Do you think it's ok to ask my mother not to call me pet names anymore?

[A.Typical.Girl]

Of course it's okay to ask to be called the name you prefer, but be mindful that after xx amt of yrs of calling you by a particular name, she may slip up now & again. I've done the same as have others I've known, who've either legally changed their first names or no longer wish to be called Cathy, but Catherine or Tommy, but Thomas.

My point is, don't take it as a slight, when she slips up & calls you a former nickname... & it will happen. It doesn't sound as if she's doing it to belittle you, but as a term of endearment she's always had for you & she will forget from time to time.

By the way, almost everyone I've known with a childhood nickname doesn't like to be referred to by it in adulthood, so it's not unusual.

[Calvert Hall '62]

Miss my late wife and mom calling me cutesy names .... at age 74.

[Sunaimer]

Originally Posted by xxblue100

I am now 21 years old and in college, and sometimes my mother calls me by my first name or a mature nickname, but most other times she calls me "boyzee" (sounds exactly how it's spelled). I appreciate the sentiment, but I really don't like being called that as it makes me feel like a little kid. Even my dad laughs when she calls me that. It's one thing to call me "honey" or "sweetie," because those are more mature pet names, but "boyzee" really doesn't sound good for someone my age. I haven't asked her to stop saying "boyzee" because I know she likes it and I'm afraid she will be devastated if she can't call me that anymore. Parents, do you think you would be upset if you called your adult child a nickname like this and they asked you not to? I certainly don't want to hurt her feelings but I want to feel like an adult, and she does treat me like an adult besides that name.

It would not hurt my feelings, especially if it was asked in a polite, respectful way, with a lovingly hug afterwards.

[zentropa]

I still call mine "BoBo" or "Bootles" or "Shugga Pop" and it always makes her smile.

I'm sorry you feel so sensitive about it, OP.

[germaine2626]

I know that is off topic but I am surprised at how many seem to think that childhood nick names are completely OK and can't lead to future problems.

Frankly, I think that baby nick names should stop when the baby becomes a tween, teen or young adult (if they are even used at all). Even when I was a child I just cringed to hear my father and his older siblings being called very cute, very childish nick names as grown adults by friends, relatives, neighbors (and in some cases, co-workers).

Imagine being a 95 year old great grandma and still being called "Cutie Butt" (a nick name from a comment made when you were a week old baby)? Or, like my father, being called "Baby" as a 80 year old because you were the baby of the family. Or being called "Tiny Dolly" because you were so tiny as a baby and looked like a "tiny dolly". I was in my late teens before I realized that "Tiny Dolly" was not my uncle's real name as everyone called him that, including his co-workers.

And, yes, "Cutie Butt", "Baby", and "Tiny Dolly" were even listed on the top line of their obituaries with their real names when the passed away.

[dspguy]

I'd consider the great joy the mother takes from the pet name as opposed to the minor "offense" I'd take for being called that name. I mean, if the pet name was Moderator cut: inappropriate, then I suppose a "reasonable" boundary would be needed.