Tap Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 I was at Costco the other day with ds15. Ds is 5'10" and 2 inches taller than me but still obviously a teenager. The clerk asked if I wanted a box, and I said "no thanks, I have a kid to do all my hard labor." I always call ds15 'kid' as a term of affection, like a nic name. I know he doesn't care (yet). But, then she repeated it and switched my word to 'man'. It got me wondering, at what age or stage of life did you stop thinking of you kids as children and moved officially in to world of man/womanhood? Did your children instigate the change or did it just happen naturally? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 Even when he's a man he's still your kid. Some things transend time. I think I'll always call DD2 Kiddo. My mother still my uncle "Little Brother". When should you call him something else?, I guess when he starts acting like a man. Even as a man, he'll call you mom, so you'll call him______. Lara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 I'm thinking around the time they're paying their own rent/mortgage. Maybe. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValRN Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 I call my ds 15 "little man". He's cool with it. And he still calls me "Mommy"....in public too. I just love it. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karenciavo Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 In that situation I would probably always say, "No thanks my son is here to help," no matter what age my son was. I don't usually refer to my sons as teenagers around them, it's deliberate - they are either a child or a man. Kind of old school I know, one of the many quirky things about me. I consider my ds16 a man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 They'll always be my kids, if not babies. :) Though my 13 y.o. is becoming very fast quite womanly with her behavior, elegance, appearance and manners and is a lot more than a kid in that aspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 I call my son a man when he is doing man types of things like power washing the driveway and taking care of the mowing and weed eating for me. You should see him beam. He is quite willing to do all of these things without being asked twice because of this. I call him a kid or little boy when he is acting like one. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Right now, I usually refer to my daughters as "ladies." When I'm with a group of kids I call them "ladies and gentlemen. I always have. It makes them smile, and they seem to behave just a bit better when treated with just a bit more respect. I'm not sure what I call just one of them besides "dear" or "young lady." Now for my son, he is my baby. All 6'6" of him. But in the past year I have started to refer to his friends as "young men" or "gentlemen" instead of his "little friends". My brother pointed out that "little friends" is demeaning - paint me clueless, I thought I was being witty considering the little friends all have about a foot in height on me. In your situation, I would have just "No thank you, I have help." Or, my ds would have probably picked it up before the offer of helped was ever given - he's older and much better at trying to help me before I have to ask. I don't think I'll start thinking of him as an adult until I quit supporting him. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Not yet, LOL..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 My mother still calls us kids. We're 25, 29, 29, 32 and 36. I like it. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted April 10, 2010 Author Share Posted April 10, 2010 In your situation, I would have just "No thank you, I have help." Or, my ds would have probably picked it up before the offer of helped was ever given - he's older and much better at trying to help me before I have to ask. I don't think I'll start thinking of him as an adult until I quit supporting him. :D He would do all of the work of carrying them in when we got home without being asked, this was when the checker was ringing me out. I don't think she would have liked him taking the items out of her hands and ringing them up himself. :lol: LOL The 'kid' part, really is just his nickname. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 In that situation I would probably always say, "No thanks my son is here to help," no matter what age my son was. I don't usually refer to my sons as teenagers around them, it's deliberate - they are either a child or a man. Kind of old school I know, one of the many quirky things about me. I consider my ds16 a man. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 i refer to my ds8 as "little man" now, will probably call him "young man" when he is a teen, and doubt i'll ever call him "kid" when he is a teenager. i think we put far too much emphasis on the age of child, and far too little on what he or she is becoming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 I was at Costco the other day with ds15. Ds is 5'10" and 2 inches taller than me but still obviously a teenager. The clerk asked if I wanted a box, and I said "no thanks, I have a kid to do all my hard labor." I always call ds15 'kid' as a term of affection, like a nic name. I know he doesn't care (yet). But, then she repeated it and switched my word to 'man'. It got me wondering, at what age or stage of life did you stop thinking of you kids as children and moved officially in to world of man/womanhood? Did your children instigate the change or did it just happen naturally? Sounds like she was flirting with him :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sputterduck Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 My 5 year old is my little man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Well, considering I couldn't even call MYSELF a woman until I was over 40, I have a feeling it's going to be awhile! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Well, my MIL still calls and asks dh "How is Momma's wittle baby" and he will reply "Fine, how is baby's wittle Momma?" :ack2: It's mostly joking, but she does still call us all kids..lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkInTheBlue Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 My mother still refers to me, my friend (since high school), my husband and my nearly 30yr old brother as "the kids". I'm nearly 38 and my husband is nearly 40. It drives me nuts. I can't stand it. She isn't controlling or demeaning but I hate it. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orangearrow Posted April 10, 2010 Share Posted April 10, 2010 Right now, I usually refer to my daughters as "ladies." When I'm with a group of kids I call them "ladies and gentlemen. I always have. It makes them smile, and they seem to behave just a bit better when treated with just a bit more respect. I'm not sure what I call just one of them besides "dear" or "young lady." Now for my son, he is my baby. All 6'6" of him. My son is only 7 years old, but this is pretty accurate for me. I call my daughters kids,teens, young ladies, ladies, etc... but my son is my baby. And I don't see that changing anytime soon. :lol: I'd change what I call them if any of them came and requested that I do so. I don't call them this-or-that to insult them, so if they requested that I call them something else, I would. It might take me a while to remember every single time, but I'd try. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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