What does an Aunt mean to you?

gwen80

Just wondering, what does having an Aunt or being an Aunt (or Uncle) mean to you?

I'm an Aunt to two boys that I absolutely adore. I had a couple of Uncles growing up and two Aunts through marriage, but they never really had much to do with me and weren't really bothered with me. I always wanted an Aunt or another family member that was 'there' for us for support and just to feel that there was more family. As it was there was only me, my brother and my Mum really.

Now being an Aunt to me means that I will always look out for my nephews, I will always be there for them, will want the best for them, support them, help them and try to guide them if they need it. What does being an Aunt/Uncle or having an Aunt/Uncle mean to you?

Gwenx

Tiglath

Nothing, if I'm honest, but then I'm not close to my family. I send a dutiful card at Christmas and birthdays but that's it.

balletshoes

this is going to be another one of those threads where everyone will have different ideas on what an Aunt is, and a lot of those ideas will be formed from our own experiences of having Aunts.

I have lots of Aunts. Growing up I was aware of them all, knew them all, visited them all to some extent. I had one Aunt who was childless herself and who liked to spoil us at birthdays and christmas etc, liked to spend time with each of her nephews and nieces in person on their special days etc. All my other Aunts had their own kids (my cousins) and so when we were all together we were all treated the same, all part of the big melee of kids.

Those are my experiences, I find nothing wrong with them, and thats the way I am with my nieces and nephews now.
I have one niece who is very close in age to my daughter, and I do find it fascinating, now they are reaching their teenage years, watching them both develop their own personalities etc. With that particular niece, I am closest to her geographically out of her 2 Aunts, and probably the one who she would consider coming to for any support she felt she couldn't get from her parents. My other niece is much closer to one Aunt (my sister) than she is to me or my other sister, because Auntie S helps look after her after school and on weekends etc, and lives along the road from her home. Thats perfectly natural and normal to me.

eta - I don't recall thinking of any of my Aunts or Uncles specifically as people I would immediately think of to go to for support etc - they were, as my grandparents and cousins were/are, part of my family, so all of them were part of my support network if needed.

Funky_Bold_Ribena

I had an aunt that looked after us when my parents split up; she became a second mother to us.

I have my nieces coming over this week to stay for a few days; and can't wait! We are very close; they are 10 and 6 and absolutely fantastic. However I'm sure I'll need that extra bank holiday to get over the visit as they have boundless energy.

themull1

Nothing, i dont have much contact if i'm honest.

tea_lover

My niece is brilliant I love being an aunt. She's 11 now and we're really close, I hope that continues. She lives just round the corner which is definitely handy. I'm going away for the BH with her & my sister, should be good!

bluenoseam

To me it means if either of my nephews or my god daughter ask for my help I'll do my best to help or advise them & to provide a place they can come to in order to vent spleen. I've never really had an Aunt or Uncle I did that with myself, but I just think it's important for them to have that person there who can give them honest & unbiased advice. (Mostly because I know their mother & father are so damned stupid & hopeless that I get the feeling in years to come they'll need it!)

There's no "job description", nor should they be, each individual is different and their situation is different - just ensure that if the time comes you need to step up that you do so.

double_mummy

i have lots of aunts and uncles but only one aunt that i am close to she was the first person who i told that i was pregnant and she helped me break the news to my dad she is the one that i ring when i want a chat or advice she also has the same medical condition as me so she helps me with the doctors and bits like that

she was the one i could talk to about boyfriends and everything i felt i couldnt talk to my parents about (sex drugs etc)

now she is a great aunt to my kids she is wonderful in contact with the kids more than both their grandparents and is a wonderful support when they have a cough or a cold

burnoutbabe

I don't know yet, my sister has just adopted a baby, which makes me an aunt. I'm pleased for them, but don't feel much connection yet (probably as its a cute baby and doesn't do much and I don't have much interest in babies). When he's older, I'll enjoy it more. But when he is 10ish, I'll be 50 so in no way any sort of "cool young aunt". Even if I'd be the one showing him the xbox one (or whatever it is then)

Callie22

I have four aunts on my mother's side and they've never meant anything in particular to me - my family isn't close. My parents divorced when I was young so I'm not even sure how many aunts I have on my father's side (at least two, I think), but they've never bothered with us so 'aunts' and 'uncles' don't mean a lot to me, I'm afraid.

angelil

It's depended on the person in my family.
I have 2 aunts and 2 uncles that are biologically related to me, and 2 more of each that are related by marriage.

My sister and I are closest to my mother's twin and her husband - perhaps because they've never had any children of their own (out of choice) and sort of consider us their proxy children We feel we can talk to them about just about anything and feel very close to them. They have always been there for us in terms of career and our personal lives even though they haven't always lived close geographically - but that's because they've chosen to get involved. Not all aunts and uncles have to be, and I feel lucky that they've chosen to be.

My dad's brother lives in Ireland with his wife - so just as far away really, but we barely know them and hardly ever see them or have contact with them. Just cards at Christmas really and occasionally see them at family events. A shame we don't see them more often really as she in particular is great fun. We wouldn't hesitate to contact them, though, if we were going to Ireland, as we enjoy seeing them.

I also get on well with my mother's older sister, but don't know her husband at all (even though he actually lived with us for a bit when we were younger, as he had his driver's licence revoked after an epileptic fit and living with us was the only way he could go to work). She is lovely but the very busy and stressed out, 'married to her job' type and sadly I'm not sure that she even has much time for her own children, let alone many other family members.

My dad's much younger brother moved to China 3 years ago and got married while there to a Taiwanese lady. I get on well with them both but understandably don't have many opportunities to see them. This is a shame, as they are now parents to my nearly 18 month old cousin who I adore! Hopefully as she gets older we'll Skype more and things like that.

So yeah...it comes down to the individuals involved and how far their circumstances make it realistic for contact to be regular, perhaps.