The New York Times addresses the difficult questions that children ask their parents.

How much money do you make? As with any financial question, your first response ought to be, "What made you think of that?"

Your children may not be looking for a number, especially if they're young and have no context for five- or six-digit figures. They may just be worried about running out of money or wondering why you don't live in a mansion. . . .

[The problem with disclosure] is that many younger children will immediately tell someone (or everyone). And the automatic social reflex is often a flash of shame among people who hear the number and make less, Mr. Kessel noted, or arrogance among those who make more. Who truly wants to put others in either situation?

If older children persist with their questioning, try instead to use this as a lesson in budgeting.

I'll give similar advice to all you kids out there. When your parents ask to see your report card, you need to say, "What's it to you?" See, they probably don't know what they're saying. They're probably just confused. Maybe they just want to know that you aren't ditching every day.

The problem is, if you've done really well, they're going to call up all your relatives. And how will that make you feel when Uncle Butch hears you got an A in some punk-ass crap like Civics? He's gonna think you're a wuss. So, instead of answering your parents directly, satisfy their curiosity by saying, "Don't worry, dudes, I ain't on crack."