All parents keep some secrets from their children.
Most of the time, these secrets are relatively innocent, such as the truth about Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy.
However, there are some parents who have withheld some rather shocking information from their children.
Secrets which they hope will never reach their children's ears, for fear it may send them straight to a therapist's couch.
Something which no doubt has happened to many of the parents holding on to these secrets.
Redditor thatdude595 was curious to learn the most jaw-dropping secrets parents are keeping, or made every effort to keep, from their children, leading them to ask:
"Parents of Reddit, what is most f*cked up secret you are hiding from your children?"
Deep Down, She Must Know...
"My daughter was conceived at work, on airport property, in the back of a f**king Ford Focus, while we were waiting for a medflight to land."
"She knows nothing about this but tells me she wants to be a pilot when she grows up."- Thr33wolfmoon
Extended Family...
"I’m the child of a parent that hid something horrible until I was 27."
"One day when my parents has a domestic dispute, my dad called me just to 'get back at my mom'."
" He said, 'do you want to know something about your whore mother?'"
"'She slept with over 30 guys during our first two years of marriage!'"
"I just sat down and started stuttering."
"He said 'you know how people have always said you looked different than the rest of the kids?'"
" I said, 'yeah'."
"'That’s because I’m not your dad'."
"'Your mom slept with my best friend and you were conceived'."
"Another thing!'"
"'Your brother, 'the one just younger than me, I’m the oldest, belongs to my brother!'"
"My mom just bawled in the background without denying it."
"I just laughed."
"And then I went into two years of therapy."- helenkellerhere
Hiding His True Character
"My dad cheated on my mother while she was going through cancer treatments."
"My mother asked for a divorce, he said go and take the kids."
"Every Valentine’s Day I would receive flowers from my dad and get so happy."
"My mom would smile and nod and get excited with me."
"I would call him and thank him."
"He never sent me flowers."
"It was my mom all the years."
"Same thing with birthday cards and Christmas gifts from him."
"They were never from him, my mom just put his name on them in similar handwriting."
"Went as far as writing return addresses on mail too."
"My mom was a superhero of a single parent."- elsaanddonutss
For Love Or Money
"It was a secret until recently my mom told me."
"When she and my dad got divorced, things were very, very messy, and my dad would do sh*tty things to dodge paying for my care."
"He ended up owing my mom a couple thousand dollars, and my mom was ready to sue."
"But instead of getting the lawyers involved, and because she knew my dad was not a healthy person to be in my life, she offered him a deal."
"Keep the money, but relinquish custody officially."
"I'd still get to see him if and when I wanted, but he would give up all legal rights as a guardian."
"Because he hated paying my mom THAT MUCH, he took 2k over me."
"Not a life-changing earth shattering secret, it's just revealing to know my dad values money more than me."
"Before anybody casts judgement on my mom, my dad was, and probably is, a piece of human garbage, so I'm 1000% fine with my mom's decision."
"She's my favorite person in the world and every single day I am so lucky to have her in my life."- effervescenthoopla
Not Their Father's Son...
"My father found out when he was in his 40’s that his father was not his biological father."
"His mother, my grandmother, literally cheated on her husband with the milk man."- merrymordor
As the saying goes, "ignorance is bliss."
In all liklihood, most of these children will be, or would have been, perfectly happy never knowing some of these secrets.
That being said, and sadly for them, almost all secrets have a way of getting out.
Leaving one to wonder if it might be in the best interest for the parents keeping these secrets to ensure that their children hear it from them, and not from someone else.