how do your kids address adults?

Discussion in 'The Toddler Years(1-3)' started by fuchsiagroan, Dec 22, 2009.

  1. fuchsiagroan

    fuchsiagroan Well-Known Member

    Now that the kids are old enough to even notice the other parents we hang around with, they naturally start calling them by their first names the way we do. Very different from the way I grew up - but Mr./Mrs./Ms. would sound even weirder to me.

    So what do you & your kids do?
     
  2. moski

    moski Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    My kids call their teachers and our older neighbors by Mrs/Mr. My friends are all addressed by their first name and their kids do the same with us.
     
  3. Jen620

    Jen620 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    That's a complicated question at my house. It just depends on the person.

    The older neighbors are Mr./Mrs. first name.
    My neighbor who watches the little girls, her kids are 11 and 14, is Marilyn.
    The mom's we've known the longest, we met when we first moved here, are Desarae, Shella, and Crystal.
    The mom's of kids at school are Mrs. last name, but the three mom's above are still first names.

    I am Mrs. Eck to all the kids at school because I sub there, but outside of school I'm still "Jen" to Deasrae, Shella, and Crystal's kids.

    So around here it depends. I grew up calling everyone Mrs./Mr. last name.
     
  4. AimeeThomp

    AimeeThomp Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    Adults who aren't family are all Ms. or Mr. first name. And they are not to say "no" or "yes" when asked a question by an adult. Their choices are: Yes m'am or yes please, no m'am or no thank you. But when addressing someone by name it's always Ms. or Mr.
    Even my friends are called Ms....I'm 29 and to this day I call my mom's friends Ms. first name.
     
  5. TwinLove

    TwinLove Well-Known Member

    Any adult they see often (like our weekly playdate friend who they have know all their life :lol: ) they call the Mom "Aunt Heather". Neighbors and other friends they call Miss.... or Mr....

    Our tradition is to call anyone older then yourself (well, considerably older) aunt or uncle. :pardon: But here I think people would think I'm weird or hunting for family! :lol:
     
  6. Utopia122

    Utopia122 Well-Known Member

    We have two older ladies that are our neighbors and they address one of them as Ms. Barbara (she watches them for us twice a week) and the other as Ms. Willoughby. Most of our friends and family they address them by their first names because that is what they request them to do. If they are older I have them address them either by Mr/Mrs/Ms and their first name if I know them well, or by their last name if I don't know them well.
     
  7. MusicalAli

    MusicalAli Well-Known Member

    I prefer "Mr/Ms/Mrs" as a sign of respect for most adults. But, often it's "Miss Judy" or "Miss Carol". I do not like my children calling adults by their first names.
     
  8. Callen

    Callen Well-Known Member

    Mr & Mrs here. I hate when children address me by my first name.
     
  9. DATJMom

    DATJMom Well-Known Member

    We are old school. We are teaching them Mr and Mrs./Ms. (last name). If they are very close friends of ours, we use Aunt and Uncle (blank).
     
  10. Stacy A.

    Stacy A. Well-Known Member

    I'm the exact opposite. I would hate for kids to call me by my last name in a non-formal setting. At church, we call adults Ms. or Brother First Name. But, everywhere else it is pretty much just first name. If they went to school, they would conform to the standard (I know some preschools go with Ms. First Name and some go with Ms. Last Name). But, in general I think there are plenty of ways for kids to show respect without formality.
     
  11. jjzollman

    jjzollman Well-Known Member

    I much prefer kids to address me by my first name. :)

    My kids call familiar adults by their first name. They call my teacher friends (my coworkers who I teach with) Mr./Mrs./Ms. Last name and other acquaintance-type adults (older neighbors down the street, grandparents' acquaintances). My oldest DS calls his preschool teacher Mrs. Valerie.

    I can't think of one adult (older and younger) that I know closely that would want my kids to call them Mr./Mrs./Ms. First or Last Name.

    It's pretty lowkey here. Lots of pleases, lots of thank you's and no thank you's, lots of politeness - but not very much formality when addressing familiar adults.
     
