There was one exclusive group that I\u2019d always longed to join:\u00a0 the Aunt Club.\u00a0 Having worshipped my own globe-trotting, sports-car-driving uncle, I couldn\u2019t wait to sit on the other side of the fence.\u00a0 My Uncle believed that we should always see the world with wonder.\u00a0 We summered at his house often and I grew up thinking that I had another Dad, almost.\u00a0 So imagine my joy when my niece and nephew started wanting to keep in touch via their new phones, now that they\u2019re of age.<\/p>\n
But when I got their Snaps and jokes to which I couldn\u2019t relate, and they called me \u201cAunt,\u201d it made me wonder:\u00a0 does anyone LIKE being called Aunt or Uncle?\u00a0 I thought I would, but was my reaction personal and insecure?\u00a0 How does a glamorous companion and model, who wears skinny jeans and bikinis, get addressed as aunt\u2026and what advice can she share about being a thoroughly modern aunt anyway?<\/p>\n
A girlfriend told me that the etiquette of being a cool aunt is very simple:\u00a0 you must keep in mind at all times that you\u2019re not the Mom.\u00a0 Just spoil them rotten and love them to death.\u00a0 Let them know you\u2019re a safe space of strength and serenity; give them privacy while keeping them close.\u00a0 Create memories by sharing activities\u2026you won\u2019t always get to relive each experience, but having them is the winning formula.\u00a0 Reassure their parents that they\u2019re doing a good job.\u00a0 Reward the kids with gifts.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to control yourself, but don\u2019t give opinions or impose your values.\u00a0 Offer a different point of view maybe, but be both respectfully far away and close.\u00a0 Offer a sense of continuity\u2026being an aunt is the one thing that\u2019s not overrated, she said.\u00a0 I rolled my eyes at that, but as the kids have become cool teens with whom I can have a lot of fun, that has proven absolutely true.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
There was one exclusive group that I\u2019d always longed to join:\u00a0 the Aunt Club.\u00a0 Having worshipped my own globe-trotting, sports-car-driving uncle, I couldn\u2019t wait to sit on the other side of the fence.\u00a0 My Uncle believed that we should always see the world with wonder.\u00a0 We summered at his house often and I grew up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n