What do your kids' friends call you?

[alison]

We went out to eat a few weeks ago, and a little girl at the next table asked what dd's name was. We told her, and then, she asked for dh's name. He told her and she cracked up laughing. She then told her mom "HIS name is X!!! Hahahaha!". The mom turned to us embarrassed, and said "oh, she just heard this name in a Disney movie TODAY!"

Dh has a really uncommon name. More common in recent years, but usually among practicing Catholics.

[Tenacious_D]

We've always used Miss FirstName or Mr. Firstname. There is some implied respect, without it being overly formal. It started with daycare and how the teachers there are addressed.

This what we do with the older kids. Right now the toddlers all call the parents "eli's mommy" or "joseph's daddy".

[Vanquisher]

I get called Mrs. lastname, Miss Heidi, Lexi's mom, or Ryan's mom. No one seems to call me Heidi, but that's probably what I'd prefer. It just isn't a big deal to me, so I defer to what other parents have taught their children is appropriate.

[ladymoreta]

Most of my friends' kids aren't talking yet, so I really shouldn't contribute, but I will anyway...

I would prefer Mrs. Lastname (or Miss Lastname, since Mrs is kind of harder for kids to say.) I won't mind, though, if they call me by my first name. It's become common.

I've already started referring to my friends as Mrs and Mr (or Dr) to DS, so I'm hoping they'll catch on that I want him to address them that way. I really hope they are okay with it. I was just so confused as a kid when my parents told me to use Mr. or Mrs. but the parents corrected to first names. I just avoided saying any kind of name, and it was awkward. I was just an awkward kid, though.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

I was just so confused as a kid when my parents told me to use Mr. or Mrs. but the parents corrected to first names. I just avoided saying any kind of name, and it was awkward. I was just an awkward kid, though.

Same here

Our friends with kids either go the Firstname or Miss/Mister Firstname. DH's family don't even call aunts and uncles Aunt So-and-So, etc - but my family is very formal with that stuff. I don't know what we'll end up going with, but it's something to think about. We will probably teach them to use Mr./Dr./Mrs. Lastname unless a specific parent says otherwise.

Most of my friends' kids aren't talking yet, so I really shouldn't contribute, but I will anyway...

I would prefer Mrs. Lastname (or Miss Lastname, since Mrs is kind of harder for kids to say.) I won't mind, though, if they call me by my first name. It's become common.

I've already started referring to my friends as Mrs and Mr (or Dr) to DS, so I'm hoping they'll catch on that I want him to address them that way. I really hope they are okay with it. I was just so confused as a kid when my parents told me to use Mr. or Mrs. but the parents corrected to first names. I just avoided saying any kind of name, and it was awkward. I was just an awkward kid, though.

I do tend to go with what other people say if they have a preference, but I really dislike the Mr./Mrs. thing b/c it's not Mr. / Mrs., it's Dr./Mrs. and even though there is no other place in the universe what we actually do use the Dr. thing, for some reason (in my head) it irks me to hear someone call my husband Mr. instead of Dr. We're both more comfortable with just the first name (plus, Mrs. Patel still invokes my MIL to me). Also, I don't use Mrs., I use Ms. ... just another idiosyncratic thing that is all in my head, but goes to why I prefer to ditch titles in their entirety. It probably goes back to my mom, who after her divorce told my friends to call her Madame, b/c "I'm not a Mrs., I'm not a Miss, and Ms. sounds like you have a broom stuck up your ass."

Anyone wonder why I'm the way I am???

I'm almost always called Mrs. Lastname, but most of our friends are pretty Southern and formal. I still call all of my friends' parents by the honorific.

[v-girl]

To our friends who are close enough that our kids use the Ms. Veronica, the kids call DH Dr. Firstname. My niece (6 years old today) has actually called DH Uncle Dr. Firstname. Cracks us up! She's proud that her uncle is a doctor!

[alison]

What I find totally weird is addressing Gymboree teachers or dance class instructors with "Teacher (first name)."

[Pollyanna]

When we lived in CA all the teachers were Teacher firstname (which was odd) but then I had a hard time switching to Miss firstname when we moved back to AZ. Elementary teachers and beyond have always been Mrs. Lastname though. Interesting regional trends.

[scrub-jay]

When we lived in CA all the teachers were Teacher firstname (which was odd) but then I had a hard time switching to Miss firstname when we moved back to AZ. Elementary teachers and beyond have always been Mrs. Lastname though. Interesting regional trends.

Really? Weird! I was N. CA born and raised and it was always Miss Firstname. Crazy!

[alison]

Really? Weird! I was N. CA born and raised and it was always Miss Firstname. Crazy!

Where we are now, in the PNW it's Teacher This and Teacher That. I never heard that growing up here! I'm an outsider in my own hometown!
A West Coast thing?

[GrayMatterWife]

That's what we do with our close friends' kids.

Ditto. That's a long-practiced Southern tradition.

Otherwise, I'm "Mrs. [Last name]." And that is how I introduce myself to others' children. It irks me TO NO END when people then tell their children, "You can call her '[First Name]."

No, you can't. You're a child. I am an adult. I am pretty sure that I have earned the right to be properly addressed by children. They are children, not my social equals.

[PrincessFiona]

Mrs. Lastname

I grew up as the child of an officer in the military. It wasn't uncommon fir us to even say "yes ma'am/ yes sir to our friends' parents.

I continue with a more formal approach because it indicates a separation between parent and child. I'm the adult. As much as I might like a child, we aren't friends.

This has never caused a problem. The neighborhood kids all cone to me if they are injured, broke up with their boyfriend, or need a ride home from school and their parents forgot.

I feel like Mrs says "As the adult, I am responsible and will take care of anything."

I talk about my friends by saying Mrs Barnett or Mrs Lamoreaux (for example). Before Kelly came to visit, Amanda said "what? Wait. Mrs Barnett is Kelly?"

I don't like it when other people give my child permission to break my rules. No, they can't call you by your first name until they are 18.

I am not offended if a child calls me Kris or Miss Kris. My kids are usually quick to correct it though. They will say "that's my mom. She is Mrs. Math. "

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tenacious_D]

I use the same thinking about the Ms. First name when referring to family. I still call my aunts and uncles by aunt J or Uncle H. I expect my kids to do the same because just calling elders by their first name seems weird to me. It must be that southern touch from my father.