I try not to swear. I say things like "shoot" or "fiddlesticks", but my kids have indeed heard my say things I couldn't say on television. Especially when doing battle with Microsoft products. Still, we do try to set a good example and we don't hang around with people who swear much. It is our hope that our children will be able to express themselves clearly and colorfully without cussing.

Fifteen-year-old McKay Hatch would rather not hear swear words either and, to encourage others to clean up their act, formed the No-Cussing club. "A lot of kids at my school, and some of my friends, would cuss and use dirty language all the time," he says. "They did it so much, they didn't even realize they were doing it. It bothered me so much that one day I challenged them to stop." Seems like a good idea that no one could possibly take offense to, right? Wrong.

After setting up a web site, appearing on television, and even visiting other schools to give talks, McKay started getting thousands of e-mails filled with threats and swearing. There have been other types of harassment too -- pizzas being delivered in the middle of the night, porn magazines sent in the mail -- but McKay has no intention of quitting. "I always give him the option to stop," says his father, Brent Hatch, "but he says, 'No, this is my mission.'" McKay has since written a book, The No Cussing Club -- How I Fought Peer Pressure and How You Can Too!

I'm sure there are a lot of parents who appreciate McKay's efforts and, if it helps some kids expand their vocabulary beyond four-letter words, then I say more power to him.