As I was wrapping up lunch with a friend last year, she asked what my plans were for the rest of the day. I told her I was taking my niece and nephew to the National Museum of Singapore.
She asked how old they were and when I said they were 18 and 22, she exclaimed: “Wah! So good ah! So old already they still want to hang out with aunty!”
“That’s because I’m a cool aunty,” I replied.
Turns out, I’m not just a cool aunt, I’m a PANK – Professional Aunt, No Kids. I recently came across this acronym, which was coined in 2008 by Canadian-American author and marketing professional Melanie Notkin.
It’s a nod to herself and her friends: well-educated, high-earning professional women who are devoted to the children of their siblings or friends and spend a lot of money and time on them.
Notkin has since written books on PANKs and launched the lifestyle brand Savvy Auntie.
I’m not a “high-earning professional” but I do have disposable income to shower on my niece and nephew – my husband and I never had kids, despite a few years of fertility treatments.
I’m not the only PANK in my social circle. I have a close friend who’s married and childless by choice and loves having her niece over for weekend sleepovers. Another friend is the most maternal woman I know but is single and cherishes her role as godmother to her friend’s son.
During their childhood years, taking my niece and nephew out meant giving their parents a break. Their parents – my brother and his wife – encouraged this relationship and often chauffeured them back and forth to spend time with me.
Now, as adults, I make plans with them directly and it has been a joy watching them grow into the people they have become.
