Everyone has secrets, including (maybe especially) parents. But how many parents are keeping life ruining secrets of their children close to heart?
The parents of Reddit recently came together to share the secrets that could potentially ruin their kid's lives. A little white lie here and there is one thing, but some of these stories are incredibly dark. They'd change the entire course of a child's life if they ever found out, and while it's difficult to determine when exactly is the right time to reveal the truth, some of these stories will have serious consequences no matter what.
All I can say is I wouldn't want to be around when these kids found out what their parents have been keeping from them.
Keep reading to find out what skeletons these parents have in their closets. Maybe you have something in common with these moms and dads and have a major secret you're keeping!
Don't forget to check the comment section below the article for more interesting stories!
#26 Nine Year Old Doesn't Understand His Biggest Secret
My nine-year-old son just doesn't understand the implications of his cystic fibrosis, which is that his life will be shorter and he'll never father children. One day I have to explain this to him, and his younger sister.
Honestly, sometimes it's harder for me to cope with than anything else. My daughter probably won't have her big brother around when she's older.
Photo by Emma Goldsmith on Unsplash
#25 Daughter Doesn't Realize Her Life Has Been A Lie
My daughter had an identical twin who didn't survive, and the man she knows as her father is not her father.
I was in an abusive relationship and the biological father decided he would rather us both be dead if I didn't want to be with him so he started driving into oncoming traffic. I reacted by fleeing the vehicle at 45 mph because I saw a cop car parked a block away. I opened the door, grabbed my knees, tucked my head, rolled out, and ended up really bruised and sore. I ended up ending the life of one of the babies. But I made it the police and never saw him again.
#24 Dad's Keeping A Big Secret
When my sister was a baby my mother tried to give her away because she didn't want her. My dad found out and got her back from the woman. She is 21 now and still doesn't know.
#23 Memories Can Be Misleading
My adopted kids came from a couple of substance addicts. Even though they all remember their birth mom and dad fondly, they have no idea how horrible they really were and how much they put the kids lives in danger. I'm not sure if I can ever tell them that.
#22 Kid Becomes A Seafood Chef At An Early Age
My mother decided to wait until I was 20 years old to tell me about the time I cooked my pet goldfish in my easy bake oven because I wanted to make them seafood. We were in a store and I noticed they were selling easy bake ovens and I commented about how those things were still around and how I kind of remembered having one when I was a kid… and she proceeded to tell me the reason why they took it.
#21 Son Finds Self Expression In Moms Closet
My teenage football star son will occasionally put on my wife's dresses and hang around the house. He acts like he is being funny but he does it for hours. We noticed recently that he also does it sometimes when no one is home (dresses re-arranged, not put on hangers perfectly). So he's a masculine, cross-dressing football player.
#20 Dad's Love Has No Boundaries
My youngest daughter probably isn't mine. I love her just the same.
#19 Sometimes The Truth Can Be Too Hard To Face
My child will probably (50% chance) get cancer due to a genetic defect (BRCA2). I will obviously tell them when they are old enough to understand what that means and how to keep it in check.
#18 Sometimes An Emergency Run To The Pet Store Is Necessary
Not sure if it would ruin her, but I once ended the life of my daughter's hamster. She was at her grandma's house overnight and I decided to air out her room while she was gone. I opened her window, but forgot to close it, unfortunately (this was during a Canadian winter) I replaced the hamster just in time so she never noticed, but I still feel bad about it years later.
#17 Hugs Are Great, Just Don't Forget To Let Go
My fiancee's daughter (6 years old) hugged a kitten to death when she was 2. We'll not be telling her about that for a very very long time.
#16 Did Someone Say Apples?
My 10-year-old daughter was sleepwalking and I watched her open the fridge, open the crisper drawer, squat over it and proceed to pee. She's 13 now, and her siblings still pick on her about it. "WHY ARE THESE APPLES SO SALTY?"
#15 Last Minute Decisions Can Save Lives
Something I will probably never tell my daughter: her father wanted me to end the pregnancy. I almost did. I changed my mind a few minutes before the procedure. Her dad didn't want anything to do with her for the first few years of her life. Now, he and I share custody and he's a great dad. But if she ever found out that her father didn't want her and that's why he wasn't around in the beginning, it would devastate her. So, it's something her father and I promised to keep to ourselves.
#14 Trauma Can Last A Lifetime
An ex was abused by a neighbor (female). The neighbor also sexually abused her own son, making my ex and him do things to each other. My ex was about two at the time.
The neighbor was caught and went to jail. Her parents kept it a secret from her, hoping she was too young to remember. She exhibited all the signs of trauma but had no memory of the actual incident. Since her emotional problems were evident, they decided to disclose the truth and work from there. She didn't find out until she was 16 though.
