Any aunts or uncles on here?

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Lisa1967

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I am a single woman, but my sister has two kids (boy 6, girl 10) whom I’m really close to. I am their godmother as well as their aunt. They live in a nearby suburb. I see them a couple times a month (it’d be more often if everyone weren’t so busy). Today is one of those days; we will get together at my sister’s and grill.

What do you do with your nieces and nephews?
 
Lisa1967 said:
I am a single woman, but my sister has two kids (boy 6, girl 10) whom I’m really close to. I am their godmother as well as their aunt. They live in a nearby suburb. I see them a couple times a month (it’d be more often if everyone weren’t so busy). Today is one of those days; we will get together at my sister’s and grill.

What do you do with your nieces and nephews?
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It is hard for me to relate to nieces and nephews, as I am 76 years old, and they are senior citizens in their fifties.
I do see them when they come to my area to visit their moms, my sisters. Then we can have a good chat together.

I can very much relate to my grandchildren, two boys who live nearby. They are 14 and 11. When they are dropped off for a few hours, sometimes together, sometimes one at a time, I like to chat wit them about school, and then I share movies from Ignatius Press wit them. Some of the movies were long, so I showed only 1/2 hour at a time and then we discussed it. They especially liked the one on St. John Bosco, who very much helped wayward boys, and also the movie on Clare and Francis. They were fascinated by those movies! I have shown movies of other saints as well.

The young ones do look up to their elders. It helps much to show an interest in their activities!

The adults in my life had an influence on me, and I am trying to do the same.

Thanks be to the Lord!
 
Dorothy said:
It is hard for me to relate to nieces and nephews, as I am 76 years old, and they are senior citizens in their fifties.
I do see them when they come to my area to visit their moms, my sisters. Then we can have a good chat together.

I can very much relate to my grandchildren, two boys who live nearby. They are 14 and 11. When they are dropped off for a few hours, sometimes together, sometimes one at a time, I like to chat wit them about school, and then I share movies from Ignatius Press wit them. Some of the movies were long, so I showed only 1/2 hour at a time and then we discussed it. They especially liked the one on St. John Bosco, who very much helped wayward boys, and also the movie on Clare and Francis. They were fascinated by those movies! I have shown movies of other saints as well.

The young ones do look up to their elders. It helps much to show an interest in their activities!

The adults in my life had an influence on me, and I am trying to do the same.

Thanks be to the Lord!
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Thanks for sharing, That’s great that you showed them the saints’ movies.

My 10 year old niece likes to play solitaire on my iPhone. I taught her how to play. She plays independently but will ask me for help. My niece taught me how to text and how to use the screen.

Both children had their first communion on Maundy Thursday and I was there with my parents. Their family is ELCA Lutheran.

My niece is going to a week long church camp in Wisconsin this summer and my nephew has some camps as well.

I had a Christian aunt in Michigan growing up who was so special to me; she taught me to be a good aunt.
 
I will hopefully be teaching my three nieces the Catechism as they come of age! Starting with the eldest now of 7 😃
 
I was about to ask the same as you, Lisa!

A guy I know keeps taking his little niece to all sorts of science-related museums, facilities etc. That’s a healthy way to develop some errr… healthy curiosity of the world in a child. But I’m an amateur uncle myself. I’ve yet got to come up with something. Something that doesn’t involve criminal law. Sigh.
 
Take a walk with them. The Holy Spirit will do the rest.

Peace
 
Lisa1967 said:
I am a single woman, but my sister has two kids (boy 6, girl 10) whom I’m really close to. I am their godmother as well as their aunt. They live in a nearby suburb. I see them a couple times a month (it’d be more often if everyone weren’t so busy). Today is one of those days; we will get together at my sister’s and grill.

What do you do with your nieces and nephews?
Click to expand...
go for walks, go to the zoo, go to museums especially if you have a children’s museum in your area, get ice cream with them, take them to the ballpark, go to a local playground together, take them camping, roast marshmallows together, get some chalk and draw on the sidewalk…really anything that brings you and them together will be great. Kids just want the chance to feel someone is taking an interest in them. If they are on a sports team, go to their games. If they have a particular hobby, ask if you can participate. If they want to see a movie, take them to the movie. Anything you or they can think to do together, the possibilities are endless.
 
chevalier said:
I was about to ask the same as you, Lisa!

