Do you like your nephews and neices?

[robinpud]

Are you programmed to because they are family? Or do you have to find them appealing in their own right?

adore them.

Really like the nephew and niece on my side of the family - they're fun, friendly, well mannered, very giving and warm-hearted. But I cannot bear the 8 year old nephew on DH's side.

He's whiny, spoilt, attention seeking, grasping, rude and generally obnoxious. He is, of course, the apple of everyone's eye even when he shouts at his great grandmother.

DH thinks me very unkind as the child nearly died at birth. Perhaps I am unkind but I refuse to consider him related to me and don't want him influencing my child(ren).

DH's nieces are sweet though.

I have 13 nieces & nephews with another on the way. The oldest is 20 and the youngest two are 1.
I adore everyone. The older ones I get on with like friends (there is only 6 years between me & the oldest) and the younger ones I have babysat on may occasions.
Love them all

I have 13.
Ranging in ages from 22 down to 1.

All on my side of the family.

I am friends with the 22 yr old, texting, e-mailing & talking regularly, I am only 28 so it's like she's another sister. Her brothers are 17 & 15 and I like them, they are a right laugh, remind me of my brother. My other brothers dd is 1, and although I don't see her very often, when I do I adore her, she is so loving. The rest belong to my 4 sisters. 3 of them I am very close to as they live very near me, & I would say I contributed to their upbringing as I spent a lot of my time with them when they were babies, looking after them, bathing them (pretending they were mine basically) Especially as DH and I had been married for 3 yrs before we had any & I had these 3 to stay over all the time
I hardly see my other sisters 2 boys, & as a result I'm not that close to them, they annoy me as they have no manners & don't sit at the table & eat a meal in peace, they never do what they're told & act like old men
Again, another sister with another 3 children that I adore Very close to the 14yr old girl, she would babysit if we were for cinema & kids are asleep.
1 other niece that I absolutely can't stand the sight of, she is a sly, sleekid little girl, she tells lies & whispers & basically needs a good talking to

ff wonders if her sisters likes her kids

we only see them annually and so love them, and my children love their cousins, always have done f i think it's in the genes.

My nephew and neices (my dp's sis's children)are amazing, like the Von Trapp family only not so naff.
All musically and dramatically talented, unlike anyone in my blood family so we are all awe-struck!!
Fave dniece was Mrs Coulter in the first amateur production of His Dark Materials at her school, and was so wonderful.
I feel really happy and honoured that they love me too.

I think we are someway programmed to like them. When my first niece was born I was not, to put it in a sof way, children inclined/friendly. But as I hold her in my arms it was as if this baby someway belonged to all of us and was not afraid of her "breaking" or falling off, it was just just like an extension of ourselves.

Having said that... now that she is older I find her never ending chatting a challenge! But maybe I am harder to her because I only see her once a year, otherwise I would be finding all her monologues charming.

Same goes for my nephew, I find it difficult, sometimes, to apreciate the importance of his progress but I think that is, again, because seeing him once a year I don't have a reference of how he was doing before or how lovely he is when there are not so many people around. (he closes up when there are many new things going on and I'm certainly one of those things )

my older nieces and nephews are some of my best friends, but i think thats cos there isnt a huge age gap (im 28 my nephew is 21), we all go out together, they babysit for me, we even listen to the same music, but i must admit the younger ones under 9 i do just tolerate cos they are family.

I only have one - a niece who is only 6 month. So yes, love her lots. She's very sweet