We made mistakes. All parents do. But the worst mistake was not telling James from a tiny boy that he was adopted. Oh, we have spent anguished days, weeks, years trying to pluck up the courage and as each year goes by, it has become more and more difficult. The task has been made harder by the fact that the adoption authorities had done their job well, selecting bparents with similar physical features and lifestyle to ours, so James looks like us.

James is nearly 10 now, and although we know we should tell him, we don't know where to start. Will he hate us for not telling him sooner? Will he then want to find his real mother? It's a chance we'll have to take and soon.

We are so scared of losing our son.