Warning: tired parental rambling ahead.
So this word sucks as a descriptive perjorative has been around since my teens, or forever in other words. But I’ve never liked it. I think I always heard it as “[your favorite band] sucks” or something like that. It’s since come to refer to anything that the speaker doesn’t like. I really don’t care all that much about it, as it always seemed like a limited and dumb comment. But now I hear kids with single digit ages using it and it makes me cringe. They learn it from parents or other alleged adults, and I suppose they use it without thinking too much about it.
But complete the thought. [Your favorite band/team/brand of beer] sucks . . . what? I’m no bluestocking — I can and do swear with enthusiasm — but to hear a grade school kid say “that sucks” as an equivalent to “that stinks” doesn’t work for me. If sucks is a reference to oral sex — am I making a leap here? — why just drop the F-bomb in front of the kids? It’s more effective, and has real power to it.
I don’t know why it bugs me. It’s right up there with someone telling me kids have a right to watch a certain amount of TV. There’s something about parents wanting to be peers to their kids or something and being able to use cool words. If you’re your kid’s friend now, they’ll outgrow you later. But you can be a parent now and a friend later.