It seems like I hear swear words almost everywhere I go. I know these words are not good, but what can I do to keep from hearing them?

You can’t control what other people say, but you can let them know when you don’t like their choice of words. Standing up for what you know is right might be hard, but other people are probably bothered by the swear words too. By letting people know you don’t want to hear bad language, you are not only speaking up for yourself—you might also be speaking up for other people around you.

There is a boy at school who found out I don’t swear. The day he found out, he made a game out of trying to get me to say bad words. But I didn’t swear the whole day at all. Today, it’s still kind of a game—and I’m winning! He’ll say something to try to get me to swear, but I’ll say something funny back and everybody will laugh. He’s not offended, and I’m not swearing. It works for everybody.

Eden S., age 11, New South Wales, Australia

When my friend was playing at my house, he started to say some words that weren’t very nice. I told him that we don’t say bad words in our home. He stopped saying them.

Micah H., age 6, Utah

When a commercial came on the radio that started saying the Lord’s name in vain, my mom turned the station as quickly as she could. It bothered us a lot that they would use the Lord’s name in that way. We wrote a letter to the advertiser telling them we were offended about how they used the Lord’s name. They wrote back and apologized. Within a few days, the commercial was changed.

Gavin Z., age 7, California

Sometimes other kids on the bus use bad language. I cover my ears and replace the bad words with a Primary song. I know Jesus is happy when I don’t listen to bad things.

Raina K., age 9, Texas