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I must have grown up under a rock or something. I never knew anyone that ever called their kid 'Buddy', 'Little Man', or any of the other nicknames mentioned here.
I never called any of my kids those names, nor have I heard any of my friends call their kids by those names.
Like 2mares, I have often called my kids other names like piglet, monkey, squirrel-bait, and cwazy wabbit. They even attach themselves to the ones they like and insist on being called baby piggy or wascally wabbit instead of evil monkey. They are now 17 and 24 and still have their favorite nicknames, none of which are Buddy.
The only time I have ever heard Chief used was in that movie about the guy talking to his long deceased father over the shortwave, cant recall the name of the movie right now. I thought that Buddy was only used in the movies and on tv during the 40's-50's. I had no idea it persists today.
You guys have enlightened me! Saddly, not for the better.
I consider it the new 'bubba'....most kids get called something and it doesn't usually stick for life, just for phases.
Think about it....terms of 'endearment' start many times before birth.....like little peanut, the babe and sweet pea. Then it morphs into all kinds of things.....bubba, buddy, little man, prince, champ along with all the animal names (turkey, monkey, piggie etc)
Same goes for girls....sissy, baby, darlin', princess and little lady for instance.
To me it's another nickname just like shortening their names, so I don't see it as meaning to put their child on equal footing as the adult. I dislike more people shortening names than I do calling one buddy or princess. But that's just me. :-)
I won't refer to my boys as Buddy because they arent' my buddy. I'm the parent, they're my children, and I think too many parents try to be friends with their kids, which leads to serious behavior problems. I'll save being friends until they're adults.
The previous post just reminded me... So what happens if you call your kid "champ"? Are you telling him he's a winner... and he's now gonna win the Superbowl in 20 years? I've seen plenty of people call their kids champ. Didn't change their parenting skills any... And most did not go on to win the World Cup...
So basically, I don't think children put any actual hard earned thought into what their nicknames are...
I must have grown up under a rock or something. I never knew anyone that ever called their kid 'Buddy', 'Little Man', or any of the other nicknames mentioned here.
I never called any of my kids those names, nor have I heard any of my friends call their kids by those names.
Like 2mares, I have often called my kids other names like piglet, monkey, squirrel-bait, and cwazy wabbit. They even attach themselves to the ones they like and insist on being called baby piggy or wascally wabbit instead of evil monkey. They are now 17 and 24 and still have their favorite nicknames, none of which are Buddy.
The only time I have ever heard Chief used was in that movie about the guy talking to his long deceased father over the shortwave, cant recall the name of the movie right now. I thought that Buddy was only used in the movies and on tv during the 40's-50's. I had no idea it persists today.
You guys have enlightened me! Saddly, not for the better.
I think y'all are overthinking it. No different than girls being called "sweetie" or "princess" or "sissy" (as in "sister"). I even have a co-worker calling me, "morning glory" which to me is ...different for adults, but they are all the same, just a generic substitutes for your proper name. Just a term of endearment, a generic alternative, a nickname. I have never called my own son, Buddy, however, I have used dude. I have heard Buddy a lot especially among youth coaches. It's like they don't know the kids name or are unsure of it and therefor they just call all of them Buddy.
I can't stand the "little man" one though because I had a man tell me to never use the words "little" and "man" in the same sentence to his face.
Has anyone else noticed that almost EVERY parent of boys now refers to them as "Buddy"? Why is that?
I actually can't stand this, and admit that it's partially because I grew up next door to a boy named Buddy, and he was a horrible, obnoxious boy. But here's my concern, and maybe I'm overthinking this. When you refer to your son as "Buddy", aren't you telling him he's on the same level as the parent? I see this all the time, a parent trying to get a little boy to do something, just saying, "Come on Buddy. Let's get in the car". Of course little "Buddy" ignores the request. I think they start viewing their parents as being on the same level as themselves, and then they don't necessarily mind the parent.
I won't refer to my boys as Buddy because they arent' my buddy. I'm the parent, they're my children, and I think too many parents try to be friends with their kids, which leads to serious behavior problems. I'll save being friends until they're adults.
I understand what you are saying.
My husband will tell me that our son is his best buddy. That irks me beyond belief b/c I am on the "parent first friend second" playing field.
But he doesn't call him "buddy".
But, dads are different. They think different than moms & most are considered cooler than moms b/c they get do the fun stuff while moms do most of the disciplining
I'd say as long as dad & mom are agree,to the most part, on how to raise their child & know that parenting is first & being their best friend is not a priority, call em what ya want
OMG, you people would think I'm horrible. I use so many "endearments" that only we understand, most people would think I'm being derogatory if they didn't hear the context! I call him punk, punk head, punky brewster, turkey head, sweet pea, monkey, and I can't even think of all of them. He knows they are jokes and we have fun with them.
I honestly believe this is why kids are the way they are today. Too many parents sit and analyze something as innocent as the meaning of calling a kid buddy and then everyone jumps on the bandwagon. Something this simple does not cause discipline problems. If you set limits and enforce them, having a little bit of fun and friendship with your kids is NOT going to hurt them. Quite the opposite. If you are a Nazi type parent who takes EVERY word and action too serious, your children will NOT trust you or want to talk to you as they get older. Chill out and focus on important things.
Oh and I use dude too and all of his friends think I'm the coolest mom around. And my son is a great friend, athlete, and student. Couldn't be more proud of him.
Last edited by austinsmom; 04-25-2008 at 07:54 AM..
Reason: forgot something
I used to use Buddy in public places as a nickname, partly so that I wouldn't use kiddo's actual name. I must have come along some advice that you don't want to let bad strangers find out your little kid's name in case they use that to try and kidnap your child.
I still sometimes refrain from using the boys names in public, but now I say "hey guys", "allright fellas", rotate through a few.
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like piglet, monkey, squirrel-bait, and cwazy wabbit. They even attach themselves to the ones they like and insist on being called baby piggy or wascally wabbit instead of evil monkey. They are now 17 and 24 and still have their favorite nicknames, none of which are Buddy.
Saddly, not for the better. 
