Trust is a very important part of friendship. We often tell our friends things that are important to us, trusting that they will not tell anyone else.

It is wonderful to have friends with whom you can share your fears, hopes, and dreams. However, we must be careful. There are some secrets that we must never keep.

Stopping Harm and Violence

If someone tells you they plan to hurt themselves or someone else, you must speak up. Do not keep this a secret.

Depending on the situation, you should immediately tell a parent, a teacher, or a school principal.

For example, I once had a friend tell me he had taken too much medicine because he wanted to hurt himself. I reported this to a school authority. They made sure he got medical help and worked to support him in the future.

The Parent Rule

An important secret you must never keep is anything an adult asks you to hide from your parents.

It does not matter who the adult is. It could be a relative (like an uncle, aunt, cousin, or grandparent), a church leader, a teacher, a preacher, or a principal.

A responsible adult will never say or do anything to you that they would want to hide from your parents.

Don’t Let Fear Silence You

A caring adult will never threaten to hurt you, your parents, or your siblings if you share what happened. Any adult who tells you to keep a secret or threatens you is trying to cover up their own bad behavior. In reality, they are afraid of your parents finding out.

If you tell your parents—and you should—they will protect you and your family. They are equipped to handle the problem.

Please trust your parents rather than someone who tries to scare you. Talk to your parents about this, and you will see that they want to protect you. You are not being a tattle-tale (someone who tells on others just to get them in trouble); you are doing the right thing.