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My dad called his parents by their first names. Apparently when he was little he started and they never corrected him.
I am mom unless we are at the skating rink, then my son calls me by my first name, because there are too many 'moms' and I can't hear him call me if he needs something.
My DH has cousins that call their parents by their first names and it sounds pretty weird to me. But I am a weird one when it comes to names, if you want me to call you something specific you better introduce me to yourself as that name because once I begin to call you something it is too weird for me to change it for some reason. I still call my inlaws by their first names and I have an uncle whom everyone calls by his real first name but I call him by a nickname that I haven't heard people use in 15 yrs.
On a side note about uncles and aunts do your kids call them Uncle Frank and Aunt June or just Frank and June? I have only one uncle who I address as Uncle Frank but the rest I just call by first names and so my children have been taught the same way. I guess it wasn't that important for my parents to have us address family by formal names and I wonder if that is common nowadays or if a lot of people still use formal address.
I once knew a guy whose kids called him and his wife by first names but the kids seemed to have respect for them but it still seemed weird for some reason.
I think for most people "mom" and "dad" are unique and special relationships so both parents and kids prefer calling them by those terms.
We're "mama" and "daddy"....first name would get ya an extra chore around here...that's disrespectful. "Mom", "Dad", etc are fine...kids' choice. But, no way on first names.
Everyone in my family calls their mother or father Mom or Dad, but no one uses Aunt or Uncle so and so, just first names.
There is no way I'd want to be called Aunt so and so... I prefer being called by my first name.
I wasn't allowed to call my aunts and uncles by just their first names. My mom would get mad. I'm 35 and still call them Aunt and Uncle. My dad's brothers tease me about it. Uncle Bob calls me Niece Julia.
I think all kids go through a stage when they experiment with calling their parents by their first names. In some ways, I think this is a good thing. After all, my husband and I want my young children to know our full names in case of an emergency, as we want them to know their grandparent's full names, along with telephone #, address, etc. That said, on an everyday basis, I prefer to be called Mom or Momma.
I call my mother by her first name or her entire name if I'm just playing/joking around with her, she doesn't get all uptight and stressed out by it, she'll say my entire name if she's joking around with me as well, I don't call her it on a daily basis. I never called my father "dad" or anything like that in my life I just get his attention by saying "um" or something like that lol.
My brother calls our mother by her first name. He started doing it about 20 years ago when he owned a pizza restaurant and she worked with him in the restaurant. He said he felt weird calling her "Mom" when there were customers in the restaurant. It just stuck for him. My mom doesn't love it, but I don't think it bothers her terribly. (I say that because I've never really heard her complain about about it, and if it bothered her deeply, trust me...I'd hear about it!)
My name is Mom to my children just like my mother's name is Nanny or Grandma whichever she chooses. They would never get away with first name familiarity. My children are not even allow to call strangers by first names. Miss Ann is our neighbor that is my age, Mrs. Lemley is our neighbor that is my grandmother's age. My brother is Uncle Bill, I have Aunts and Uncles that they call by Aunt and Uncle. My older only tried it 1 time. Just not acceptable to me.
I was in Lowe's the other day and I saw my "Uncle Larry" there. When I spoke to him I called him Uncle Larry. He said...You do realize I am not your Uncle anymore...right? Well of course I do. My Aunt and him have been divorced for probably close to 20 years. BUT I grew up calling him UNCLE LARRY. I don't know any other name for him and it would be totally to weird calling him Larry. I honestly don't think I could do it. One time when I was a child I called my dad by his first name and my mother washed my mouth out with bar soap.. driving the point home quite well.
They do have a step father who has brothers and sisters-in-law that they call by their first name mainly because the person has asked us to allow them to do so. In their case I have allowed it but my girls understand it is only these few people and it is because they prefer it that way. It does not extend to anyone else. My mother-in-law is Grandma or Mom to me and Grandma to my girls. My father-in-law is Grandpa or Dad to me and Grandpa to the girls. It is just the way I was raised and I expect my daughters to show the same respect to older people and elders.
I think the loss of respect we have seen in our country is directly related to the fact that we do not EXPECT and DEMAND respect from our children.
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...that's disrespectful. "Mom", "Dad", etc are fine...kids' choice. But, no way on first names.
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