My brother and sister-in-law had their first kid when I was only 16 years old. I’ve been an aunt now for over 5 years now and have learned a thing or two. But in reality, I am still growing up myself, so I am nowhere near ready to dole out life advice or wisdom gained from experience. Instead, I get the amazing perks of being a young aunt.
1. Young aunts get to be “cool aunts.”
Kids, without intentionally being rude, sometimes tend to think of their older relatives in less than ideal ways. Old people are smelly, or slow, or let their candy expire in the cupboard. They don’t always hear well or even if they do might not understand younger generations slang. Basically, they aren’t usually that cool. My niece and nephew are too young to understand what being cool really means, but I cant wait until the day they know that I’m the definition of it as their young aunt. I get to be the person they come to when their parents are being strict or when they can’t talk to them about something embarrassing. I get to be the one to do stupid things with them or teach them how to be rebellious. Who knows, maybe ill be able to give them their first beers.
2. I am not their parent.
I love both my niece and nephew with my whole heart, but they are kids. And kids can be tough to be around 24/7. There is crying involved, throw-up, and a lot of Winnie the Pooh. All of that is great. For about max maybe six hours. Then I am ready to rejoin the adult world. That is one of the best parts about being a young aunt. I am not old enough to babysit the kids for a long time. I get to spend a ton of time with them but my brother and sister-in-law are the ones to take them home afterward, and I get some freedom. I don’t have to lose sleep or wake up with baby food on my face. I don’t have to potty train or deal with screaming. I am sure ill be ready for all of that at some point in my life but right now I am happy to love my little niece and nephew and happy to hand them over when they start having a meltdown.
3. Growing up as they grow up.
Legally, I am an adult. But for all intents and purposes, I still think I have a long way to go. I can pretend as much as I want but most of the time I am happily falling flat on my face when it comes to being fully responsible. A great thing about being an aunt at my age is I get to grow up with my niece and nephew. I learned how to drive right around when my nephew was born. I went off to college when my niece was just a few months old. As I learn and grow, so do they. I get to experience things they will in a short amount of time. And I will be able to be there when they try and fail at everything I tried and failed. And I will get to be the person to tell them to get back up and try again, just like I have.
Overall, I can confidently say being a young aunt is the best job I have ever had.
