A new employee is having trouble filling out his/her W-4.  They come to you and explain that they are married but separated and have three children under the age of 10 but they do not know if they will be claiming all three children on their tax return.  

They mention that a friend of theirs told them that they should just claim "exempt" and not worry about filing out all of the confusing parts of the W-4.  How would you handle this situation?