Talking to young children about serious situations can be incredibly difficult, especially when adults are still trying to process what’s happening themselves.

So, what would you do if a child asked about someone they love who was hospitalized in a coma? Would you tell them the truth in case the person doesn’t wake up? Or would you lie to protect their feelings?

In the following story, an uncle finds himself in this very situation and opts to protect his nephew. Here’s what happened.

AITA for not telling my nephew where my fiancée is?

My(26m) fiancée (25f) is in a coma after a car accident.

When I went over to my nephew’s (6) birthday, he asked, ‘Where’s Auntie Jane?’

My sister (30) asked me not to tell him because she didn’t want him to worry, so I lied.

His parents were not happy that he lied to the boy.

I told him she’s on a trip. Then I gave him the presents she got for him before the accident (a cap and a shirt), and presents from me.

My parents told both my sister and me off, saying, ‘What if she doesn’t wake up?’ That really upset me, but I tried to hide it from my nephew before leaving.

I didn’t want him to see me looking like that on his birthday. It bothers and scares me to know they might be right. I just don’t know how to process and handle this.

AITA?

Yikes! It’s easy to see why they lied. After all, it’s just a young child.

Let’s check out how the people over at Reddit think it should’ve been handled.

This person would tell a very simple version of the truth.

This reader thinks he did the right thing.

For this person, he did right because he did as his sister asked.

Here’s someone who feels like his parents don’t care about him.

That was the right thing to do.

The boy is only six, and it was his birthday, so the timing was all wrong.

If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.