Growing up with siblings is a blessing. Even if there’s a large age gap between you and your brothers or sisters, it’s nice to have built-in friends to celebrate the holidays with. (And someone to make eye contact with across the dinner table when Mom makes a questionable remark.)

But one teen’s life was turned upside down when it was revealed that the woman he had always known as his older sister was actually his biological mother all along. Below, you’ll find all of the details that he posted on the Relationship Advice subreddit, as well as some of the replies concerned readers shared.

This teen was raised believing that he had a sister who was 18 years older than him

Image credits: DragonImages (not the actual image)

But his life was turned upside down when it was finally revealed that she was his biological mother all along

Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual image)

Image credits: Prostock-studio (not the actual image)

Image credits: ThrowRA_lost1

Readers were shocked by the story and shared messages of support for the teen

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Later, he posted an update on the situation and explained what his family plans to do next

Image credits: SHVETS production (not the actual image)

Image credits: ThrowRA_lost1

Keeping family secrets is a dangerous game

Regardless of what your parents tell you, almost no family is an open book. We all have secrets of our own, and your family is likely no exception. According to MentalHealth.net, there are a wide variety of reasons why families might hold onto secrets, but shame often plays a part. This might cause parents to hide the truth about a divorce, mental illness, rape or abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, adoption, addiction or alcoholism, job loss, affairs, homosexuality, gambling and more.

But no matter how harmless these secrets might seem at the time, they’re capable of doing a world of damage if they’re revealed. PsychCentral notes that keeping family secrets is a dangerous game because they often have the power to destroy relationships. It’s not fair for one party to have information that could blow up another family member’s life at any moment. 

These secrets can often affect our children’s lives as well. Kids are much smarter than they often get credit for, and they’re likely to notice that something is wrong, even if they can’t quite put their finger on what it is. But keeping them in the dark can cause them to blame themselves or start worrying about the worst case scenario.

Secrets also have the power to create a false sense of reality, PsychCentral explains. If you lie about something for long enough, you might even start to believe it. And it can be even more dangerous when these lies are passed down from generation to generation. It can be extremely jarring when the truth finally comes out after decades of relatives being sold a lie.

Kids deserve to know the truth about where they came from

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In fact, heavy secrets can even cause illnesses. Holding onto a secret can be a massive burden, especially when it forces you to lie to loved ones about the truth. Keeping your emotions bottled up is never healthy, and the guilt of clinging onto family secrets can cause physical symptoms such as headaches, backaches, digestive issues or even lead people to turn to unhealthy methods of self-medicating.

Now, it can be especially challenging to know how honest we should be with children, as there are some topics that might not be appropriate or necessary for them to know about until they’re slightly older. But if you address difficult subjects with gentleness, your children will probably be better off for being included in the conversation.

One 2022 study even found that discussing heavy topics like traumatic events with kids actually helps them build resilience, community engagement, quality relationships and overall life satisfaction.

Honesty is also the best policy when it comes to parenting because you’re constantly setting an example for your children, whether you like it or not. Demonstrating healthy communication and telling the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable, is a great habit to show your kids. Just remember to use age-appropriate language when having discussions with your little ones. Kindergarteners might not need all of the details, but you can certainly use more nuance when talking with teens.

It’s best to inform children that they were adopted at a young age

And when it comes to addressing adoption with children, Choosing Therapy notes that all of us have a right to know where we came from. Kids deserve to be aware that they’re adopted, as it helps them understand their identity, allows them the chance to process emotions about their adoption, helps them understand their genetic history and builds trust with their adoptive parents.

If the adoption is kept a secret and slips out or is revealed later down the line, it can shatter a person’s sense of self and ruin their relationship with their parents.

As far as the best time to inform a child that they’re adopted, Choosing Therapy says age four or five is ideal. At this age, kids might be old enough to understand what adoption means, but they probably won’t fully grasp the concept until later.

It’s wise to open up the door to conversations and allow them to process and come to their parents with questions that arise. This is a topic that always requires more than one conversation, but in the case of this story on Reddit, it likely started many more.

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We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. What would you do if you were in this teen’s shoes? Feel free to share, and then if you’re interested in reading another Bored Panda article discussing adoption drama, look no further than right here.  

Readers continued to share support for the teen

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