Names and Titles

[Rellevart]

A friend of mine just asked me a question about this and I thought it'd be interesting to hear what a diverse (age-wise and geographically) group of folks like yourself thought of it. When you were young, what did you call your parents' close adult friends? Were they Mr. and Mrs. Smith or were they Bob and Jean or were they Auntie Jean and Uncle Bob? And conversely, what do your friends children call you?

My friend said that her best friend's son has been instructed to call her Aunt and she hates it because she's NOT his aunt, so she thinks it's stupid. My friends kids call me Aunt too and I don't mind it at all, though I think when they get a little older, I'll ask them to call me just by my first name. I don't want anybody calling me "Ms. XXXXXX" though (and no, that's NOT really my last name - ha ha ha).

What do you all think?

[Siobhan]

My friends kids all call me Siobhan (those who know how to pronounce it anyway!), and my daughter calls her friends parents by their first names. I think I would feel a bit weird being called aunt or Mrs. or anything like that.

Growing up I called my parents friends by their first names too.

[HMVNipper]

It depended on who the adults were when I was a kid -- though most of the time I called them Mr. or Mrs. whomever until THEY told me I could use a first name. Of course, times were different then, things could be a lot more formal when it came to what kids could call adults.

Jamie's little friends usually call me by my first name, but that's because I encourage that -- and he calls his friends' parents by first name unless they have said otherwise. Not one that I can think of has objected to being called by first name. One little boy in Jamie's class calls me "Miss Susan," which I find sweet and endearing.

I don't mind if other people's kids call me by my first name, I'm a pretty informal person like that.

[chaitanya]

When i was a kid I called my parent's friend by name.
Now kids call me Claudio,and that's fine to me.

[DizzymissLizzy909]

I call most adults Mrs./Mr. whatever. I still feel a little uncomfortable calling some adults by their first name, I feel like I have to be more formal and polite around them. I've NEVER had anyone me call me Ms. C(insert last name here), though. :wink1:

[ChrisG134]

When I was a kid I called my parents friends Mr.&Mrs.We still call them that.It would be a little weird calling them by their first names.My neices & nephews call me Aunt Chris.

[Rellevart]

I call most adults Mrs./Mr. whatever. I still feel a little uncomfortable calling some adults by their first name, I feel like I have to be more formal and polite around them.

If you ever call me "Miss M", I will smack you. :wink1: :wink1:

[Rellevart]

The weird thing is, there are these friends of my parents who are the same age as my (much) older brother, so they're in their mid-50's now, but when I first met them, I was a teenager and they were 30-ish and I was supposed to call them Mr. and Mrs. X. Even now, when I'm in my 40's and they're only 12 or 13 years older than me, I feel odd calling them Bill and Jane! Conditioning...gotta love it. :rolleyes:

[luvsthebeatles]

If you ever call me "Miss M", I will smack you. :wink1: :wink1:
Well, Miss M, in answer to your question... :wink1:

I usually call adults by their first name, it can be really uncomfortable to call an adult "Mrs. Person". The only adults I use their last names when talking to them are my teachers.

[twovirgins]

hello mrs cleaver mr cleaver
http://www.jerrymathers.tv/images/misc1_small.jpg

[justanothergirl]

I call them by their fist name if I have gotten to really know them. Other than that is is Mr./Mrs. It takes me a while to get used to calling them by their fist name though. For example I still refer to Luvs Mom as Mrs. (insert last name) because it feel weird to me not to.

[EasternBird]

When I was little, I always called my parents' friends by their first names - I guess I just got used to it because most of them seemed to like that, and I never realized it could be considered inappropriate. Until one day, when I was about 8 or 9 yrs. old....my sister had just gotten engaged, and my parents invited her fiance's parents over for dinner. They were already pretty friendly with my parents at this point, and I addressed them by their first names, like I usually did. Well, that was a mistake, apparently, because my mom was absolutely livid afterwards! Apparently the "first name" rule only applied to a select group of people, and to address anyone else like that was incredibly rude and disrespectful on my part. So from then on, I addressed all non-family members as "Mr. & Mrs.," just to play it safe! :wink1:

A few of my mom's friends encouraged me to address them as "Aunt," but I never felt comfortable doing so. The way I saw it, I had several "real" aunts already, and I would be insulting them somehow by giving the title to someone who wasn't a blood relative. I also never felt comfortable addressing my friends' parents by their first names (even though, again, some of them encouraged it).

[Beatle_4]

With regards to my sons, depending on how close a certain friend was to me and the wife, they would call them Aunt or Uncle. I have only 1 friend that my boys have called by his first name since they could talk.
It has always been Aunt Louanne and Uncle Steve, Uncle Larry, Uncle Ian and Aunt Beth and then just plain Mike.
If it was people I worked with who happened to stop by my place for a visit, my sons would call them Mr. so and so or Mrs/Miss so and so.
It really depended on the person.

[luvsthebeatles]

I call them by their fist name if I have gotten to really know them. Other than that is is Mr./Mrs. It takes me a while to get used to calling them by their fist name though. For example I still refer to Luvs Mom as Mrs. (insert last name) because it feel weird to me not to.
Haha. Just never call her ma'am. She hates that. :laugh5:

[Hari's Chick]

Growing up, I was told to call my friends' parents Mr/Mrs... if I'd have called them by their first names (and my parents had found out) I'd have been in big big trouble!

Now my kids friends call me Lorraine, or Mom if they are looking for a free lunch, hahaha!

