I've spent some time over the past few weeks talking to my 10 and 8 year olds about Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth and the all-time home run record.

I told them I thought Babe Ruth was the best of the bunch, and that his accomplishments are much more impressive than the other two. Ruth often hit more home runs in a season than entire teams, something Aaron and Bonds have never done.

I told them that Hank Aaron was a model of consistency who never hit 50 or more home runs in a single season, but was a great hitter who overcame tremendous racial prejudice and numerous death threats to break the record while displaying tremendous class to everyone.

I told them that Barry Bonds has also had a great career, but that it's widely believed he used performance enhancing drugs like steroids to be more effective -- and hit more home runs -- at the end of his career than anyone else.

I told them that Bonds' body has gotten much larger over the years, supposedly from the steroids. I told them that he's consistenly denied using steroids, and that he hasn't been found guilty of violating any of baseball's rules, including its drug policy, so some say despite the evidence that he's innocent until proven guilty.

I told them based on what I've read that I think Bonds has used steroids, which have given him an unfair advantage that's not in the best interest of the game. I told them that many recent players are suspected of using steroids, but that doesn't make it OK for Bonds.

It's interesting that perhaps the recent baseball player my kids know best is Cal Ripken, who was recently inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame for what was one of the most consistently good careers of any player ever.

I told them that while Ripken stands for everything that's good about baseball -- hitting, fielding, playing hard every day, representing the sport well both on and off the field, etc. -- Bonds is far from a role model. His "me first" attitude and surliness make him very hard to like, and the steroid controversy is something that will always be hanging over his head.

I told them that I am already rooting for Alex Rodriguez and others to one day break the record Bonds is likely to set soon.

I told them no sport has a richer history than baseball, and the all-time home run record is arguably the best known record in sport.

I told them I wanted a player I could respect to hold this record, rather than one who fans greet with asterisk signs and boo heartily when Bonds is playing away from San Francisco.

I told them the attention surrounding Bonds is bad for baseball, and that I'm actually hoping Bonds breaks the record soon so we can move on and focus on other things -- like the trading deadline and pennant races.

They didn't have much to say, but I felt better for sharing my perspective on Bonds and underlying message -- that working hard and doing things the right way is better than taking shortcuts.