Do you always tell your kids the truth?

I agree, lying is never good....even white lies. Choosing what you share may be the best thing. There are ways to share the truth without divulging all the details (TMI - too much information). Their brains can only manage so much you the parent needs to be sensitive of this.

We never told the children there was a Santa Claus because we knew one day they would know of that deceit. We do still "play" Santa and this has not robbed them of any joy (milk, cookies the whole business).

Honesty is the best policy, it's far less painful than getting bit in the butt when a lie comes out in the open....and it ALWAYS does.

Yes, I either tell my kids the truth or I withhold a response/avoid an answer. I expect them to do the same and tell them to do the same. I'd rather they "take the 5th" and remain silent than lie to us.

I think with my 3 children that as they get older they can understand more so the truth needs to be told but in the instance of the story about the mother telling the kid he's not old enough for the toy is ok but will backfire when he goes to Jimmy's house and Jimmy has one and thier in the same class at preschool. They are way smarter than we give credit but sometimes they just dont need to know. I think the best responce to tell the truth but in their words. Somethings are not for them and just tell them its not for them to ask about.

Not just yes, but hell yes. The right lie in the right place for the right reason, is a necessary self defence skill that MUST be taught at an early age with the necessary levels of integrity and honor. The security and safety of our country, our families, our children, is largly based on the skills and covert activities of a myried of spys, lies, misdirectionand conveluted truth and secrets. A complete understanding of where, when , and how to lie convincingly, is a must in the world we live in. To deny this fact which has been a universal truth for many many centuries is the real and most dangerious lie.

Lie to your children and they will lie to you.

Children are people, they deserve respect.
Lying to your children is disrespectful.

When my daughter was little she tripped on a walnut at school and lacerated her spleen. Long story short, before surgery she asked me, "Could I die?". I twisted the truth to a cosmic request/command, telling her, "You will not die". After all was said and done and how very much I did not tell her the truth, I would do it again. They saved her spleen, and in the end, I did not lie. There are times when rewording truths are so important.

It is an impossibility to lie with "integrity & honor" as Bill says. They are incompatible. Lying is wrong -- always has been, always will be -- regardless of the fact that some people consider it okay. Your belief that lying is right, good, and necessary isn't the standard against which we are to base our evaluation. God's Word says that lying is wrong; we are sinning against Him when we lie. Children don't have to be lied to. If something is inappropriate for them to know, then you tell them so. Parents who feel they have to lie to their children are simply lazy, not wanting to put the work in that raising their children correctly requires. And, remember that children learn what they live. If they live with a lying parent, they become liars themselves.

Our daughter (firstborn) had an aversion to people dressed in costume or life-sized cartoon characters. She would go nearly hysterical at the sight of a santa in the mall, or Geoffrey the Giraffe at an opening of a new 'Toys R Us'. We explained to her that Santa was a very nice man who lived a long, long time ago and he gave presents to children. He was such a nice man that even today people dress up like him to help grown-ups buy nice gifts for children during the holidays. A couple of weeks later, I was in the check-out line at the grocery when an elderly woman behind me asked my daughter if, "Santa was going to bring her nice presents this year?" My daughter (3 1/2 years), replied, "No, Santa is dead!" The woman looked at me as though I were the devil!!!!
On the other hand, I am a lifelong animal lover and now wildlife control operator. My children were quite precocious (as I was) and wanted to know very young how I could tell whether a baby animal was male or female. Like my father told me, I told them that, "I look at the bottoms of their feet." They figured it out when they were about 12 years old.

We lie to kids all the time when Santa comes to town!

Easter Bunny too.

It's life. At least they will get used to it so they won't be so shocked when they are lied to as adults.

Not all of us lie to our children about such things. Christmas, Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny and the fat puffy guy with bow-n-arrows are among many distortions I refused to lie or omit about. Mothers and Fathers Day are included ... No, I have no particular religious affiliation, just not my thing and sensibly so.

What one might discover about the origin and history of so many of these event days might be enough shock to cause some to stop perpetuating it. Meanwhile, "Capitalism" and religious organizations surly appreciate those that "buy-in" to it and allow it to posses your souls.

sometimes what it all boils down to is explaining things to children in ways that they can understand.

A lot of people lie to take the easy way out, I think.  Unfortunately it backfires sometimes.  It might take more time to explain things to children in a way they can understand but it pays off in the long run.

My mom has had epilepsy since before I was born.  I witnessed her have a seizure when I was 3 or 4.   I was terrified but my dad never lied to me.  He told me that my mom was really sick and had to go to the hospital.  I dont remember the exact wording he used but somehow he explained to me, in a way that my brain could grasp at that point, what happened and what I should do if it happened again.  I was scared, sure, but it paid off. 

My parents were always honest with me and in return, even in my wildest teenage years, i was honest with them.