How to Deal with Nosy Relatives

We’ve all experienced having to deal with prying questions from our relatives. There's always that select few from the family that wants to know more about our income, our career decisions, our marriage plans, or other personal business.

While it’s fun to answer questions from our favorite aunties, uncles, and cousins, it can get awkward when random relatives suddenly ask about what's going on in our personal lives. These relatives, who we aren’t really close with, fall either any of these categories: 1) those who want to start connecting with us, and 2) those who are just plain nosy.

Those who want to connect with you will have a genuine feel to them and will take it slow with the conversations. The nosy ones will only speak to you only because they’re curious about something they found intriguing, not because they care. These are the same people who think they know it all, or find satisfaction in talking about other people's lives (maybe to feel better about themselves).

Since we’re nearing the holiday season, and gatherings are around the corner, here are some ways to deal with nosy relatives, just in case you encounter them:

Just Avoid

If it’s possible to avoid them, just do so; it’s the easiest (and probably the best) thing to do. There’s not much you can do about these relatives, but you can choose to stay away to save yourself from awkward situations. If you can’t avoid them, just limit your interactions without being rude.

Stay Polite

If someone makes an inappropriate comment or question, stay polite. Just give a safe answer quickly or give a vague response. No need to explain yourself. If you don’t feel comfortable sharing certain information with them, that’s fine. You can also just make the conversation about them instead. In case tension builds up, remember to keep your cool. It's always best to stay polite. Who knows, maybe your relative is going through something that's why he or she is unintentionally rude; you never know.

Focus on your Folks

Stick to the relatives you vibe with; your cool uncle, funny auntie, or awesome cousins. You can also spend time knowing other distant relatives who you haven’t seen for a long time. It would be better to reconnect and bond with them than fret about answering intrusive questions from others.

Prying relatives are inevitable, they’re present in every clan, but there’s no need to worry about them. All you have to do is stay calm; unless they gossip too much to the point that it creates trouble, but that’s another story.

Have a great week ahead and see you on the next post, bye!

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