#13 At least They Won't Have To Worry About That
My son has a ciliary condition that might affect his ability to have children. That'll be bad for him when he's old enough to want a family. I don't dare tell him too soon (he's only 4 now), because I don't want him going through high school/college thinking he can't get a girl pregnant.
#12 Is This Secret Really A Secret?
My husband and I have told our daughter that she was born with a tail. If you ask her what happened to it, she'll say "We had to cut it off when I was born because it wouldn't fit in my pants." She honestly believes us, which might make us terrible parents, but I think it's pretty hilarious.
We will tell her that she wasn't actually born with a tail before she starts school.
Other than that, 4-year-olds don't have many secrets.
YouTube
#11 Daddy Isn't Always The Bad Guy
I'm actually a stepmom to two wonderful kids.
Something I will never tell them is that their biological mom told me that she had the second kid because she "didn't get enough child support with only one kid." Nor will I let them know that she hated them so much that she refused to see the kids for over 2 years.
They were 1, 5, and 2.5 years old when she left.
#10 Appearances Aren't What Is Important
My child was born with breasts that lactated. He's big now and always had extra fat cells there. He is really self-conscious about it and I have always kept that piece of information from him. Unfortunately, we live in such an appearance-important culture. I try to teach him what being a quality human being is and his value is more than the superficial.
#9 Way To Go, Dad
My kids' dad only met them one time between the time they were born and 3 years old. Even then, when he filed for custody, he told me his reason was he "wanted to see what he had been paying for." (Child support).
He also met up with me when they were one month old to try to convince me to give them up for adoption.
He is a terrible part of their lives now and they have no recollection of him ever being around. It's hard sometimes to bite my tongue and keep it to myself, but I know it would only hurt them.
#8 Thanks, Grandma
I found out through my grandmother that after my mother gave birth to me, she went through some serious mental depression. So much so that one day she almost dropped me - not even 1 yet - out the 3rd story window. If it wasn't for my father being there and calming my mom down, I probably would not be here today.
#7 Life Ruining Secrets
My firstborn child was adopted by my ex-husband. His biological father had a chance to be apart of his life but disappeared and refused to pay child support. My son is now 8 and we've decided to wait until he's 12 to tell him. I have no idea what I'll say.
#6 Do I Call You Mom Or Auntie?
Not sure if it would ruin his life but I adopted my son from my niece. What I will NEVER tell him is that she twice tried to end her pregnancy with him. I think if he had that knowledge it would cause serious problems.
#5 Gee, Thanks Mom
I would never tell my daughter that the medications I give her for her Crohn's Disease can give her cancer.
#4 Not A Conversation To Look Forward To
My ex-husband gave me a very specific reason for wanting a divorce - he didn't want to be a father. Nearly 10 years later and I'm amazed he has anything to do with our son. My son is the most awesome kid in the world and I would never think to tell him that his dad didn't want him.
#3 I Wouldn't Want To Be There When She Found Out
My aunt had a baby and gave her to her brother. He raised the little girl like his own and she never had any idea. She is 25 and still doesn't know that some of her cousins are actually her brothers and sisters.
#2 Where's The Shame In That?
My son slept with a Barney (the dinosaur) pillow until he was 12 years old. He never went to sleepovers because he couldn't sleep without it.
#1 Where's The Shame In That?
This almost destroyed my life - I almost lost him... I was in the Army and was transporting a soldier to the local emergency room near the base we were deployed to for training.
I was at the end of my first trimester, and despite the nurse-midwife, I was assigned to telling my company commander I really needed to stay in garrison (meaning stay at our home battalion) but they insisted I needed to go to Fort Polk. We were assigned to the rear in the TMC (troop medical clinic) in the field to take care of anyone who was sick.
That day a pilot had gastroenteritis, and needed to be seen by the emergency room doctors... as far as I can recall, they were worried about dehydration. Well, I was bringing the patient in on a stretcher with another medic... I was pretty much just holding his IV fluids... when I suddenly felt what I thought was water running down my legs. It was blood. I was admitted before the poor guy we brought in. The docs were convinced that I lost the baby. I got an ultrasound to confirm it. Lo and behold, my son was still alive! He was/is a strong-willed guy.
I was flown back to my home unit the next day by medical flight, and sad to say, the information at my home unit was mixed up, they all thought I actually miscarried... along with my son's father, who was out-processing (his time in the Army was up), so he wasn't deployed. I was wondering why everyone was avoiding me like the plague until my son's father told me. The commanding officer was reprimanded for doing what she did, I later learned... yes, it was a she.
To this day I feel so lucky but so terrible that I didn't fight harder to stay home and take care of myself/my unborn child. Thank goodness my son is ok, he has no problems at all.
