When your kids ask, do you share the raw truth about how much you make, the cost of family bills or how much money you have saved in the bank? Would doing so help them understand why another plastic toy is a bad idea, or why they should turn out the lights when they leave a room?

Financial expert Suze Orman recommends being open about such matters. Lisa Belkin at the New York Times Motherlode parenting blog, on the other hand, says she doesn't tell, but she doesn't quite know why.

What about you?