Stupid is as stupid does

The word....Stupid. Is it really as bad as what we make it out to be? We as parents realized that the word and other choice 'curse' words are everywhere. No matter how much we fight to prevent our kids from hearing them; they will unfortunately pick them up. Of course lately the Z man has picked up on the word...Stupid. Here is what really grinds our gears. He didn't pick it up from us or school because you know...2-4 year olds are cussing up storms these days. No he got it from movies. Not our movies HIS movies. Nemo, Bugs Life, Lion King, Despicable Me, Tangled etc. How can these companies put the word in there and not expect kids to copy. Those are his favorite movies and when we get to Japan there will be no cable; so how do we allow him to watch his favorite things but expect him not to want to imitate these characters?

Do we do the age old trick, also featured on A Christmas Story, soap in the mouth?

No we can't risk soap poisoning.

Do we drill it into them like drill sergeants whenever they say these words?

No because when you take this approach they never listen no matter how loud you yell it.

What happens when you tell a child to stay away from the cookie jar? They immediately go for the cookie jar the minute you look away or leave the room. It becomes a personal vendetta for them to get into that jar no matter how high or difficult it is to get to it. They will probably still go for it if you put broccoli in it just because you said "DON'T TOUCH THAT JAR!!!" The best way to prevent any words or bad behavior is to lead by example. If you constantly cuss don't get mad at your kids for copying you. You are their greatest role models. They will always look to us for guidance. The movies, friends, and music will always be there and banning them completely would be well...stupid. If your kid starts picking up less than good words you can simply explain to them that the word is bad and Mommy and Daddy never say words like that. Don't drill them and please don't wash their mouths out with soap. Another good thing is to ask where they got the word from. When I asked Zack he didn't quite understand at first and then he said Grasshopper. So I immediately knew he picked it up from A Bugs Life. We briefly took it away but then we started noticing it everywhere we went. So recently he said it and I asked where he learned and when he said Grasshopper. I asked him "Isn't grasshopper the bad guy" and of course in Zack fashion he yelled "YEAH!" like he was really excited about it. Then I asked him "Wasn't grasshopper mean to the ants and didn't share the food with them? Or help them get the food?" Then I think it hit him and he connected the dots. Sure the word slips from him sometimes but he immediately gives me a look like he knows it was an accident. No kid wants to be mean and they want friends. So I think it really stuck with him. So happy it did because I was getting tired of being called stupid by a 3 year old. So what is your techniques? Please share them.