It’s not easy being a parent, especially once your child comes home from school one day and surprises you with a litany of bad words or when your kid starts throwing a fit and blurts out a swear word. In times like these, how do you handle the situation?

The first thing you must do is to remain calm. While you can never fully shield your child from hearing bad words, there are ways you can make sure it doesn’t become part of her everyday vocabulary. Here are seven tips to help you deal with the problem:

(First published as "When Kids Swear" in the "Good Family" section of Good Housekeeping Philippines' July 2011 issue. Adapted for use in Female Network. Additional reporting by Jennifer Chan. Photo by James Emery via Flickr Creative Commons. All photos for illustrative purposes only.)