No change really. I'm an auntie of three. Two boys and one girl. I can't say its made the slightest bit of difference in my life. I see my eldest nephew maybe once every few years, have met the girl once and never met the other little boy.
No change really. I'm an auntie of three. Two boys and one girl. I can't say its made the slightest bit of difference in my life. I see my eldest nephew maybe once every few years, have met the girl once and never met the other little boy.
Nah, I'm just not that interested in people just because I happen to be related to them by chance. I'm not very involved with my family whatsoever. At 27 I've not seen one brother in about 7 years, another one I've only met once as a child and not seen my Dad, Grandma, aunties, uncles and cousins since I was 12. lol
It's great - you can be the good guy/woman when they get told off by parents. Play the good guy, when they start playing up, "right, I'm off then, see you soon"
It varies but TOTALLY depends on your relationship with the parents. I'm an aunty to about 25 kids (I'm from a large family),most of whom I wouldn't recognise in the street and quite a few have moved abroad as well, but the ones living near me I'm close-ish to. They are too old for the prezzie buying...that stops for me at 18. After that if I see them round about their birthday I slip them a tenner....otherwise we all just get on with our own lives and meet up at big family do's.
But actually,thinking back, the first one WAS special. I babysat him a lot to the extent that people were asking my mum if that baby was mine. Then my social life kicked in big time and we drifted apart. But yes....the first one is special. Enjoy.
My older brother is about to become a dad. My sister has two kids. Her daughter is the eldest.
Her being born had an impact on me. Until she was born I didn't care much for children. I always found them annoying. Now, I still find them annoying, sometimes, but mainly 10-12 year olds. I don't actually know why, though.
The younger kids, while they can still be annoying, I've grown a lot more patient with them and I can handle kids now. I wouldn't want a kid of my own, though.
Now, my nephew, who is 1 and a half, but still a baby (he hasn't grown as fast as my niece did), has always been hard for people to handle, yet I've always been able to work with him. When my brother in law's mother was holding him a couple weeks ago he was crying for ages. I put my "gift" with him to the test and asked to hold him. He stopped crying instantly.
That's because I have a gift with him though. I don't think I'd be able to do that with any kid.
And I'm going to agree with tara27. The first one will probably have the biggest impact on you. When my sister mentioned she was pregnant with my nephew, and again when he was born, it didn't feel as special as when she announced my niece.
The best thing about being an uncle/aunt is you don't need to have that responsibility and commitment parents do. Unless you're a parent already. So you don't always have to see the devil side of them the parents tell you they have.
I found that the "worst" part was that kids have no boundaries or decorum.
If you're a bloke and you've never had kids you've probably spent most of your life trying to diplomatically dodge kids in case somebody thinks you're a paedo' or, at the very least, that you'll get covered in something unpleasant.
Once you're an uncle and the kid is old enough to stand on it's hind legs you'll suddenly find that you're required to carry it to bed, play with it, talk to it, receive hugs and kisses with good grace and generally act like a well-rounded human being.
This may all be very new to you.
The good part about being an uncle is that you are, as somebody else said, in the same category as grandparents.
You can get involved in all the good stuff but you don't have to get involved in anything bad.
You can watch them fingerpaint all over their bedroom walls and then, after their mum has finished screaming and shouting, you can wink at them and tell them you thought the painting looked pretty good in order to raise a smile which is it's own reward.
Aside from being a cliche, it really IS amazing how fast kids grow up too.
Only seems like last week that I drove my sister-in-law off to hospital and ended up holding a bawling, squealing, alien thing who's now grown into a 16 year old lad who's leaving school this summer.
Being uncle is cool, but if your going to be part of their life, don't forget at one point they will turn into teenagers, don't take sides when they fall out with your brother/sister, and when they ask can they move in with you, the answer is NO!!!
Being an uncle can be great, but beware of getting too "tight" with your niece/nephew as it can rebound on you big time!.
