This is a recent issue in my household...
I teach my kids that words are just that -- words. No difference between the word fudge or ****, or shoot and ****. I told them I don't really care whether they use them or not, as long as they don't make a habit out of it and as long as they use discretion around whom they use them.
I also teach them that "cursing" is when you pass condemnation or harsh judgment on another person. "You are a jerk" or, "**** you!", for example. This is wrong and I believe this is what scripture is talking about.
Guess what? My kids don't go around swearing all over creation. They also respect the fact that I allow them the same liberty I take on occasion. A kid on my daughter's bus was swearing like crazy one day, and my daughter asked her why she felt the need to cuss so much. The girl replied that it was because her mother would kill her if she were caught doing so, so it was fun to do it when Mom wasn't around. My daughter simply replied "My Dad doesn't care if I swear or not" and didn't feel the need to "join in".
My father beat me within an inch of my life for saying the "f" word when I was about seven. I didn't even know what it meant, I was simply repeating something I had heard.
To this day I have an utter dislike for smoking because I tried a cigarette when I was about 8 (yech!). I have never been drunk (slightly buzzed, but not drunk) because I tried alcohol when I was very young and hated the taste and feeling of it. I feel that sometimes in our quest to protect our children from things we feel are harmful to them, we only push them closer to them as they get older.
People comment that my kids are polite and are well spoken. We have always taught them the value of good communication.
I choose to pick my battles...