A guy I know keeps taking his little niece to all sorts of science-related museums, facilities etc. That’s a healthy way to develop some errr… healthy curiosity of the world in a child. But I’m an amateur uncle myself. I’ve yet got to come up with something. Something that doesn’t involve criminal law. Sigh.
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We have a great Science museum in St. Paul and I have gone with them there. Both are good at math and my niece is interested in science. We have also had a good time at the Minneapolis art museum.

We also enjoy going to the MN Renaissance Festival.

Some of the best moments happen spontaneously. I used to live with my parents and saw my niece and nephew more frequently. My nephew wanted to play Life on my Kindle Fire so we did. My niece initiated the Solitaire game.

I try to go to their events. My niece sang in a concert and I went to that.
 
Lisa1967 said:
What do you do with your nieces and nephews?
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My three-year-old neice, never much of a talker until recently, is now fluent in backchat :rolleyes:. On the positive side she’s quite perceptive for her age, and we have actually shared some very philosophical discussions. A genius if I ever knew one.
 
chevalier said:
I was about to ask the same as you, Lisa!

A guy I know keeps taking his little niece to all sorts of science-related museums, facilities etc. That’s a healthy way to develop some errr… healthy curiosity of the world in a child. But I’m an amateur uncle myself. I’ve yet got to come up with something. Something that doesn’t involve criminal law. Sigh.
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The zoo, a botanical garden, nature trail, or an aquarium would be nice!
 
When they were younger, I took them to movies, the zoo, swimming and other outings. We went to the Denver mint once. I have 12 neices and nephews. They range in age from 55 to 34. I also have 24 great neices and nephews and around 5 great great neices and nephews. I do keep in contact through, what else, facebook.😃
 
Lisa1967 said:
I am a single woman, but my sister has two kids (boy 6, girl 10) whom I’m really close to. I am their godmother as well as their aunt. They live in a nearby suburb. I see them a couple times a month (it’d be more often if everyone weren’t so busy). Today is one of those days; we will get together at my sister’s and grill.

What do you do with your nieces and nephews?
Click to expand...
I am a senior citizen who lived with two sisters. I can tell you that the one of us who is most loved is the one who spent quality time with the nieces and nephews as they were growing up. She praised them for every effort. She made each feel very special. Their art work, no matter how good or bad, was saved. She spent much time on the floor with games of every variety. On her death, the memories they revealed were many – all about how special she made them feel. Time and love are key to young hearts.
 
Our nieces and nephews really enjoy baking with someone (cookies, cupcakes etc) so that’s a good rainy day activity. They like decorating them the best. They love to show us how to play their games. They like going to the pool, park, etc.

My husband is the best with kids. I’ve never clicked with kids until I had my own 2 years ago. I’m now 31. But anyway, ALL of his nieces and nephews have called him the “best uncle ever”. They always have. He plays sports with them outside (catch, basketball), will race them across the yard, wrestles with them, engages them in harmless pranks…and lots of other things that aren’t coming to mind right now.
 
One thing I’d suggest is to ask their parents if they’d like to take turns with you having just one of them. Kids like to have all the adult attention to themselves once in awhile. They can say things that they can’t say when there is a sibling in earshot. They can do things their sibling doesn’t like doing or that their sibling is too young or too old to do. The adult “hosting” them, meanwhile, can teach baking or fishing or love of baseball or whatever without feeling like there is a three-ring circus going on. If this becomes the tradition, I think the kids will have very fond memories of it, and probably your sibling, too!

As a side benefit, our kids are very understanding about our date nights because of this: that is, because of their experience of one going out with Mom while the other goes out with Dad. They can totally understand how wanting one-on-one time with one person is not any rejection of whoever isn’t being invited. That’s nice, too. 👍
 
I had a great time at my sister’s house yesterday. My niece and nephew showed us their rock collection and we watched them playing in their “forest” on their property (they have some trees). The kids get out of school for the summer next week so I’m hoping to see them more.

I think it’s up to the adult to initiate the relationship with the child. When I was growing up, I was close to my maternal grandparents who lived in the same town. We saw them at least once a week. However, my paternal grandmother lived 2 hours away. She wrote letters to me and I wrote back, and we had a joke about bedbugs. She and I wrote each other until several months before her death 2 years ago. Also, I had an aunt who made an effort to be close to me when I was a kid, and we are close to this day.
 
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