I always give an answer that "satisfies" the asker...no more and no less!

Example: 12 y/o asks about one night stand...I answer: You meet a person and go on a date. You thought you would like that person for a while, but you find out during the date that you both aren't really as interested in one another as you had hoped. You don't see that person anymore.

Example: 5 y/o asks where babies come from...I answer: Babies grow in a mommy's belly, from a seed that the daddy gives her.

It's been said that the age appropriate answer is always best...and to keep it short and truthful. The least amount of information you can give will suffice till the next question crops up. This next question could happen immediately, or they could come back to you in a month or more from then. To most children below the age of 7 (in this day and age), the questions are just curiousity from something they might have overheard from the adults around them. A short, truthful, age appropiate answer is usually enough to satisfy them. This also gives you time to gear up for what you know will follow soon.

For children over the age of 7 (a little wiser age group), talking more on their level will quell their curiousity or, at the least, let them know you can be trusted to speak the truth and they can bring further inquiry to you. If you are uncomfortable in answering the question of a child other than your own, you should thank them for trusting you, but that they should ask their parents for the answer they seek. If the child feels he/she can't go their parent, then you should try to answer in the most honest way possible without going into full blown detail. Then tell them that if they need to know more on the topic, that you can help them ask their parents. This lets the parents know what the child is curious about and it helps the child with a sense of security for having you there.

Try and remember when you were their age! That's the best advice there is! If, when you were their age, you got a false answer from someone you trusted...did you trust them ever again when you found out the truth?

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Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~