  12. Minette

    Minette Well-Known Member

    Everyone at their school is first names, and so are DH's and my friends (when the kids address them at all). Parents of their school friends are "Annika's mom," "Nicky's mom," etc. (even to their faces).

    I grew up calling my parents' friends by their first names -- that was just how we did it in our hippy-dippy church. It seemed weird to me when I started meeting the parents of school friends and learned that I was supposed to call them Mr./Mrs.
     
  13. skybluepink02

    skybluepink02 Well-Known Member

    I'm from the south, so around here, friends that they are close to are Mr./Mrs./Miss FirstName. Those who we aren't very close to are Mr./Mrs./Miss LastName. Parent's best friends are Aunt/Uncle FirstName. When adults ask questions they are answered in Yes Ma'am/No Sir.
     
  14. MichelleL

    MichelleL Well-Known Member

    Anything goes! A friend of mine who is a few years older than me told me that she hopes I won't make my girls call her Mrs. Robertson. So they call her Susie. If I'm unsure how someone wants to be addressed I usually go with Miss _____. I don't do Mr. or Mrs. unless it is someone significantly older than us, to show some respect. Not that people a little older don't deserve respect but most often I've been corrected and told my girls can call them by their first name.
     
  15. Snittens

    Snittens Well-Known Member

    It's pretty much standard around here to do Mr/Miss FirstName.
     
  16. Becca34

    Becca34 Well-Known Member

    Ditto. Same place, same method. Although in preschool, Ms. First Name was the standard. Now in kindergarten at a different school, it's Ms. Last Name. That's just teachers, though -- friends' parents are still Mr. and Ms. First Name.

    But, I've certainly answered to, "Excuse me, Nadia's mom? Will you please help me?" :laughing:
     
  17. Heathermomof5

    Heathermomof5 Well-Known Member

    I cannot stand for anyone to call me Mrs.A - I prefer Heather or Dawson's (or any of my other kid's) mom. As far as my kids go, it depends on the person they are speaking to as to what they call them.
     
  18. LeeandJenn15

    LeeandJenn15 Well-Known Member

    Ditto. This is how we were raised. We were always told to ask our parents' friends what they wanted to be called. Usually they were fine with first name, but we would try to add Mr/Ms to it.
     
  19. summerfun

    summerfun Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    My kids and all kids around here call adults (no family and not teachers) Ms. and Mr. and their first name, so Ms. Amy or Mr. Patrick.


    When I was growing up we called all adults Mr. and Mrs. and lastname.
     
  20. twinboys07

    twinboys07 Well-Known Member

    When I was a kid, all adults were either (fake) aunt/uncle first name or Mr./Mrs. last name. For my kids, my close friends are just addressed by first name, and I would much prefer to be addressed by my first name by kids, too. I agree with Jori's perspective: casual with the names, but politeness is a must!
     
  21. skybluepink02

    skybluepink02 Well-Known Member


    I just looked at your location. I 'm in Marietta!
     
  22. Beth*J

    Beth*J Well-Known Member

    My kids don't speak enough to call anyone anything, but I think we'll try to get them to call people we don't know REALLY well Mr/Mrs/Ms. That may not work since it isn't common practice around here, but I think it's respectful.

    I teach ALL the elementary kids in the community, so they all call me Mrs. Jahn. There are a few kids whose parents are close friends who call me Beth when we are out of school, but I've noticed they seem uncomfortable calling me by my first name.

    I have another teacher friend who is very close to our family. We address her as Auntie Amy. When the girls are in school, they will call her Mrs. H...
     
  23. debid

    debid Well-Known Member

    We work on a case-by-case basis but it's Mrs./Mr. Lastname or ma'am/sir unless instructed otherwise. We have some friends who prefer the kids use a first name or nickname and we help the kids remember what everyone likes.
     
  24. sulik110202

    sulik110202 Well-Known Member

    We try and use Miss/Mr and their first name, mainly because that is what daycare stresses and it doesn't seem quite as formal as using the last names. With close friends sometimes, they drop the Miss/Mr, but as long as they are polite, we don't really stress about it.
     
  25. becasquared

    becasquared Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    Right now, every male is Daddy or Papa, and every girl is Daddy or Gramma.

