WASHINGTON — Under pressure from the government, the nation’s two largest cable companies and several others plan to offer packages of family-friendly channels to give parents a new way to shield children from sex, rough language, and violence.

Warner Cable are among those that will start offering ”family choice” tiers, most likely by spring, said Kyle McSlarrow, [pictured] head of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, the main cable trade group.

Details will vary by company, McSlarrow told the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday. He did not estimate pricing.

The industry has come under increased scrutiny for raunchy programming, most recently from Federal Communications Commission chairman Kevin Martin, who urged cable executives last month to give parents more tools to navigate the hundreds of channels available to consumers.

McSlarrow said he hoped the industry’s action would forestall federal intervention.

”I really hope that we can take mandates off the table,” he said. ”If the government intrudes into this space, it will get it wrong.”

Martin issued a statement in which he praised the concept of ”family choice” tiers but did not say whether he would back off on his criticism.