You're in the grocery store with your 6-year-old, and the cashier flippantly uses a choice four-letter word while talking to the cashier in the next check-out line. You are angry and upset at another violation of your child's innocence. You know that words matter, and that four-letter words should be reserved for extraordinary circumstances.

As the mother of four, I know how hard it really is to raise G-rated kids in an R-rated society, but you can protect your kids from more of it than you think.

Try these tips to strengthen your children's understanding of the power of words:

* Monitor children's media input. Most parents don't realize how much content their children take in from the Internet, TV, and radio. News reports in particular can make young children feel insecure about the world around them. And the casual use of four-letter words reinforces the idea that raunchy language is OK. Limit your own media consumption in the presence of young children. Set time limits and use good filtering programs to protect kids from inappropriate material on the Internet and on TV.

* Make your home a no-swearing zone. Make sure to keep your own language clean, and if you slip up, apologize to your children for the error. Speak up if guests in your home use language you find offensive (though it's best to do it in private to avoid publicly embarrassing anyone).

* Help your children find better word choices. Sit down with your kids and use the dictionary and thesaurus to come up with colorful and satisfying words to replace the nasty ones. It's fun!

* Don't overreact. Overreacting to cursing may have the opposite effect that you intend. Use a system of rewards and consequences for maintaining good language.

Teaching children to maintain standards of speech will also result in your kids having more self-discipline, more self-esteem, and more respect for you as a parent. You can raise well-spoken, articulate kids, even in today's raunchier culture.