lwb,
All that you said is so true. It's really hard to walk that line of being honest but staying away from spiteful and or vindictive, etc.
I feel the truth, even at their ages, needs to be addressed, not glossed over or skirted around. I'd think that that gets into the world of denial, and denial I feel, is part of why we're where we're at. I guess it's part of breaking that pattern intelling them.
Bob