Atticus, the father of Scout and Jem who are the two main characters in To Kill a Mockingbird, is the epitome of morality. His conscience and ethics are like his manners and way of clothing: immaculate, upright, unfaltering. He has earned the respect of his children by giving it to them. He treats them lie reasonable member of the society with the ability to understand and judge rather than like silly children who know nothing. He does not lie to them and tells them the truth even if it is hard to bear, but then he also tries to explain why things are so.When Scout inquires from Atticus if they are poor he truthfully tells her that they are, though not as much as the Cunninghams. He doe not lie to make Scout feel better or live in fantasy world.
Atticus also gives his children space as attested by Scout when she says, "i found our father satisfactory: he played with us, read to us, and treated us with kind detachment."Atticus gives his children freedom. He let's them make their own judgments and choose their own friends as he wants them to develop their individual personalities. He guides them throughout but respects their privacy. He lets them come to him when they are troubled rather than he constanly interfering in their affairs.
Atticus is a caring father and is very attentive to his children. If they have a problem, he gives it importance and tries to solve it. If his children do not particularly like his decisions, he reasons with them patiently, listening to their point of view, until they understand. For example when Scout returns from the first day of school, Atticus senses that something is wrong. Instead of ignoring a little girl's trivial "mood swing", he gently pursues the matter and tries to convince her of the importance of attending school. He tells why the Ewells were exempted from attending school and showed her she was different from them.
Then, regarding Miss Caroline, Atticus does not criticize her just to take Scout's side (which...