Faux Relatives - 'Aunt' So and So, etc

Discussion in 'Quackenbush's' started by Apostle7550, Feb 5, 2008.

  1. Apostle7550

    Apostle7550 100+ Posts

    Am I the only one annoyed by people who claim that others are family when they're really not? I have friends that refer to all of their friend's kids as their niece and nephew, etc. Hell, I even have a friend that has a faux brother... I know it's petty, but I just don't get it...
     
  2. Butch Coolidge

    Butch Coolidge < 25 Posts

    A good friend of mine and his wife refer to me as "Uncle Butch" to their daughter. As an unmarried only child, I get the feeling that they're throwing me a sympathy bone. Then again, I'm also "Uncle Butch" to their shih tzu. I agree that it's kind of annoying.
     
  3. Mageeman

    Mageeman 100+ Posts

    I have an "Uncle" John and "Aunt" Barbra, they live in Houston and are my family. My uncle went to grad school with my dad and I grew up visiting them on the way to Beaumont to see my grandparents. I kinda see it like adoption, they may not be blood but they're my family. Maybe it's a little different because I have two cousins who are adopted. But if you grew up with them, I fail to see why it's a problem.
     
  4. Apostle7550

    Apostle7550 100+ Posts

    There's the problem, nobody grew up together. That is with the exception of the "Brother."
     
  5. celis

    celis 250+ Posts

    I guess not. Butch backs you.

    Why does it annoy you?
     
  6. Apostle7550

    Apostle7550 100+ Posts

    don't know... I suppose I'm a little stranger than I once thought.
     
  7. kgp

    kgp 1,000+ Posts

    I am godfather to my dear friend jj's kids and am called, among other things, uncle k. We are not related by blood or by law, but we are related by love. I see no problem. Now, if every kid of every person I knew called me uncle, that might be excessive.
     
  8. pmg

    pmg 1,000+ Posts

    In the South, traditionally, close family friends may be referred to as "Uncle" and "Aunt." I have often been introduced to my good friends' kids as "Uncle P."
    So sorry to have offended you.
     
  9. William Cannon

    William Cannon 250+ Posts

    My best friend carries the Uncle title with my kids. My brother is their true uncle and I'm not taking anything away from that. However, my friend really treats my kids like their something special and he plays that uncle role. BTW, my wife started all of this crap, not me.
     
  10. TXBabe97

    TXBabe97 250+ Posts

    I suppose it is confusing, but I am Aunt TXBabe97 to my two godsons. I also designate the uncle/aunt title to my friends who bond with my dogs, but that's just in jest.
     
  11. ScoPro

    ScoPro 1,000+ Posts

    A slightly different twist:

    Mrs.Sco was an only child but has numerous cousins. While we regard them as such, we think of their kids as nephews/nieces. It's just easier than saying "my cousin's son/daughter".
     
  12. DigglerontheHoof

    DigglerontheHoof 1,000+ Posts

    My three best friends (two who are still married one who's not) all have kids.

    The two married couples' kids (4 of them in all) call me Uncle Diggler, the single guy's son calls me Big Diggler.

    I had a few of my parents' friends growing up that I called aunt/uncle...and still do when I see them.
     
  13. judgroybeanbag

    judgroybeanbag 500+ Posts

    My best friends kids call me uncle. But they usually stop after I let them out of the full nelson/choke hold.
     
  14. Steel Shank

    Steel Shank 1,000+ Posts

    I am Uncle Steel Shank to numerous friends' kids. I have no problem with it. It tells the kids I am here to take care of them in any capacity as any uncle would. That includes treats, tricks with your hands and jokes.
     
  15. SubliminalHorn

    SubliminalHorn 500+ Posts

    I see no problem with it. It's a way for close friends to be a part of your family, which in a way, they are. My best friend will be Uncle to my kids, and I fully expect to be Uncle to his.
     
  16. CaptainEd

    CaptainEd 1,000+ Posts


     
  17. ctrl+alt+del

    ctrl+alt+del 500+ Posts

    Now Aunt Peg, on the other hand...
     
  18. BrothaHorn

    BrothaHorn 1,000+ Posts

    When I was growing up in the country older people who were not related to me were called 'cousin' so-so. My second cousin who are my moms age, I had to call them 'aunt'. For the longest time I thought my grandma was a jezebel.
     
