How honest should parents be?

[Ravenshire]

Yes, and ...


You're clearly trying to have it both ways. Further, what you clearly don't understand is that the job of the parent doesn't solely consist of protecting the child.  It also consists of teaching that child how to safely navigate the world on his own.  That can't be done by suddenly turning them loose at sixteen without having mentioned to them the dangers of drug use or unsafe sex; that can't be done by wrapping them in bubble-wrap and locking them in their room; that can't be done by sheltering them from knowledge of danger.

That can only be done by forewarning them of danger so that on the offchance they find themselves in that corner, you've improved their odds.

You would do well to give future adults more credit than that. You can't really be that much of an influence on a kid, no matter how hard you may try. A person is far more shaped by his culture than his parents could possibly ever affect him. There's a reason teenagers are rebels by nature.

Spoken like a true "never been a parent."