By Monica Leftwich

The role of a loving aunt or uncle in a child’s life should be a cherished one and, more important, a necessary one. So why does it feel like they are kind of underrated when it comes to building that village of support to raise a family?

Melanie Notkin, founder of SavvyAuntie.com, told Forbes it is because “there’s no obligation of the aunt or uncle, unlike parenting; once you parent a child you have a legal obligation.” Aunts and uncles don’t have to be involved so much as they choose to be involved. But there’s never such a thing as too much love to give to a child. In fact, Notkin argues the more aunts and uncles a child has in their lives, the more positive influences they could have later in life.

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