“Having A Baby When I Was 15”: Painful, Awkward, And Uncomfortable Things People Had To Explain

Working as a case worker, having to explain to a little seven year old girl in foster care her adoptive family changed their minds. Family didn’t even show up for the conversation. She had been living with them already. I hugged her as she just cried.

She found her forever family a year later, so there was a happy ending for her.

My son's never had a biological grandfather. My dad passed 6 years before my first kid was born, and my wife's dad just wasn't even that interested in them.

My friends dad, we called him Papa, was amazing. They loved him so much, and he them. Last year he passed from cancer. I would take them to see him every time I would go to my friend's house, so their relationship was deep and pretty much my kids entire life.

He went into the hospital, and I knew it was not going to end well. I took the boys each day, when they wanted to, and then one day I got the call her passed midday.

My youngest came home from school just as I finished working. He popped his little head into the stairway and very excitedly asked if we could go see Papa.

I tried to make words, but I started crying and my face scrunched up instead. I broke my kids heart, and he backed up and said, "Dad. I want to go see Papa. What's wrong." He knew Papa had cancer and was really sick. He knew without me having to say it, but I had to say it.

Good god, I thought I was going to stop breathing when he said, "But he said, 'See ya later, Stinky,' last time and I want to see him." And I hugged him and we both went to the ground crying.

Definitely the hardest, least comfortable things I've ever told anyone.

I had to tell the love of my life I'm out of treatment options and I I've been given less than twelve months by my oncologist.

I had to tell my ALL of my extended family (grandparents, aunts, uncles,cousins, my own children) that they needed to get to the hospital because I was going to have my mother removed from life support.
Mom made me agree, as soon as I was old enough to understand, that I wouldn't allow her to be placed on life support of any kind. She was a nurse, and she had strong feelings about prolonging suffering.
The religious hospital she was in after gallbladder surgery had placed her on life support in the night even though they absolutely had her advanced directive on file.
My family just didn't understand that she was very clear on this. A few of them were quite upset with me but I promised her.
It's been 24 years, and I still wonder, "What if?" but I am comforted that I did what she wanted.

When my mom first got Instagram I explained what hashtags were. A bit later she mentioned that she had been followed by several men she didn't know who had women's feet as their profile pictures.

I went and looked on her profile and she had posted a picture of her feet in a foot bath and hashtagged "footbath" and "tiredfeet"

I had to explain foot fetishes to my mom.

I had to explain to an overenthusiastic new dad who was telling everyone that having kids is the best thing in the world (and who had been pestering me several times about why I didn't have children) that SOMETIMES people CAN'T have children and he needs to take the polite hints.

I had to explain to my cousin that my father had not died of his brain cancer, but the Covid that she gave him when she visited him.

I was tutoring an 8yo that I’d only known for a few weeks. He asked me what puberty means. I carefully explained, keeping in mind that his 4yo sister was listening. And he kept asking questions, like my explanation didn’t make sense, because he claimed that it’s a place and that his friend went there yesterday. After a really long, confusing conversation, it turned out he meant library.

I had to explain to my wife, Karen, what a “Karen” was, in reference to the name being brought up on a several news programs in a short time period.

It was like explaining the birds and the bees to your kids.

Her reaction was “I’m going to sue the internet!”.

Explaining personal hygiene to a friend like they might need to shower more often or use deodorant can be super awkward, but sometimes it’s necessary.

Having to tell a good friend of mine that his wife was cheating on him, and showing him the proof. I loathed having to be the one to tell him, but I knew he would want to know.

Called him up about 3 days (I think?) after seeing his wife, with a guy that was not him, being really handsy and making out in a bar. Had taken a couple quick pics and a short video for proof, and called him to come hangout because I had something important I needed to discuss with him. I wanted to tell him in person so I could be there if needed, rather than just over the phone. Went about as well as you’d expect, and he was divorced a couple months later. Thankfully they didn’t have kids yet, and due to the pics and video, she didn’t make off with a lot of his stuff.

Explaining to my Aunt on Christmas Eve that I had had therapy that day and talked to the therapist about her husband making an unwanted sexual advance on my then 12 year old cousin, and explaining that I was unaware that therapists have to do mandatory reporting to law enforcement when something like that happens, and to expect a knock on the door from the cops. I’m glad though - the family rallied around said cousin and doesn’t have anything to do anymore with the creepy MAGA uncle.

Telling my mother that there was nothing they could do to help her. Her organs were shutting down and hospice would do what they could to make her comfortable. Her replying, "You mean I'm dying?, was the hardest thing to hear as well.

I had to wake up my father (who had alzheimer's at the time) in the middle of the night and explain to him that my mother had died in her sleep a few feet away.

I work with special needs kids and the parents asked me when their child would "grow out of Downs Syndrome" had to explain that they would not.

I had to tell my parents that my girlfriend was having a baby when I was 15.

I had to explain to every family member, and guest who was invited to our baby shower a few days prior that there would no longer be a baby shower, and that we were no longer expecting a baby. I had to explain to all my co-workers we were no longer expecting a baby with a generic email. After living with the knowledge things weren't going well for the previous 10 weeks but not knowing _what_ was wrong or whether the baby would be lost or not.

Volunteering at a library comicon event and my mom was wondering what all the wolves were from… Furries Mom. They were furries.

That my 9 year old 4th grade student wasn't bleeding to death or hurt. She's just started her period. I stayed with her in the nurse's office because she wanted me there for comfort until her grandma could pick her up, and the library assistant covered my class.

Then I had an even worse conversation when Grandma got there because I had robbed her of having the "womanhood" talk with her granddaughter.

Had to tell my dad that my mother, his wife of 57 years had died two weeks previously - my dad had brain surgery and the doctors told me the shock would [end] him if he knew straight away. I basically had to lie to him whenever he asked how my mum was.