What do your children's friends call you? (daycares, teens, parents)

[NewJersey?]

When my 6 year old daughter has her friends over the house, it seems they call the adults by their first name. Maybe I'm old fashioned, or just old, but I thought that young children should say "Mr Jones" instead of "Harry" when talking to an adult such as their friend's parent.

The 6 yo is my first child and we have a 3 yo son, so this is relatively new to me. Just wondering how I should approach the situation. My wife seems fine with it, but it just sounds odd to be called by a first name from a 6 year old.

Am I being unreasonable? It really doesn't bother me, I just find it odd.

[skbs]

By my name.... but I am more like an aunt to most of the friends who come to the house..... the friends from school haven't come over yet.... don't know what I will have them call me yet.... I feel kind of funny having them call my by my last name.... sounds so formal but I know I need to teach kids to be respectful.....so, it will most likely be that.....

[cablejockey]

You are right, it is odd. I have never run into children that young wanting to call me by my fistname--its usually the teens.
You are not old to want to be addressed as Mr. Jones instead of Harry. Even other adults call each other Mr. or Mrs/Ms. when they dont know each other or are in a work situation! Just correct the kids when they yell out Harry, and say they can call you Mr. Jones. Its their parents fault, after all. And they probably have their own problems with being adults and authority figures, if they let their own kids call them by first names.

[findinghope]

our son is almost 3, so when i point out his freinds parents, i usually say "so and so's mommy or daddy".
now i know that cant last much longer, so we will have to come up with something else.
the other children call me by my first name, and i dont mind, but i feel weird about my son calling them by their first name. i dont know why??
i have heard people telling their children that i am "miss *jane"--using miss and then my first name. that might be a good option for us. that will teach him that this is an adult and they are to be respectfully spoken to.

[gentlearts]

My children always called the parents of their friends Mr or Mrs. so and so. You are doing your children a disservice if you do not teach them to do this. The younger generation is uncomfortable with formality, but that is no excuse to raise kids with no manners.

[maciesmom]

That is always an awkward thing. Seems when my kids were little (preschool and very early elem years) we went with first names for kids of our close friends and have always used the Mr and Mrs XXX for new acquaintances-I felt it was important that they knew the polite way to address adults. We have friends and our kids have friends parents that truly prefer to be called by their first names ( I've never experienced the kids caring one way or another) So they have grown up where some adults are Mary and some are Mrs. Jones. For my son, one way or another, many dads ended up being "coach" so the problem is resolved.

[bibit612]

We were always called Mrs. Sxxxxx or Mr. Sxxxxx, Ma'am or Sir. Never have we been addressed by our first names alone. Our children address their friends' parents by a Miss or a Mister + first names.

[Rickers]

My kids are grown and gone but when I was a kid, one of my friends had a very long and hard to pronounce Greek last name. His first name was Terry so when we went to his house and his mother answered the door we would say "Hi Mrs. Terry, can Terry come out to play" !

[DubbleT]

Friends used Ms T(first name). Close friends, the kids that seem to be at the house almost daily, used Momma T, and acquaintances used Ms Dubble. I had one kid that always called me "Ms John's Mom".

[FarNorthDallas]

It goes from "Johnnie's mommie" to "Miss Mary" to "Mrs. Smith" and by 2nd grade I say it's all "Mrs. Smith" unless an adult tells them otherwise.

The first name comes from preschools and daycares that have kids call teachers Miss First Name, then they it hit real school and it's all Mrs Last Name and so there's this transition time around kinder and 1st where you get a little of everything. I have a teenager and all you hear are Mr./Mrs Last Name or Coach. And although I am not married I still am a "Mrs" to all the kids. They don't do this "Ms." thing.