Children calling their parents

JamieLynn

JamieLynn

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Last night I was watching a documentary about the following subject:

What should your children be calling you? ("you" as in "parent")

I was pretty surprised to learn that quite a few kids called their parents by their given name. I could understand where they were coming from, when the parents explained, that the kids just caught it off from other people calling the parents by their given name.

They mainly seemed to be shrugging it off because personally I would feel "offended" if my kids wouldn't call me mum or mummy. I can't give an explanation as to why I feel this way either; probably just because I'd just want/expect them to refer to me as mum and because I would be the mum after all :cool2:

What do you think? Or do you think that their is an age that you would agree your child to call you by your given name? *shrug*

It was quite a documentary (not a debate or talk show...)

ETA: If the parent is a step-mother/step-father I can totally understand the child calling her/him by their given name
 
our kid call us mom and dad. When he was a toddler, it used to be mama and dada, then as he grew older, it was mommy and daddy. It was so cute.


mummy reminds me of Egyptian mummy. I could never figure out why some kids all their mother, mummy.

Nor why aunt is pronounced as Ant instead of AUnt.
 
oh, I think some people prefer their given name because they feel old if they were called mom or dad. Or they think it would embarrass their child if everyone knew that's his parents. I'm sure there are other reasons, but I think those would be the main two reasons because my grandma did not like us calling her grandma. We had to give her a nickname.
 
IMO....it's lack of respect...and some people that don't want to be called "grandma"...to them, it makes them feel "old"....so it's "grammy" or "gram" or "nanny"....nothing wrong with that...but for a child to call his real parents by their first names? No....not gonna happen in my house!

Whenever I introduce my girlfriends to my sons, I always say, "This is Ms Cindy, or Ms Annette"...and they are expected to say that, same as for any men...."This is Mr Bob", etc.
 
My kids usually call me "Mom" and when they want something they call me "Mommy" :giggle:


Seen older children when they get mad they do out of disrespect call their parents by their first name. Or call them "mother"/ "father"

Guess it would depend on what the parents allow. What ever floats their boat. Each family is different on traditions.


If my kids call me by my first name.. I would consider it not to be appropriate.
 
One thing I remember for sure that none of the couples were talking about tradition.

One mother pointed out having troubles with her eldest son who started calling her by her given name, hence the little ones picked up on it.

She shrugged it off saying stuff like "What do you want me to do? I keep telling them differently but they don't listen to me" -> that clearly is a sign of no respect!!!!!

If I were 50 years old and had a child (adopted or whatever) i'd want it to call me mum or mummy... whatever it is... no matter what the age gap is. It would be my child and I would be the mother...

@ RR: I think the "Ms Cindy" you're trying to teach to your child is very sweet. At least it sounds to me in English. But in French it totally sounds old-fashioned :giggle: Guess there's also a difference from one country to another (maybe traditional related *shrug* or what used to be and no longer is being used...) :wave:
 
My son, for some reason, keeps calling my hubby Mac, not daddy.
 
My kids have always called us either "mom" or "dad". My daughter has speech problems and as a toddler could not say "grandma" so my mother was "mom-mom" and MIL is "nana". Now she says gramma since she can't do the "d" in the middle of a word. Her speech issues are re-surfacing.

Lighthouse- I grew up calling my Aunts (ant). I'm not sure why it was pronounced that way, but that was the way I learned. My sister-in-law (cringe-shudder) says aunt "AUnt".
 
JamieLynn said:
One thing I remember for sure that none of the couples were talking about tradition.

One mother pointed out having troubles with her eldest son who started calling her by her given name, hence the little ones picked up on it.

She shrugged it off saying stuff like "What do you want me to do? I keep telling them differently but they don't listen to me" -> that clearly is a sign of no respect!!!!!

If I were 50 years old and had a child (adopted or whatever) i'd want it to call me mum or mummy... whatever it is... no matter what the age gap is. It would be my child and I would be the mother...

