Monday episode of his Armchair Expert podcast.

“I fully swear in front of my kids,” Shepard, 50, admitted. “They are allowed to swear, not with impunity, but when it’s called for and they land it. And it’s in the house and not out at a restaurant, it’s okay.”

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The Parenthood actor explained that the decision to allow his children to use curse words boils down to his and Bell’s desire to give Delta and Lincoln more freedom and ownership over their language.

“My defense of it is, I just told the girls, like, ‘Hey, these are noises that come out of your mouth, and you assign what they mean to you,’” he said.

This is not the first time the couple has opened up about their daughters’ use of colorful language. Back in 2020, Bell revealed during an appearance on Strahan, Sarah and Keke that “it’s fine” her daughters learned the F-word.

“They’ve known it before, but we’ve been the type of parents that never react. You can’t,” she said, adding that she and Shepard, who married in 2013, “don’t edit” their language around their kids and instead attempt to explain why it’s inappropriate for their girls to use swear words in certain places. “He said, ‘Listen you’re a kid. There are a lot of things that you can’t do until you’re an adult. One of them is drive my car, one of them is drink alcohol, vote and say swear words. It’s as simple as that.’”

While Shepard and Bell let the colorful language flow within reason at home, not all of their celebrity pals are as lenient. Shepard’s Armchair Expert guest Seth Meyers explained that he and his wife Alexi Ashe don’t allow their three children – sons Ashe, 9, and Axel, 7, and daughter Adelaide, 3 – to swear.

“For us, it’s the fear that they’re gonna take it to school,” he said. “Also, by the way, let’s not underestimate girls and boys. I think my daughter, 100%. You could probably trust her with it. ‘Yeah, I’m gonna tell you this word, don’t say it at school.’ The boys?”