[Rellevart]

Well, Miss M, in answer to your question... :wink1:

Smart aleck. :wink1:

[beatlegirl9977]

hello mrs cleaver mr cleaver
http://www.jerrymathers.tv/images/misc1_small.jpg
:laugh5: That's who I picture every time I address a friend's parents as Mr. or Mrs.

[Celebrian]

As a kid, it was Mr. or Mrs.

And most of my friends' kids (who are of age to talk) call me Miss Christa.

[Lynner]

I'm Mrs. Lynn to most of my kids' friends and to my students in my Religion class. My kids call my close friends "Aunt" or "Uncle" (insert first name here).

They call other adults by their first names, or will use Ms/Mrs./Mr., depending on what each adult wants.

[luvsthebeatles]

Smart aleck. :wink1:
I'm a teen, what did you expect?
:angel4: ----> :devil7:

[DizzymissLizzy909]

If you ever call me "Miss M", I will smack you. :wink1: :wink1:

I'll try to avoid that, then! :laugh5:

I don't have as much of a problem with calling people here by their first names. It feels kind of different, because it's chatting over the internet, you don't really give away last names here, right?

There are some people here on the forum I always think of as nicknames from their username... for example, Suzanne I will forever think of you as "Rell" instead of your real name, and Rach I will forever think of you as "Luvs". :wink1:

[FPSHOT]

When I was a kid I called my aunts and uncles Aunt or Uncle...up till I was somewhat older and the hippy sixties arrived, then I skipped the titles hehe.... now.. my kids just use the first name.. to add Aunt or Uncle sounds so old fashioned and when my neaces would do that I would feel a million years older hehe so please no..

I called my parents always just Mom and Dad, and my Mother in law and Father in law too..personally I find the way I see it in the US, calling them by their first name...nah I would not do that.. just from a feeling

My friends parents I called Mrs. ... and Mr... but...that was in the sixties and seventees, so a bit different from today, my kids now call their friends parents by their first name.

Titles are a bit out I think.

My kids' friends all call me FPSHOT ofcourse..

[sourmilkpinky]

This is a very interesting topic......Mr & Mrs. has always been the standard in my house. And I have always insisted on my kids using the Aunt & Uncle titles for their aunts & uncles. When my neices and nephews were smaller under 15 it really bothered me that they didn't call me Aunt.
There are the few occassions when my kids get closer to their friends parents and at the adults request they use first names....but mostly and when in doubt I have taught to use the titles.
I have never been able to use my childrens teachers first names either...teachers are always Ms., Mr. or Mrs.....even now that my kids are adults....
The reasoning behind titles is too show respect/authority....and I find it important.

[HMVNipper]

Now, here's an interesting one: for those of you who have kids, what about what your own kids call you?

I ask because Jamie calls Jim and me "Daddy" and "Mommy" right now (well, he's 6 1/2, I'm sure that will mutate into "Dad" and "Mom" soon enough...) but one little boy in his class actually calls his parents by their first names! I admit, I found that quite shocking...and weird, too. Our family went out with their family one day early on in the boys' friendship and it took me a while to figure out exactly WHO Benjamin was talking about when he was looking at his mother but saying her first name! (Even though I knew her first name and *I* call her by it, mind you...) I guess I never considered that any child would call his parents anything except Mom and Dad or some variation thereof.

On another note, When Jim and I got married, we asked our parents what they wanted to be called by the new in-law. Both sets of parents said that we should use first names. And so I call my in-laws by their first names, and Jim calls my parents by theirs.

It's funny regarding teachers, too...obviously, I know the first names of Jamie's teachers. And they told me it's okay to call them by first name. The kids in the class, while they call them Ms. G... and Ms. M... , do know their first names too, though of course they are not allowed to use them. But even though they have told me (and other parents) that we can use their first names, in front of the children, or while talking about them to the children, I NEVER use their first names -- I always refer to the teachers as Ms. so and so when talking to Jamie. It's a respect thing -- I don't want the kids to get the idea that it's okay for THEM to call them "Lisa" and "Irene."

The weirdest one was the principal...As an officer of the PTA I am ENCOURAGED to call her "Ginny." But that weirded me out pretty badly -- I STILL call her Dr. P..., particularly if their are any children within earshot. The assistant principal, however, introduced himself to me as Andy when I met him, I have CALLED him Andy since that day, and unless there's a kid around to hear me, Andy he remains. Maybe it has something to do with how you are introduced to someone in the first place!

[FPSHOT]

Now, here's an interesting one: for those of you who have kids, what about what your own kids call you?

My two girls each have a few nicknames for me which they use to address to me or call me (impossible to translate) and when "Dad" is used...I know what comes after will be serious...

[Lynner]

My kids call us "Mommy" & "Daddy" or "Mom" & "Dad". We each call our respective in-laws "Mom" & "Dad" as well.

Funny you should mention the in-law addressing, Susan. Years ago we discussed that work. Some people were most indignant that no one, other than their own parents be honored with the titles (or variations thereof) "Mom" & "Dad". To me it just means that I feel close and comfortable with them. The only time I call my mom-in-law by her first name is when both moms are in the room and I'm speaking to her.

[Rellevart]

To me it just means that I feel close and comfortable with them. [/font]

I agree. Heck, sometimes I call Lynn's parents "Mom" or "Dad"...and her Uncle Wally is ALWAYS "Uncle Wally"....I think it's his actual name. :wink1:

[Lynner]

Oh and I still use the titles "Aunt" and "Uncle" when speaking to my relatives. It's so ingrained in me. Altho' it is kinda funny to hear my cousins still call my dad, "Uncle Richie" and he's 72.