I grew up with adults crying quite openly in front of me. By basic reaction was embarrassment and discomfort but not overwhelmingly so. I don't really have an issue with other people doing it. I don't think I'd want to do it myself because I would just die of embarrassment. But who knows, situation might dictate otherwise. I've seen adults crying for geniuinely serious reasons and also for pretty daft ones. 

If you're children never see you cry then they learn that crying is something to hide. It's ok if they see you cry sometimes. And then they'll see you dry your eyes and carry on and then learn that it doesn't mean the world is ending.

I only cried once in front of our son when he still was a toddler. I was pregnant with our daughter, which you may know changes everything. Posted about somewhere in the forum. It always depends in the reason of the crying. Going to a funeral is an extreme situation and I don't think I would be able to hide my tears even if I wanted to. Children are very loyal towards their parents. They are interested in why somebody is crying, than they go on with what they were doing before, just as fast as they can change the mood in a very short time. Crying is something that belongs to their life. They try to console, to wipe away moms tears, they care about, but it doesn't seem to be a big issue to them.

Agreed. I grew up in a family where crying was VERY discouraged, and I only saw my mother cry once, when she was watching Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's funeral. I've never seen my father cry, except for the time his voice broke when he was giving my mother's eulogy. I honestly don't know what I'd do if I saw my father cry - the thought terrifies me. Even now, when I cry, there's an undercurrent of shame involved.