They told their classmates! Oh, Astro!!
Not to hijack your thread gravity, but I know of a similar instance. I know a man who has been sober 28 years. He is a single father, and when his boy was in kindergarten, he told his teacher that his dad was an alcoholic who liked to climb rollercoasters. The teacher called the man in for an interview, as she was very concerned. The man admitted that yes he was an alcoholic, but IN RECOVERY, and that he repaired rollercoasters for a living. He looks back and laughs, and even then he saw the humour in it. There surely is a stigma attached to being an alcoholic, but that doesn't mean we have to buy into it.