Over 40 Parents Share The Biggest Secret They're Keeping From Their Kids

Parenting is hard—there is no manual for it. At times, parents have to hide the truth from their kids with the intention to guard them. At other instances, they do it to save themselves. They aren't always open about everything, but that's a part of their job as parents. From bagging a lottery win to concealing infidelity incidents, these parents have used Reddit as a platform to unload the most shocking secrets they're keeping from their kids. It's hard to believe the types of secrets they've managed to keep under wraps!

"My father was unfaithful to my mom while she was battling cancer treatments. My mom decided to divorce him, and he responded with go and take the kids. Each Valentine’s Day, I would get flowers seemingly from my dad, and it made me so joyful. My mom would share in my joy and cheer along with me. I would always call him to express my gratitude. But, he was never the one sending me those Valentine’s Day flowers. It turns out my mom was the one behind the lovely gesture all those years. Even with gifts for birthdays and presents for Christmas, it was the same story. They never really came from him; instead, my mom would simply pen his name on them with handwriting that looked a lot like his. She even put his name as the return sender on mail we received. My mom truly played both roles, earning the title of a superwoman single parent.

As an adoptive parent to three wonderful children, two of them are both siblings and cousins by birth. About a year after the adoption process, I was surprised to learn that the biological parents of my kids are half siblings, sharing the same father. This information became known to the biological parents after the birth of their first child, despite this, they chose to have another. Right now, the children are 16 and 13 years old and they have absolutely no idea that they were born from an incestuous relationship. Tragically, their biological granddad has just passed away. As a result, there's a very good chance that a huge secret could be unveiled very soon.

"From the account of U/idontknowanything469: "There's plenty that I've kept hidden. I was involved in secretive work for about 10 years, came from a home where abuse was common, and lived a fast-paced life. I was part of the club culture in NYC and Montreal. I also experienced abduction and was taken across borders to a foreign country." "It's funny… to everyone, I'm just a mundane mom working as an accountant. Nobody has any inkling about the experiences I've had. It's surprising what your own children remain unaware about you."

As the daughter who is now 48 years old, I grew up with a massive lie that my dad and the whole clan - my grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and even my stepmom - unwaveringly upheld. The lie was about my mother's demise, which was not a result of her being bad, or on drugs, nor was she abusive or had a criminal record. They falsely claimed she was dead throughout my growing years for reasons unknown to me. They had a big fight one night, and she went to stay at a friend's house, without me, so he decided that she was never going to be a part of my life again. That's it. He just cancelled her out of my life. Then, on my 18th birthday, she rang our home and wanted to talk to me. That's when I really learned the truth."