Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Add Upworthy to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

Every adoption story is unique in it's own special way. And for Hannah Robinson of New Brunswick, it was adopting her half-brother T.J. who transformed her from a big sister to 'mom'. Robinson has shared her and T.J.'s endearing story on Instagram, which included an emotional surprise trip to Disney World to surprise him a year after the adoption.

"I adopted my little brother a year ago who had been in foster care almost his whole life, and now we're just healing childhood trauma together," she wrote in the caption.


In the video, Robinson is in the car with T.J. after picking him up from school when she says to him, "You and I are going to the airport right now to go to Disney World." T.J. cannot believe it, and responds, "No we're not." But Robinson doubles down. "Our bags are all packed–we're going straight there!" she says. T.J. lets out a giddy scream, and the video continues with a heartwarming montage of their time there–which included lots of rides, treats, and more.

In an interview with PEOPLE, Robinson shared that she was a 19-year-old college student when T.J. was born in 2017. (They share the same father.) His parents were struggling with addiction issues, and he was placed in foster care. At that time, she knew she wanted to adopt T.J.–but knew the legal process would take years. She added that she had "a wonderful, wonderful mother, and if I hadn't, I don't know where I would've been, but I felt I was meant to be that for him."

Robinson was dating her high school sweetheart (and future husband), Drew Munn–when Robinson asked if he was on board to adopt T.J. together. He was. The process took longer than expected. "It didn’t feel like it was going to happen," she told the publication. But after much perseverance, T.J. moved in with the engaged couple on Oct. 5, 2022. T.J. played a big role in the couple's wedding in October 2023. "Every time he calls us mom or dad, it just feels so, so special,” she said.

Robinson also shared that T.J. is proud the fact that his sister also his mom, noting that he tells people, "'She’s my mom and she’s my sister,' and he thinks that's wonderful. He thinks it just doubles the amount we’re related and how much we love each other."

Robinson and Munn welcomed their first biological child together, Hazen Charlie, in October 2024--making T.J. a big brother. Robinson shared in another Instagram post that T.J. told her, "'I’m sorry Hannah I love you a lot, I just love the baby a lot … more.' I’m so relieved with how he’s been handling this transition🥲 I will happily sit in spot number 2."

Munn told PEOPLE, "T.J. has brought so much joy into our lives. We’re so excited to keep growing together."

Robinson created a GoFundMe account for T.J. for "whatever he needs to have the brightest future possible (therapy, college, summer camps, sports etc.)."

More For You

Seth Rogen and wife Lauren Miller

Seth Rogen and wife Lauren Miller.

jdeeringdavis/Wikipedia

Seth Rogen stands firm on his decision to remain child-free despite the backlash

Actor Seth Rogen and his wife Lauren Miller have been happily married since 2011. As their relationship has grown, one thing has not: their desire to have a family. Rogen came under fire following an appearance on the The Diary Of A CEO podcast in March 2024, where he explained to host Steven Bartlett that he and Miller have decided to be child-free. “There's a whole huge thing I'm not doing, which is raising children,” he shared in the interview.

Rogen explained to Bartlett that he and Miller had chosen a different path than a lot of their friends. “I mean, a lot of people have kids before they even think about it, from what I've seen, honestly,” he said. “You just are told, you go through life, you get married, you have kids—it’s what happens.”

Keep ReadingShow less
A mother scolds her child in a dim room.

Parents might be setting their children up for a lifetime of issues without ever realizing it.

Psychologist warns about 'eggshell parenting'—and why its effects last a lifetime

Children thrive in environments where they feel safe, secure, and loved. But when these feelings are unpredictable, it can create lasting emotional harm. Dr. Kim Sage, a licensed psychologist from Newport, California, has popularized the term "eggshell parenting" to describe this dynamic. Through her TikTok channel (@drkimsage), she has shared hundreds of videos explaining how eggshell parenting affects children and their future relationships.

What is eggshell parenting?

Eggshell parenting occurs when a child's emotional environment is dictated by a parent's unpredictable outbursts. Dr. Sage explains that this forces children to be constantly on high alert, suppressing their natural emotions and behaviors to avoid triggering a negative reaction. "Eggshell parenting and emotionally unpredictable, unsafe parenting often creates a lifetime of hypervigilance in us and a deep belief that there’s no such thing as real safety in relationships," she says.

Keep ReadingShow less

Dad explains how he 'protects' daughter by taking her into the women's bathroom

While some states have made great progress in improving the child changing stations in men's bathrooms, many still lag behind. A few years ago, father Charles Mau went viral when he shared the appalling conditions he encountered while changing his daughter.

That's why Chronicles of Daddy blogger Muhammed Nitoto decided to share his solution to the problem: taking his daughter into the women's bathroom instead. In a viral Instagram post, Nitoto explained that he does so to "protect" his daughter from "all things that aren't for them, and the men's bathroom is 100% one of those things."

Keep ReadingShow less
sad, sadness, emotional
a man holds his head while sitting on a sofa

Millennials discuss the impact of their parents lack of emotional support

Every generation has different parenting styles that have impacted their children's mental health and emotional intelligence. And when Reddit user u/Soup_stew_supremacy posed the question to r/Millennials: "Do any of you struggle to get emotional support from your parents?"–the response was robust.

"I'm not sure if it's because they weren't supported in some way, or just a generational thing, but myself, my husband and some of our friends and family members often lack emotional support from their parents," she shared. "My parents are in no way bad people, but they get really uncomfortable with feelings of any kind, and they pretty much just want to talk with you about surface-level stuff. If you tell them something that's been hard for you, they will say 'Oh, that sucks. So anyway...' I couldn't imagine trying to look to them for emotional or mental support, it would just be embarrassing and uncomfortable for us both."

Keep ReadingShow less
Mom, mom and son, working mom
woman in gray sweater carrying baby in blue and white shirt
Photo by Gabe Pierce on Unsplash

Toddler's sweet messages for working mom on doorbell cam melts hearts

Doorbell cameras have captured so many iconic moments. From a UPS driver grateful for snacks left out at a home she was delivering at, to a new mom receiving heartfelt parenting advice from her mom during a visit, to an Amazon driver doing a solid for a woman looking to conceal her purchases from her husband--they do so much more than serve as a security tool.

And for first-time and working mom Hannah Bell, her doorbell camera has helped her create beautiful memories with her toddler, Landon, each morning she is away from home at the office. Bell shared with Newsweek, "I started consistently leaving for work before my son woke up in the morning, so we didn't get to see each other most mornings."

Keep ReadingShow less