There are many ways in which society puts parents on a pedestal, and in many ways, this is well deserved. There can be little to no doubt that parents do and sacrifice an awful lot for their kids, which in turn greatly benefits society. With that being said, it is important that people realize that parents are not perfect, they are just like everyone else. They can, and do, make mistakes. And these mistakes can be extremely embarrassing.

This is perhaps particularly true when it comes to events in a parent's past. These events can be pretty embarrassing, to the extent that they do not want anyone, but especially their own children, to find out about them. There are plenty of parents out there who have something they wish to hide from their kids, but these parents may be willing to admit to these things on a forum such as Reddit.

On Reddit, they are free to express themselves without anyone finding out who they really are, especially their kids. It is easy to see how this would be mighty attractive to parents. Here are 15 things that parents have confessed to, and that they hope their kids never ever find out about.

15 His Son Had Cancer

When it comes to parents not wanting their kids to find something out, not everything is a mistake. Sometimes it can be an experience that the parent feels portrays them in a moment of weakness. This first Reddit confession is from a parent whose young son had stage 4 cancer. But don’t worry, it has a happy ending!

The user Come_along_quietly says, “I’d sleep in his bed crying all night thinking about how I was going to explain to him what death was, and how to explain he was going to die.” That's some heavy stuff. A person cannot help feeling very sorry for this parent, an understanding why he hopes his son never finds out that his parent thought he was going to die. Luckily this boy did not end up dying of his cancer, for those that might have been wondering which is excellent news indeed!

14 That He Is Not Superman

It is not hard to understand that many parents want their kids to see them in a great light. They may even want their kids to see them as heroes. But not everyone can be Superman. This next Reddit confession deals with a father who simply claims he hopes his kids never find out that he is not Superman because they still think he is.

This is a very sweet thing to say, but it is also sad. This dad might wish that his kids never find out that he is not Superman, but they definitely will at some point. This is the one thing that a parent simply cannot hide forever - all children grow up and realize that their parents are just as flawed as they are. All kids learn the truth about their parents, that they cannot fly no matter how much they might have believed it.

13 That She Didn't Finish High School

A big reason that these parents do not want their kids to find out what they did in their past is that they do not want them to make the same mistakes. In the next Reddit confession, the parent making it expresses that very concern. She talks about how she dropped out high school and got her GED. She does not want her daughter to do the same.

The user going by MamaJillianLeanna says, “I want her to graduate, not one day say to me, ‘Well you dropped out, why can't I.’” It is hard not to sympathize with this mom. It is only natural that a parent wants their kid to have a better life. This parent is no different. Hopefully, her kid will not find it too hard to actually complete high school instead of getting their GED.

12 How Much More Money He Makes

It is traditional that the man of the house is the big breadwinner in the family. That is not always the case, however. Who makes the most money can be a contentious issue for some families. This is the case for this next Reddit confession which deals with education and financial security.

The user Brewerintexas says he hopes his kids never find out, “that I have no college degree and mommy does - yet I make six figures and mommy couldn't even find a job in her field.” That is not the only confession he made. It turns out he and his wife were both arrested for a DUI. It seems that is actually what they talked about when they first met at a bar. It seems like many parents would like to keep how they met a secret from their kids.

11 That He Was Boring

One thing that all the confessions have in common is that they are interesting. However, what if the thing a parent does not want their kids to find out about is not interesting? In fact, that is exactly what this next Reddit user is worried about. He does not want his children to know that he was not interesting, he was boring.

The user Enter_Corgi puts it this way, “[t]hat I was boring AF. I never did anything or have a secret sex life that I'd want to hide. Guess that's something I wouldn't want the kids to know, who wants to be known for being boring.” He makes an interesting and unique point. On the other hand, there are clearly worse things for a kid to find out about a parent. Some kids might even be grateful to have a parent that is boring.

10 What She And Her Boyfriend Did

Of course, not everything that a parent wants to keep their child from finding out about is terribly tragic. Many of these things are more steamy and adult in nature. That is very much the case in this next Reddit confession in which the parent describes substance use involving a very private part of the body. To call this steamy might be putting it rather mildly.

This user deleted her name, and for good reason! She writes, “one time I snorted a line ... off my then boyfriend's [privates].” It is not hard to imagine why she would not want her kids to know about that! There is nothing in that sentence that just about anyone would want anyone else to know, let alone their kids. She even remarks that she cannot believe she posted it on Reddit, despite it being anonymous.

9 That He Has No Idea What He Is Doing

Kids might assume that their parents have it all figured out. They may also assume that their parents are a long way away from being children themselves. The thing is, those assumptions could not be further from the truth. This last Reddit confession, dealing with self-esteem and maturity, proves this.

This confession deals with a parent who flat out claims he has no idea what he is doing. He also says that he is essentially just like his kids, only a few decades older. He still does not like the dark, going to the dentist, and he is late all the time. It is not hard to understand why he does not what his kids to know all that. However, his kids will eventually figure this out that dad is not that different from them on their own. And just like everyone else, they’ll definitely be shocked at first.

