I asked Melanie Notkin what she thought of Cattrall’s parenting comments. Notkin, an aunt to six nieces and nephews, is the creator of Savvy Auntie, an online community for PANKS (that’s professional aunts no kids). Cattrall “might have gone a bit out of scope” of motherhood, Notkin says. Notkin wouldn’t equate aunthood with parenthood, but she does think aunts serve a powerful role.

One in five women is a PANK. “No matter how much a child’s mother and father loves them, they’re only two people,” Notkin says. “Childless aunts can provide children with experiences they may never have had. I’m an author; my brother and sister-in-law aren’t. I do things that their parents don’t do … the parents know I add value.”

Sixty-eight percent of PANKs, according to a study Notkin commissioned, say the children in their lives view them as a role model. And about 64 percent of them enjoy spending times with kids but are glad they are not parents themselves. Cattrall seems to fit in that category.

More at Washington Post: Solo-ish