From Slate Magazine · Michelle Herman · · 50s
Uncle's Secret Keeping Dilemma
Uncle must decide whether to reveal nephew's confidences to sister.
In brief
Uncle must decide whether to reveal nephew's confidences to sister. Uncle faces conflict between his nephew's trust and his sister's claim of a no-secrets family policy. Originally reported by Slate Magazine.
Uncle's secret-keeping role
Uncle keeps age-appropriate secrets from 12-year-old nephew Matt.
“Matt accidentally killed a ladybug and felt awful about it”
Sister's family policy claim
Sister claims family has no secrets but uncle knows this is untrue.
“Her family does not keep secrets from one another”
Sister's parenting style
Sister runs a tight ship with conservative parenting approach.
“She and her husband run a pretty tight ship at home”
Uncle's dilemma
Uncle must choose between betraying nephew's trust or revealing family's secret policy.
“If I do, then I'm betraying Matt's trust. If I don't, I'm complicit in her delusion”
Expert advice
Expert says Matt's confessions are harmless and uncle should keep secrets.
“The kinds of things Matt has been 'confessing' seem to be quite harmless”
Uncle's decision
Uncle decides to keep Matt's confidences private to maintain trust.
“I don't think telling Clarissa she's living a lie would be productive”
The key point
Uncle faces conflict between his nephew's trust and his sister's claim of a no-secrets family policy.
