How are extended family members different from friends?

A friend is important, but plays a different role than extended family members. Extended family includes aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. It also includes people close to the family who are not related by blood. Sometimes it's easier for a child to talk about problems to an aunt or an uncle than to a parent.

Extended family members may help out financially and psychologically. They give support. They may encourage you to achieve something in a way that a good friend doesn't. The extended family wants you to carry on their heritage and to know about it. A friend wouldn't necessarily have that interest. The extended family transmits a sense of belonging. They make you feel that someone cares about you. And the extended family gives you a sense of your identity.