  19. shotgun427

    shotgun427 250+ Posts

    In Chile, where I am from, it's really common to call anybody who's close to you (like a friend's parents) and your parent age tio or tia. It can be confusing as **** sometimes.
     
  20. MizzouSnives

    MizzouSnives 500+ Posts

    i call my godfather and his wife "uncle bob and aunt margaret", and i really never thought it was weird.
     
  21. hornian

    hornian 1,000+ Posts

    I have a half-sister (i.e. my dad married her mom, had my sister, got divorced, and then he married my mom and they had me).

    My half-sister has another half-sister, because her mom got remarried as well and had another daughter with her new husband.

    I grew up kinda vaguely knowing my half-sister's half-sister. She's about 2 years younger than me, and she lived in a different city than me growing up. Birthday parties now and again was pretty much our only contact.

    But then she came to UT when I was there as well. At first we didn't see each other basically at all. Then one day we had a dinner with our mutual big (half)sister. And something clicked that night. We hit it off. She and I were insepreble for a while. More so than my real siblings, probably because we never had the spats growing up like my other sisters and brother. She is the first one I go to when I need to talk to a family member about something personal. I called her at 4 in the morning this weekend, and she picked up and talked to me for about half an hour. I don't even think my real siblings would have done that for me.

    I got tired of introducing her as my half-sister's half sister or some other convoluted explanation, so about 2 years ago I just decided to call her my sister. And she is.
     
  22. MilkmanDan

    MilkmanDan 1,000+ Posts

    I think you should call her your quarter sister.

    My wife's family has a number of non-blood aunts and uncles, but none on my side. Never really mattered to me until now that we're having a kid of our own and starting to figure out how all of that gets explained a few years down the road.
     
  23. TXSNOS

    TXSNOS 1,000+ Posts

    When I was growing up we lived next door to a childless couple who were slightly older than my parents. They took a lot of interest in us kids so we got to know them very well. They thought addressing them as Mr. / Mrs. ________ was too formal and that calling them by their first names was too informal so they suggested that my siblings and I call them Aunt Viola and Uncle Felix. Aunt Viola is still living, and although my sisters and I are all 50+ years old, we still call her Aunt Viola.
     
  24. IRC

    IRC 1,000+ Posts

    This is pretty damned far down the list of things I worry about.
     
  25. Ramathorn

    Ramathorn 1,000+ Posts

    My boy will likely call some of my best friends "uncle" or "auntie." In a way, a 2 year old calling a 40 year old "dave" or "rick" seems rude.
     
  26. LdyLnghrn

    LdyLnghrn 100+ Posts

    My boys call my best friend and her husband, (their godparents), Aunt J and Uncle Dave. On the other hand, they call the rest of my good friends, Mizz (first name) or Mr. (first name). And other people are addressed as Ms. (last name), Mrs. (last name), or Mr. (last name). It's just my preferred way for my children to address adults, at least until they are adults themselves.
     
  27. jbusch

    jbusch 25+ Posts

    I'm Uncle jbusch to a number of friends' kids. I love the kids dearly and treat them all like family. It's not a title that I asked for, but I do find it flattering.
     
  28. Roger

    Roger 1,000+ Posts


     
  29. capnamerca

    capnamerca 500+ Posts

    My parents have a group of friends that are VERY close - one who actually grew up from before High School with my dad. A few of this group are actual uncles (my dad's two brothers), but the rest were always just "uncle bob", "uncle jeff", and "uncle mickey" ... I basically grew out of it as I entered adulthood myself (they're mostly just bob and jeff and mickey, now), but for years, they were uncles. I agree with many on this thread, that it was a way to bridge the gap between the formal "Mr" and the too-informal &#60;firstname&#62;. And, shoudl it ever have been needed, any one of them would have taken me to raise - again, like family.

    My kiddos will likely call my buddies uncle - at least the ones that decide to show up to the baptism [​IMG].
     
  30. GHoward

    GHoward 2,500+ Posts

    this is so common in the Indian and related cultures. Anyone you know through your parents is an uncle or auntie.
    I think most people do it so their kids feel comfortable around this person. The title of "uncle" seems more secure than "dads friend".
     

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