Patrice Deboer, mother of three, came face to face with her children's questions about President Clinton, his wife, his affair and his lies. So she did what other parents found themselves doing last week: she told some lies of her own.
"It's sort of like Santa Claus," she said. "I've never wanted to lie to my kids, but then you've got certain things where you have to."
Daniel (9) asked about the cigar, and she said: "I have no idea. I don't know anything about that."
Her children asked what oral sex was, and she explained that Mr Clinton apparently was dating someone else, even though he was married to Mrs Clinton. Then they wanted to know why Mrs Clinton was staying with him.
Instead of saying, "Because she's an idiot," she softened her opinion considerably, and said: "She's sticking by him until the truth comes out, and then she probably won't stay with him."
Some parents say President Clinton's troubles have given them fodder for frank discussions with their children. Therapists say parents should let children lead the conversations, prompting them to say what they know and what they want to know.
Many parents say they are turning difficult moments into teaching opportunities. The President lied, and it came back to haunt him - that's what happens when you tell a lie. The President has asked us to forgive him, so we must try to do that, and move on. Everyone makes mistakes, even the leader of our country.
And in religious families, the biblical admonition, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone", is part of living-room and kitchentable conversations.
In Riverdale, Maryland Novella Sargusingh said that to her two school-age children, but not without also driving home the lessons. She talked to them about choosing friends and spouses carefully, pointing out that Linda R. Tripp was a bad choice for Monica S. Lewinsky, as was Bill Clinton for Hillary Rodham Clinton.