Your brother/sister will not be overjoyed if they cant take their bundle of joy out, only to hear the nagging refrain "but uncle xxxxxxx does" or "uncle xxxxxx has time for me, why dont you?".
Great My niece is very close to my side of the family because she doesn't see her dads side. She is more like a little sister than a niece. It's so odd to think she's nearly 12 now and at secondary school.
If you see your niece or nephew regularly, you can develop a bit of a bond with them - especially the first - but if you only see them once or twice a year, you might find you're less bothered about them than you thought you'd be.
Generally though, being an aunt or uncle means you get to enjoy the nicer aspects of small children but can then hand them back at the end of the day and get a full nights sleep or a social life.
If you see your niece or nephew regularly, you can develop a bit of a bond with them - especially the first - but if you only see them once or twice a year, you might find you're less bothered about them than you thought you'd be.
Generally though, being an aunt or uncle means you get to enjoy the nicer aspects of small children but can then hand them back at the end of the day and get a full nights sleep or a social life.
Aww, that's sad if some people feel that way, then again, I probably see my niece every other day and babysit from time to time so maybe it's different for me.
I guess it depends on how close you are to your family.My mother died when I was 12 and being the eldest I was always very close to my 2 younger sisters. When my sister got pregnant at 15 it changed all of our lives- I had to leave home and get a place of my own, at 21 thats a big thing I didnt feel ready but I did it. When my niece was born I was there for the birth, I brought her loads of things and I looked after her as often as I could, she is nearly 5 and such a little madam, but cute at the same time, for me its easier to look after her now she can talk and ask for things and is potty trained!. My nephew born to the same size is just over 6 months old, I love him just the same and enjoy spending time with him, I will be looking after both of them for the first time on my own on Friday and am slightly nervous!
I love spending time with both of them. I love buying them things at birthdays and Christmas. I do have to say the one good thing about being an aunty is being able to hand them back at the end of the day because although I love them, they wear me out and Im a selfish person-I love my time to much to be weighed down with kids!
I would love to be an auntie. I'm having dangerous broody feelings lately, so the perfect solution would be for me to have a little niece or nephew to look coo over and babysit now and again. Unfortunately though, my brother isn't really in the position to be bringing a child into the world at the moment, so it's unlikely to happen for now.
I think it depends on whether you have sisters or brothers. I don't see my nephew and niece from my eldest brother's marriage because she upped and left him, taking the kids and cut off all ties with us. I haven't seen them in over nine years now.
I see my other niece about once a year as my other brother is ab bit of a nob and family don't interest him much. His wife is more interested in her side of the family and he's gone along with it.
I would imagine that if I had a sister I'd probably be much closer to her children.
I was really close to my own cousins growing up as my mum and her sisters were all very close and had the kids at the same time so we grew up together.
I would love to be an auntie. I'm having dangerous broody feelings lately, so the perfect solution would be for me to have a little niece or nephew to look coo over and babysit now and again. Unfortunately though, my brother isn't really in the position to be bringing a child into the world at the moment, so it's unlikely to happen for now.
Dangerous broody feelings? Should we be watching the maternity wards? Sorry, I shouldn't really joke about that.
So why not just find yourself a nice fella and settle down? Or is this the part where you say 'there are no nice fellas'?
AndrewPd
Posts: 6,718
Comments
Which ?
you can't be both.
It's essentially the same as being a grandparent: 5 hours of loveliness, than you can hand them back and have a full night's sleep.
I could have a sex change at some stage after the big event...
Do some people rarely see their aunts and uncles?
I don't want to be an absent uncle or an over involved uncle.
Was it something you said.
Nah, I'm just not that interested in people just because I happen to be related to them by chance. I'm not very involved with my family whatsoever. At 27 I've not seen one brother in about 7 years, another one I've only met once as a child and not seen my Dad, Grandma, aunties, uncles and cousins since I was 12. lol
My friends are my family
I make an effort to see my niece and nephew. I don't get involved with dirty nappies though..
I'm an Aunty to 4
And an Uncle to 2.