    We will probably do Miss/Mr. and first name when it gets to that point.

    Oh, since my parents are in town, they've been calling me Becky and Royce has been calling me that :rolleyes:
     
  26. 2plusbgtwins

    2plusbgtwins Well-Known Member

    My kids daycare teachers are all Ms. (first name)

    Mine and DF close friends are Aunt/Uncle (first name)

    Teachers at oldest DS Elementary school are Ms. (last name)

    Their friends parents are Ms/Mr (first name)

    Most other adults are Mr./Ms. (first name) as well. I dont think we know any adults that my kids refer to using their last name. If they dont know one of their friends parents name, then it is so-and-so's Mom/Dad.
     
  27. Shadyfeline

    Shadyfeline Well-Known Member

    The only adults mine refer to as Mrs. is their preschool teachers and even then it is Mrs. *first name*. I only like to be called by my first name, Mr./Mrs. last name is too formal for me or DH.
     
  28. bkimberly

    bkimberly Well-Known Member

    Same here. Moving to NY it has been a transition for me to hear a four year old call me just "Kim". My kids are still expected to say Ms. First name or Mr. First name, no matter what their friends say.
     
  29. heybabalou

    heybabalou Well-Known Member

    Here in Seattle, it seems the norm for kids to call adults by their first name, at least if they are family friends. In preschool, the teachers are on a first name basis, but I assume that will probably change when they get to Kindergarten.
     
  30. ldrane

    ldrane Well-Known Member

    We do Ms./Mr. First Name. Although with Aunts and Uncles...most of my neices and nephews just call us by our first names. I am trying to get my kids to say Aunt Steph, Uncle Charlie, etc...We will see though. The Aunt and Uncle part just isn't big in our family. :unknw:
     
  31. twoplustwo

    twoplustwo Well-Known Member

    My kids attend a Spanish school (3rd & 5th grade) so they address their teacher's as Maestro/Maestra first name.
    They call adults by their first name, even our elderly neighbors.

    It is very casual here where we live. It would be wierd to me to have someone call me Mrs XXXX, after all, that's my MIL, not me.

    I grew up calling everyone Mr or Mrs so this was an adjustment to me but we always expect politeness and respect from our children so so far, it has not been an issue.
     
  32. snoopytwins

    snoopytwins Well-Known Member

    We are teaching Mr. and Ms./Mrs. First Name. If they are close family friends of ours then it's Aunt/Uncle First Name.

    I still refer to many of my parents' friends and DH's family friends as such so I teach my kids the same.
     
  33. AmynTony

    AmynTony Well-Known Member

    with pre-school its Miss Jamie and Miss Stacey...and the babysitter (their old daycare teacher) is Miss Ashlee...DH's and my friends are Aunt/Uncle...other adults (like some of my parents friends) they really don't address with names...
     
  34. Stacy A.

    Stacy A. Well-Known Member

    Just a little side note. I've realized that you are all saying your kids call close family friends Aunt___ or Uncle ___. The funny thing is, my kids don't even call two out of three of their aunts Aunt___! My sister is called by her nickname, Tay Tay (they kids couldn't say Stephanie when they were babies) and their other aunt is just Lindsay. They do call my DH's older half-sister Aunt Tammy. But, I think that is because we hardly ever see her, so we refer to her as Aunt Tammy so they can remember she is their aunt! They do call some of my aunts and uncles Aunt___ or Uncle ____ but not even all of them. I always just called my aunts and uncles by their first name as a kid, too.
     
  35. Leighann

    Leighann Well-Known Member

    I grew up calling adults Mr/Ms Lastname, except for a few of my parents VERY close friends (they were Aunt/Uncle). But none of my friends are comfortable with Mr/Ms so we go with first names. One of our friend's daughters calls DH and me Uncle DH and Aunt Leighann, but my girls just call her parents by their first names (I asked and they don't mind). I don't want to confuse kids and make them call me and DH, Dr. last name (which happen to be two different last names), and its a pet-peeve of mine to be called Ms or Mrs since I'm not :nea:
     
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