Do most kids/teens/young adults in the South still say "yes ma'am" or "yes sir?" (transplants, amusement park)

[grmasterb]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeBoyDJ

If their parents are baby boomers then they're more than likely raised with that level of respect. Kids with post 1970s parents are for the most part not raised saying yes ma'am/yes sir etc. It really is a generation thing. Has nothing to do with the south or being a southern thing. Most kids today just arent taught that at home. It doesnt make them disrespectful they're just not taught that. However most young people do refer to senior citizens as ma'am/sir which is good......at least they respect their elders.

My parents grew up in the Midwest in the 50s and 60s, and they never taught me to address adults in that manner. I wound up attending high school in Arkansas and adapted somewhat to the local norms (i.e. I would use ma'am and sir when addressing other adults, but not those in my own family). I long ago moved back to the Midwest and find myself restricting the use of those terms to more formal situations. I have no desire or expectation for my sons to address me as sir.

[Nairobi]

Originally Posted by Lamplight

I heard it occasionally, and certainly more so when I was a kid (in the 80s), but I wouldn't say it was the norm then and it was definitely uncommon by the time I moved away. I'd hear adults address each other as "sir" or "ma'am" frequently in a business setting, but almost never children. Maybe if I had lived in a much smaller town my experience would have been different. In fact I did work in a small town of 3000 for a couple of years, but I wasn't around children very much there so I couldn't really say how they acted.

Most of the twenty-somethings I knew responded to adults with a dazed, "Do what?" in between text messages on their phones.

Honestly, with people born after '65, I've noticed that it seems more common amongst blacks than anyone else.

[Canes2006Champs]

You know how a lot of kids will call their friends/elders/parents etc as "Dude" or "Yo" or "Homie"? Well that was my experience growing up. The kids that would call others by "Sir" or "Ma'am" usually were the ones that had strict parents.

I once dated a girl whose mom hated being called "Ma'am" even though she was from Alabama. I believe "Ma'am" made her feel old, so I simply called her "Mrs." which made her more happy.

Teachers were always "Mr." "Ms." or "Mrs.". Even a few referred to be called by their first name.

[Smtchll]

Originally Posted by Canes2006Champs

You know how a lot of kids will call their friends/elders/parents etc as "Dude" or "Yo" or "Homie"? Well that was my experience growing up. The kids that would call others by "Sir" or "Ma'am" usually were the ones that had strict parents.

I once dated a girl whose mom hated being called "Ma'am" even though she was from Alabama. I believe "Ma'am" made her feel old, so I simply called her "Mrs." which made her more happy.

Teachers were always "Mr." "Ms." or "Mrs.". Even a few referred to be called by their first name.

Yeah, I associated it with strict parents too. My parents didn't teach me to say it (they're not from around here), but I started saying it in middle school because I wanted to. I still say it to this day. However if the person I'm speaking to is obviously not Southern, I usually don't say it because I assume that they don't want to be referred to as "ma'am" or "sir" From my experience, they usually dont

[debzkidz]

Both my sons say it. Always have. They are both in their early 20's and were born and raised in Texas. One is in school in Georgia and the other in Arkansas. One in particular, has actually told me that he plans to raise his kids to say it as well. I have a sister-in-law that is from a northeastern state. She said when she first moved to Texas she didn't understand the whole ma'am and sir thing and that her parents saw it as a form of back talk. Now she has raised my nieces and nephews to say these thing too. They are just in their early teens.

[Sharks With Lasers]

I'm in Michigan, which is decidedly NOT the South, and I hear kids/teens/young adults using "sir" or "ma'am" to address adults. A lot of kids will say that in certain situations, although not in place of a name or anything like that.

[miamiman]

I find that it's still very common. I am still called sir outside of the South. Better than referring to me as guy, you, yo, man, dude, bruh, moe, or any of those combinations.

[BKmachine]

Hell naw. That yes sir, yes ma'am sh*t only exists in VA and further south. Country people in Maryland do it but that's it.

[nickie74]

I have a friend that was from IL but also spent a lot of time in Texas...then moved to CA, and her children were always made to say it only when the felt like they were in trouble..I think it was a discipline/domineering/respect thing..As it was never said in a casual happy way..like some other kids may use it.

[90sman]

I'm a 19 year old in south Florida and I say ma'am/sir.