Because I learned from an early age that they are fun.
On a rainy day, my mother might have complained about the "raunchy weather." If you asked her how she felt, she might say, "mossy."
My dad described things he liked as being "absolutely wizard"—a term he didn't invent, but one he used a lot because he liked the sound.
If we said it was unfair, my mother would say, "Tough gazzots." I always thought that was borrowed from Yiddish or something, but it wasn't.
When Dad was cross with me he called me a "kleekonk." When he was angry, he called me a "kleekonk rideedick." Worst of all, a "four-star kleekonk rideedick."
When Dad was out of town on business trips, Mom set the oven timer for "swear hour," and taught us how to say, "Double-decker pecker wrecker." And also the purported lament of the driver of the broken-down WWI ambulance: "The fuckin' fucker fucked."
For my dad, there were always other women: Torlaminda Nudol, and Amorada Hesse ("that girl is quite a mess.").
According to my mother's diary, my sister was barely four when she asked, "Mom, can I say ludicrous?"
If you grow up in a sports family, you love sports. If you grow up in a music family, you love music. I grew up in a words family, so I love words.
here are two more words you can add to your list:
When she was little, my daughter used to ask me if that was happening “nexterday.” An awesome word, but I could never figure out if it meant yesterday or tomorrow?
As she got older, she started using the verb “scrumble” to describe the action of mixing something up. Scrumbling cake mix – or your hair in the shower. I know it’s not a word, but it really should be.
I grew up in a sports family, but I LOVE words.
My two contributions. My two cents.
Love those, Beth. I have at least a 100-word darling malapropism glossary from my daughter’s early childhood. E.g., a canker sore was a “sore crank.” Once she told me, “Dad, this isn’t my first rodeo. Wait. What is a rodeo?” Kids making up words is one of the special and unanticipated pleasures, for writer parents!