…No I do not care. 😉
I get a lot of questions about this…so I thought I’d write a post about it.
Lboy calls Todd & I by our first names. We are Kate & Todd about 50% of the time and then Mommy & Daddy the other 50%. It is starting to become less & less of the first names the older he gets. I had honestly never noticed it nor thought it was a big deal until people started asking me about it, it never occurred to me that 1) People would care. 2) It would be brought up to us over & over again. 3) How I parent my children was anyone’s business but my own.
He calls me Kate typically when he does something really funny, when he needs/wants something (like food or drink or a honkin’ piece of homemade fudge–we’ve literally argued over that all day long!) or when we are talking about every day things. I instantly become Mommy when he is scared or hurt or sad or angry or excited…basically, in an important moment.
One time Lboy & I were in Barnes & Noble when I was pregnant with Baby O. We were sitting at the train table & a woman asked me if the baby I was pregnant with was my first. I was so confused because I was sitting there with Lboy playing with him & talking to him. Turns out, he had called me Kate the entire time we were sitting there & the woman confessed she thought that I was the nanny or an aunt! I just laughed. It didn’t bother me at all that she had asked, it was just the first time I realized how it appears to people who don’t know us.
I’ve heard so many different opinions on what people think about this, some people think it’s cute. Some people think it’s rude & disrespectful. Some people are innocently just curious & ask if that’s what he really does, if it bothers us & if we plan on making it stop.
The innocent questions from friends (or strangers)Â don’t bother me, I get that it’s unusual. The rude comments that are none of people’s business do annoy me, but I don’t really don’t have time to give them any second thought.
Todd & I have have discussed Lboy calling us by our first names. We think it’s hilarious. We also have talked about how I called my parents Paul & Jane for a long time & I eventually dropped it. It’s normal. It’s what he hears EVERYONE else on the face of the planet calling us (and if you’re wondering, yes, Todd & I refer to each other as “Mommy & Daddy” in front of Lboy. So the first name thing is something he started all on his own.)
I have an uncle who I respect 1,000,ooo times more than any other parent (along with his wife, I have turned to them for LOTS of parenting help. ;)) He and I (randomly) had a conversation one time about it & what he thinks we should do in the future. I will talk to that man all day & every day about how to raise children. His kids are amazing! His advice can’t steer you wrong & Todd and I have taken what he said to heart.
I think this is the new mantra that I may adopt to all the rude people,
“Yes, he calls me Kate. Yes, I’m his mother. No, it doesn’t bother me. No, I don’t plan on making him stop. No, I won’t discuss with you how I should parent my children. Yes, I do believe how I parent my child is none of your business.”
You want to know what would bother me? If he called me Mom or called Todd Dad. I can’t stand Mom or Dad. I’m Kate, Mama or Mommy. Not Mom, it’s like nails on a chalk board when I’m called Mom.
To each his own right?
“There can be differences of opinion without there being personal differences.”
~Lynne Cheney
What do your kids call you?
I SWEAR at times that Ladybug is trying to say “Adrienne!” rather than “Mama!” That’s ok right now too, because she’s calling me something, and it’s not a bad word. My m other would be one of the people offended by her calling me by my first name. That’s ok though, because there isn’t much in the world my mother likes anyway., and over the years her opinion has sadly come to mean very little to me.
Adrienne Most Recent Post…A Random Tuesday
It’s mostly strangers in our life that don’t like him calling us by our first names. Eh, who cares. I just thought I’d write a post about it to get all the questions answered in one place. If anyone asks I’m just going to start referring them to this post! ha!
That’s sad about your mom. 🙁 I hate it when it’s necessary to distant yourself from people who should be the most important in our lives.
we went through this phase briefly with Collin – he called me Mom and Josh – Josh. Eventually he switched to Dad when Josh let him know he’d only answer to Dad.
We never went through this with the other three b/c they had Collin to follow along with.
Your Favorite Cousin Phoebe Most Recent Post…God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
I love that you type in “your favorite cousin Phoebe”! lol Makes me think of that time when I was painting my room & talking to my friend all about how I was your favorite. Good times!
When I was little my mom said that it was when Maryann started talking that I quit calling them Paul & Jane because Maryann called them Mama & Daddy, so I just switched to it 100%.
I really don’t care that he calls me Kate, especially not while he’s 3. If it’s something we need to change, we’ll do it. But we most certainly are not going to change it just because a few random people have told us they have a problem with it. 🙂
My kids have called me a variety of things over the years. I shudder to think what they’ve called me behind my back. That being said, my 19~year~old used to call my husband “Honey” and me “Daenel” (why he got the cute nickname and I got my first name is beyond me) for the longest time. When the other three kids came along they started calling me “Lady” as in “Hey, Lady, can we afford this candy?” Because my kids were pretty concerned about money, not sure why, the hubs and I had well paying jobs. Needless to say, my emotions ranged from embarrassment to amusement. They outgrow it. Well, not always, my kids are now 19, 17, 17, and 16 and I still get the occasional “Hey, Lady…”
Daenel T Most Recent Post…Coffee Talk {In the Cafe}