It's great - you can be the good guy/woman when they get told off by parents. Play the good guy, when they start playing up, "right, I'm off then, see you soon"
That really made me laugh:D
But actually,thinking back, the first one WAS special. I babysat him a lot to the extent that people were asking my mum if that baby was mine. Then my social life kicked in big time and we drifted apart. But yes....the first one is special. Enjoy.
Her being born had an impact on me. Until she was born I didn't care much for children. I always found them annoying. Now, I still find them annoying, sometimes, but mainly 10-12 year olds. I don't actually know why, though.
The younger kids, while they can still be annoying, I've grown a lot more patient with them and I can handle kids now. I wouldn't want a kid of my own, though.
Now, my nephew, who is 1 and a half, but still a baby (he hasn't grown as fast as my niece did), has always been hard for people to handle, yet I've always been able to work with him. When my brother in law's mother was holding him a couple weeks ago he was crying for ages. I put my "gift" with him to the test and asked to hold him. He stopped crying instantly.
That's because I have a gift with him though. I don't think I'd be able to do that with any kid.
And I'm going to agree with tara27. The first one will probably have the biggest impact on you. When my sister mentioned she was pregnant with my nephew, and again when he was born, it didn't feel as special as when she announced my niece.
The best thing about being an uncle/aunt is you don't need to have that responsibility and commitment parents do. Unless you're a parent already. So you don't always have to see the devil side of them the parents tell you they have.
If you're a bloke and you've never had kids you've probably spent most of your life trying to diplomatically dodge kids in case somebody thinks you're a paedo' or, at the very least, that you'll get covered in something unpleasant.
Once you're an uncle and the kid is old enough to stand on it's hind legs you'll suddenly find that you're required to carry it to bed, play with it, talk to it, receive hugs and kisses with good grace and generally act like a well-rounded human being.
This may all be very new to you.
The good part about being an uncle is that you are, as somebody else said, in the same category as grandparents.
You can get involved in all the good stuff but you don't have to get involved in anything bad.
You can watch them fingerpaint all over their bedroom walls and then, after their mum has finished screaming and shouting, you can wink at them and tell them you thought the painting looked pretty good in order to raise a smile which is it's own reward.
Aside from being a cliche, it really IS amazing how fast kids grow up too.
Only seems like last week that I drove my sister-in-law off to hospital and ended up holding a bawling, squealing, alien thing who's now grown into a 16 year old lad who's leaving school this summer.
I've concluded babies are best post 6 months. They just look like irritated ugly things before that.
Being uncle is cool, but if your going to be part of their life, don't forget at one point they will turn into teenagers, don't take sides when they fall out with your brother/sister, and when they ask can they move in with you, the answer is NO!!!
Your brother/sister will not be overjoyed if they cant take their bundle of joy out, only to hear the nagging refrain "but uncle xxxxxxx does" or "uncle xxxxxx has time for me, why dont you?".
Expect sarky phone calls by return!....:eek:
Generally though, being an aunt or uncle means you get to enjoy the nicer aspects of small children but can then hand them back at the end of the day and get a full nights sleep or a social life.
Aww, that's sad if some people feel that way, then again, I probably see my niece every other day and babysit from time to time so maybe it's different for me.
I love spending time with both of them. I love buying them things at birthdays and Christmas. I do have to say the one good thing about being an aunty is being able to hand them back at the end of the day because although I love them, they wear me out and Im a selfish person-I love my time to much to be weighed down with kids!
I see my other niece about once a year as my other brother is ab bit of a nob and family don't interest him much. His wife is more interested in her side of the family and he's gone along with it.
I would imagine that if I had a sister I'd probably be much closer to her children.
I was really close to my own cousins growing up as my mum and her sisters were all very close and had the kids at the same time so we grew up together.
Dangerous broody feelings? Should we be watching the maternity wards?
So why not just find yourself a nice fella and settle down? Or is this the part where you say 'there are no nice fellas'?