8 That He Overdid It

Depending on their point-of-view, some people might find the last Reddit confession to be somewhat light-hearted or even comical. Of course, things with illicit substances are seldom light and comical. Their use can often be deadly serious. This next Reddit confession, from a dad who overdosed at home, proves that.

Mikes_friend_Tyler talks about a night when he was locked in his bathroom and his young daughter thought he was just being silly. He explains, “in reality I had overdosed ... and if you hadn't told mommy when you did, the paramedics wouldn't have gotten to me in time.” So basically the guy’s daughter saved his life and she does not even know it. This sounds like one confession that a child actually should find out about one day, she would probably be grateful that she was there to help her dad.

7 That His Father Was Indicted

Not everything that involves physical intimacy is a crazy, personal experience. Somethings are just plain disturbing and illegal. This next Reddit confession is very much the latter. One needs only to take a look at Reddit user RinKiwa saying, “[m]y father was indicted for [explicit content] yesterday,” to know that this confession is out of the ordinary. It is no wonder that this person does not want his kids to find out about it, he probably wishes he did not know about it either.

What is more troubling is that he seems to claim that he has also been charged with possessing [explicit content]. It seems like there is something very disturbing that is going on with this family. It actually makes a person concerned for the kids in this family. This is one confession that the kids definitely should know about.

6 About His Godmother

It may come as a surprise to no one that a fair amount of what parents confess to not wanting their kids to find out has to do with what goes on between the sheets. As exemplified in this next confession about a particular adult activity. According to _throwaway8157 he does not want his kids to know that he has, “had more than one threesome with their mother and godmother.” No parent wants to talk about this part of their personal life with their kids.

It is embarrassing enough when kids first realize their parents are physically intimate. Once someone throws the kid’s godmother into the mix, it becomes pretty clear why this parent wants to keep these experiences a secret. On the other hand, at least the kid's parents and godmother were pretty close if even a bit too close. It’s no wonder this woman was chosen to be a godparent.

5 Everything He Did As A Young Adult

One thing many of these confessions have in common is that they deal with events from the parents' youth. This next confession concerns events from high school and college. Which makes sense, these kids will be in school one day and these parents wouldn’t want to give their kids any ideas! Reddit user Ronswanson4potus claims he does not want his kids to know anything he did while in high school and college.

Specifically he mentions, “the time I vomited everywhere at a house party, was taken into the bathroom and cleaned up by the girl hosting, then had her leave so I could take a shit, then asked her to come wipe ... for me.” This is pretty darn embarrassing and gross! It is not hard to understand why this dad doesn’t want his children to find out about this behavior. Children look to their parents to set an example and this behavior should never be condoned.

4 What She Use To Do For Living

It might be hard for some kids to imagine, but their parents did have entire lives before they ever had kids. This is largely what a lot of these confessions are about. However, not every embarrassing thing that was done by parents in their youth was done for kicks. Some of it was done for money.

Take, for example, the woman in this next Reddit confession. The thing she hopes her kids never find out about is that she worked as an erotic dancer in her 20s. It has never been the most respected job and is something no parent wants their kid to do. So it is no wonder this mother hopes her kids never find out about her past. It is possible that she had no choice but to dance, in which case she should not feel ashamed about it since she was just doing what she had to do.

3 Their Mom's Preferences

When it comes to parenting, one of the most controversial issues is spanking. Some people think it is a necessary disciplinary tool and others think it is considered physical harm of the child. The next Reddit confession actually deals with spanking. However, it does not deal with a parent spanking a child.

This parent hopes that his kids never find out that he spanks their mom all the time. It is not entirely clear, but it is pretty safe to assume the spanking that goes on is not some kind of punishment. It probably has a lot to do with pleasure. This is the kind of activity a parent would most definitely not want their kid to know about. And no child ever wants to know what their parents are like, or what turns them on in the bedroom. How embarrassing for everyone!

2 The Thing That He Did

Some parents are likely to have engaged in sordid acts at one point or another. Sometimes they do things that may even defy description or belief. This next Reddit confession is just that. The user going by Avoidableboat67 certainly makes an interesting confession involving a certain kind of dancer.

He states, “in college I taped a [toy] to my head and ‘unicorned’ a stripper on my birthday right alongside my best friend doing the same thing to another [dancer].” Well that is certainly different! It is a fair bet that many people did not even realize that was a thing. It does make a person unable to look at unicorns in the same way. Hopefully, his children are not big fans of unicorns, because if they are and they find out what their dad did they may never look at a unicorn the same.

1 How She Met Their Dad

At some point, all children will find out how their parents met. However, for the woman in the next Reddit confession that is exactly the issue. The user going by Ocmitch claims she doesn’t want her kid to know, “[t]hat I met her father on a BDSM dating site and that we normally don't [roll around in the sheets] without some sort of roughness or kink.” That is not exactly something you want to tell a child when they ask how mom and dad met.

That is to say nothing of the fact that it reveals a lot about their personal intimate life. It is only natural that a parent does not want her kids to find out just how kinky his mom and dad are. One can only hope the kids never look in the “drawer of fun.” These kids may never be the same.

Sources: Reddit