#1 My Sister Used To Have A Mean Husband That Treated Their Son Horribly, 4 Years Later I Can Say Her New Husband And My Brother In Law Is Pretty Awesome Just By What He Puts In My Nephew's Lunch Each Day
A poll from August 2022 found that Americans are pretty much united in their classifications of types of relatives.
At least 8 in 10 consider children, parents, siblings, and spouses to be immediate family members. Slightly fewer — though still solid majorities (roughly two-thirds) — consider grandparents and grandchildren immediate family members. Cousins, in-laws, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews are more often considered extended rather than immediate family. The most divisive category were children-in-law: 46% consider them extended family members, while 35% consider them immediate family.
Half of people say they live in the same city or town as at least one extended family member (54%), including 29% who say they live in at least the same neighborhood.
One in five (19%) even say they reside in the same household. Only 15% of Americans say their closest extended family member lives in a different state from them and just 2% say they live in a different country. Only 3% say they don't have any extended family.
#8 My Sister And Brother-In-Law Won A Trip To Iceland And Left Yesterday. My Mom And I Are Watching Their 6 Month Old Son. This Was The First Email/Status Update We Sent Them
#9 My Grandfather In Law Was Pretty Proud Of His Knot Placement On My Son's Rocking Lion
Family reunions are a regular or at least semi-regular occurrence for many: about half of people say they've attended one within the past decade, with 38% saying they have done so within the past five years, including 21% within the past year. But not everyone has had an opportunity or desire to reunite with extended family: 19% say they've never attended a family reunion.
#10 My Mother-In-Law Cherishes All Of The Photos I Send To Her Digital Photo Frame. She Tells Me That She Checks For New Pictures Every Morning. I Just Added This One
#11 Stand Down Everyone. My Brother And Sister In-Law Have Already Won Halloween
#13 The In-Laws Gave Us A Bunch Of Corn From The Garden To Bag And Freeze. My Wife Left Me In Charge Of Labeling The Bags Saying "Be Sure To Label The Bags Clearly So We Know What's In Them." She Was Not Impressed
When asked to compare the closeness of their family to others, roughly equal shares of people feel like theirs is about average (31%), more close-knit (30%), and less close-knit (29%).
To some extent, proximity does mean closeness. People who live in the same neighborhood or household as their closest extended family member are about twice as likely to say they are more close-knit than to say it is less close-knit.
#14 My Dad Does The Fake Handshake Routine Every Chance He Gets. My Brother-In-Law Finally Got Him Back
#15 My Future Mother-In-Law Did Not Understand Why I Brought This Icicle Into The House, Or Why I Was So Happy About Him
#17 I Thought I Had Put Socks On My Son This Morning. Turns Out They Were Gloves. My Mother In Law Sent Me This
However, race and ethnicity also play a role in the perceived strength of the bonds between extended family relationships: White Americans (33%) are more likely than Black (21%) or Hispanic (25%) Americans to say their family is less close-knit than average.
#18 Every Year My Family Does A Secret Santa And Secret Satan And My Brother-In-Law Has Had Me For Satan For The Past Four Years Straight
