We understand this concept effortlessly when it comes to adoption. Maybe we should apply that same understanding more broadly. 🤔
(Credit to Yuvaltheterrible on tiktok)

At the same time, someone can do everything a parent does and still choose not to identify as one—like an aunt raising her sibling’s child who still calls herself an aunt, not a mother.

It would be incredibly rude to tell an adoptive parent, "You’re not their real parent, right?" They already know their relationship to their child. You’re not informing them—you’re just being a jerk.

imagine how weird it would be if they introduced themselves at a parent-teacher conference by saying, "Just so you know, I'm not their biological parent."

Why? Because parenting is about fulfilling the roles and responsibilities of raising a child, not just biology. We don’t expect adoptive parents to constantly clarify their status—