Kids are naturally curious, and sometimes honesty is the simplest way to answer their questions.

So when one young woman gently explained her disability to her boyfriend’s young niece, it sparked unexpected backlash from the child’s overprotective mother.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA for telling a child about my disability?

I (20F) have a hidden disability.

My boyfriend and I are babysitting his niece “Joanna” (5F) next week, and she asked to go ice skating.

She decided to be as honest as she could with her boyfriend’s niece.

I have no problem going to the rink and sitting on the sidelines, but it’s not safe for me to skate because of my condition.

I explained to Joanna that I’ll be there, but “the muscles in my ankles don’t work the way they’re supposed to”—so I’ll have to sit and watch.

The child’s mother had some strong opinions, though.

Joanna was fine with that, but her mother was not impressed that I told Joanna about my disability.

She says that a child that young doesn’t need to be concerning themselves with such scary things, and that next time I need to keep it to myself.

AITA for telling my boyfriend’s niece about my disability?

This child didn’t appear to need shielding from the truth. Her mother, on the other hand…

What did Reddit think?

If this mother thinks her explanation was too scary, then she hasn’t seen true horror.

Her explanation wasn’t only just okay — it was beneficial to the child’s development.

She did a very good job of speaking to this child at her level.

This commenter also doesn’t see anything wrong with her explanation.

If the child’s mother had a problem with that, then that’s on her.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.