Atticus is a moral example and straight-shooter with his children. Being a lawyer and state legislator, Atticus has likely seen the ugliest of people's treatment of each other while living in a position to help develop the most ideal circumstances for the people he serves.
He speaks to his children and deals with them almost as if they were adults. For example, pg. 6 refers to his 'courteous detachment' of them.
He also gives Scout a straight answer when she asks about rape as if he were talking to an adult. This relationship is exemplified in Chapter 9 as Atticus tells Uncle Jack:
When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness' sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion quicker than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em.
He gives his children credit for the intelligence they have instead of treating them like most people do with children, that they are lesser. This philosophy leads him to take Tom Robinson's case because it is the right thing to do and he admits to his children he knows they are watching him. Maudie comments on Atticus' moral character regularly in an effort to teach the children about this rare phenomenon found in their father.
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