Last week I wrote about the desire of adopted children — including, presumably, our own — to reconnect with their birth parents as they mature. This week I learned that’s not always a good idea. Adopted children may find skeletons in their birth closets — like a notorious birth father:

Matthew Roberts, 41, set out to find his “real” parents after he grew up as an adopted child. It is natural. But his is a cautionary tale for adoptees everywhere.

He found his biological mother 12 years ago. She was coy about who his father is. She finally told him — Charles Manson.

“I didn’t want to believe it. I was frightened and angry. It’s like finding out that Adolf Hitler is your father,” Roberts told the London Sun. “I’m a peaceful person — trapped in the face of a monster.”

Roberts’ story won’t, and shouldn’t, deter adopted children from being curious about their pasts. But it is indeed a cautionary note.

While the odds of being Charles Manson’s son are slim, the odds of finding a parent with a colorful history are much greater. Many children are put up for adoption because they are born into the world in circumstances that are not the best.