How honest should parents be?

[Kingpin]

Everyone here has basically hit it on the head.  Parents should always be honest with their children.  Children come to you with sincere, honest questions and they deserve sincere, honest answers.  Responses should be short and age appropriate.  Let them continue asking questions until they have no more, but stop what you are doing, sit down, look them in the eyes and let them know you are listening, understand them and will do your best to answer.

Can I call you daddy?  Seriously, you're good at it though.

Call me whatever you like

I appreciate the comment though.  I do the best I can and know that at times I will make mistakes and fail.  I make it a point to always point out to my kids where I made a mistake in judgment whether in decisions or advice to them so they are aware that we all will make mistakes and fail and that's ok.  It's how we handle it that is important.  I really think everyday has a teachable moment in it and if I see it, I'm not going to pass it up.