How honest should parents be?

[Kingpin]

Lying to children causes in harm in that when they discover the lie, they lose trust in you and that's not good.  Kids need to be able to trust their parents.  If you say you will do something, do it.  If you tell them something, be sure it's the truth.  Holding back detail to protect them is perfectly fine.

... and if you don't say something because it's not age-appropriate, is that lying (deception by omission)?

I think it is. I also think it's justified, at times.

interesting Thump.  I do think that omitting can be qualified as lying but also can be justified.  Omitting something you KNOW they would comprehend could be lying, yes, but it has it's purpose.

Example:  A co-worker of mine, her 8 yr old daughter lost a classmate at school.  This classmate lost her life in a domestic violence situation.  She didn't tell her daughter how her friend died, just that she died.  What benefit would there be in telling the 8 year old that her friend was accidently shot in the chest by her drunk father?  What kind of emotions/thoughts would that put in her daughters head?  It would unnecessarily cause more emotional harm.  She died, it's very sad, end of story.  The daughter did ask how her friend died and the mom rightfully said 'in an accident'.  She got the information and can process that.  Spare the gruesome details that would cause her much more to process.