@ RR: I think the "Ms Cindy" you're trying to teach to your child is very sweet. At least it sounds to me in English. But in French it totally sounds old-fashioned :giggle: Guess there's also a difference from one country to another (maybe traditional related *shrug* or what used to be and no longer is being used...) :wave:
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It's used a lot here in the South (I believe)....and is much more respectful. I just don't feel children, even teenagers should call an adult by their first names.....It also makes me feel a little "special" when some of my boys' friends call me "Ms Jan"....(but I'm sure they've called me "Ms Meanie" at times too! :giggle:
 
I would like that if my kiddos call me, mom, mommy, or mother rather than my name. :)
 
I don't really care what my kids call me, whether they call me "dad" or "CJB". To be honest I don't get what's so disrespectful about using a parent's given name... at least they're not calling me "assface"! :laugh2:

I'll feel really weird when other people's kids start calling me Mr. B or Mr. CJ, which is bound to happen where I live...luckily I look 12 so it shouldn't happen anytime soon. :P
 
shel90 said:
My son, for some reason, keeps calling my hubby Mac, not daddy.
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Interesting...

Curious: have you ever asked him why? How does your hubby feel about it? Though I don't know your husband's real name, I guess that Mac is also just a nickname... What do you think about it? Does is bother you or not? :D Feel free to answer or not...

As said, I'm just curious and not judgmental ;)

rockin'robin said:
It's used a lot here in the South (I believe)....and is much more respectful. I just don't feel children, even teenagers should call an adult by their first names.....It also makes me feel a little "special" when some of my boys' friends call me "Ms Jan"....(but I'm sure they've called me "Ms Meanie" at times too! :giggle:
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LOL @ your Ms Meanie comment... yeah... probably :giggle: But I think it is very nice for your boys' friends to refer to you with that name (Ms Jan I mean) ;)

CJB said:
I don't really care what my kids call me, whether they call me "dad" or "CJB". To be honest I don't get what's so disrespectful about using a parent's given name... at least they're not calling me "assface"! :laugh2:

I'll feel really weird when other people's kids start calling me Mr. B or Mr. CJ, which is bound to happen where I live...luckily I look 12 so it shouldn't happen anytime soon. :P
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See, different kind of opinions here... I find it rather disrespectful if children call their parents by their given name. Wouldn't CJB rather be a nickname than your given name (taken that I don't know what your real name is and which you won't have to divulge either)?
 
I'm thrilled to be called "Mom" by my daughter and son-in-law, and "Grammy" by my grandsons. I wouldn't want them to call me by my first name.

I was proud to become a mother and grandmother, so why wouldn't I want to be called by those titles rather than my first name?

It seems to me like a denial of the mothering/grandmothering roles to want to use the first name instead.
 
JamieLynn said:
See, different kind of opinions here... I find it rather disrespectful if children call their parents by their given name. Wouldn't CJB rather be a nickname than your given name (taken that I don't know what your real name is and which you won't have to divulge either)?
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I'm just using CJB to replace my real name for the purposes of discussion online. :)

I've come across a lot of people that find it disrespectful. Just out of curiosity, what about it makes it feel disrespectful to you? Does it just rub you the wrong way or is there a deeper cultural meaning I'm missing?
 
CJB said:
I'm just using CJB to replace my real name for the purposes of discussion online. :)

I've come across a lot of people that find it disrespectful. Just out of curiosity, what about it makes it feel disrespectful to you? Does it just rub you the wrong way or is there a deeper cultural meaning I'm missing?
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Personally, I feel I am "Reba" to hundreds of people but I'm "Mom" and "Grammy" to only a few special people.
 
My adopted sons call me "Mom"...so do my 2 natural children....sometimes it's "Mamma"....When they are angry/upset, they call me "Mother"!

Would you introduce the President as "This is Barrack"?...Don't think so! And out of respect for your parents, it should be "This is my mother/Mom/Mamma" etc., same as for ur father/grandparents/family members.

When you do adopt children, legally you are their natural mother, and ur name is on their birth certificates. All 3 of my boys (adopted), I'm their legal mother, by law. They have a choice whether to change their last names to be the same as yours, or keep the last name they have.
 
Tousi said:
Why do they call you by your name? Are you their natural mother?
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i think you misread my post. lol i said i rather my kids to call me "mom" than my name. So far my kids haven't call my real name. If they call my name instead of calling me, as mom then i will know if there is something wrong with my kids upsetting with me. So far, they are still small kiddos who still call me mommy. :D
 
Frisky Feline said:
i think you misread my post. lol i said i rather my kids to call me "mom" than my name. So far my kids haven't call my real name. If they call my name instead of calling me, as mom then i will know if there is something wrong with my kids upsetting with me. So far, they are still small kiddos who still call me mommy. :D
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Oh, ok, that is much clearer, sorry. "Rather" indicates/says/suggests they are not calling you Mommy.....:D
 
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