What do you like your kids' friends to call you?

[Amie]

The children I am close to call me Miss Kathy, the other children call me Mrs. X.

This is how I was raised in the South. When formally addressing other adults you called them Mr. last name, Ms./Mrs. last name. But for adults you were very close to (your best friend's mom) you used Miss first name (even if they were married) or Mr. first name. I guess it was a way of using the first name to make it personal, but still keeping it "proper". At almost 30, I still address my parent's dear friends like this! I think it can really vary by region/culture.

[Ellie]

Mrs. Lastname. Alternatively, Miss Ellie. It is common in the South. :-)

 

I think it is disrespectful for children to call adults by their first names. I don't feel the need to be on the same level socially as children. In fact, I don't think it hurts for adults who have just met to call each other Mr. or Mrs. In any case, I appreciate living in the South, where at the least businesses tend to refer to customers as Mr. or Mrs Lastname.

[LaxMom]

Angela. If parents prefer their children to be more formal, it's Mrs. husband's last name.

 

I'm not Southern. I see no difference in respect when one inserts a "Miss". Use of given name implies familiarity. If you know me well enough to address me by my first name, then do that without contrivance.

 

To be fair, though, my kids' friends are family friends. They are not generally kids that they've met on their own. And they tend to call adults they're familiar with by their first names, too. More formal interactions naturally lend themselves to the kids addressing adults more formally. They call our neighbors Mr & Mrs Lastname, and some of my coworkers they don't know well (upper management types), with no prompting from anyone.

[ChrisB]

Miss First Name

Mrs. Last Name

Mrs. Last Name Initial

 

I do not like just my first name.

[Parker Martin]

Mrs. First Name. That seems to be the convention where I live.

 

I do not like Mrs. Last Name because we're friends with too many couples and their adult siblings. We used to do Mrs. or Mr. Last Name, but there were too many events where most of the adults then had the same name, and it was confusing.

[Woodhaven]

I don't know anyone who allows his or her children to address adults by first name. Therefore my children have been taught to address adults as Mr. or Mrs. X

[momma aimee]

I don't know anyone who allows his or her children to address adults by first name. Therefore my children have been taught to address adults as Mr. or Mrs. X

 

ALl adult have titles. Aunt, Uncle, Doctor, Miss or Mr (or a title of faith, such as father, or pastor).\

 

I do not require last names though --

 

But all adults have titles.

[Laura Corin]

'Laura', or 'Mrs X' if that feels more comfortable for them.

 

Laura

[Runningmom80]

First name. I do consider my kid's friends my friends as well.

 

 

I'm kind of a hippie. I should probably put that in my sig. :lol:

[missmoe]

It depends on where I am. When I am in the South, I'm usually called Miss (first name). In the midwest I'm called Mrs. (last name). In California I'm called by my first name. At church I'm called Sister (last name). I go with the flow and have taught my kids to do the same. To me it's about what each person feels comfortable with.

[Impish]

I prefer Mrs. Lastname. I"m not friends with my dd's friends.

:iagree:

[MorganClassicalPrep]

DD is young enough that it hasn't really become an issue yet.

 

I'm Mimoo to one of my friends kids. Her younger daughter started calling me that when she was about 18 months old and it stuck. We aren't sure where it came from.

To everyone else I'm either Kymmie or Aunt Kymmie. Or Jenna's mommy. :tongue_smilie:

I'd prefer not to be Miss first or last name. It just doesn't fit me.

[kchara]

I prefer Mrs. Lastname. I"m not friends with my dd's friends.

 

 

:iagree:

[Imprimis]

I prefer my first name.

[Carpe]

With little kids "Mommy Carp" and my husband is "Daddy Dave" because half the time little ones just say Mommy or Daddy anyway. And in their own time they drop the Mommy/Daddy.

 

I don't know anyone but telemarketers that call me Mrs Lastname. It would be very strange if a child were to do it.

 

One of my friends tried to get her kid to call me Miss Carp, which somehow turned into Mrs Fish. I will answer to that because it's adorable.

[Denisemomof4]

For kids under 13, Mrs. Last Name.

 

Teens and older, it really doesn't matter.

 

Most of the teens I know are very respectful and I'd rather *they* be comfortable as they approach adulthood.

 

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

[sgo95]

I don't insist on it, but I prefer Miss [First Name]. To me it seems respectful without being too formal/unfriendly.

[twoforjoy]

I'm not sure what using a first name has to do with being friends in any universal or inherent way. Plenty of people use my first name who are not my friends: acquaintances, coworkers, my husband's coworkers, doctors, my parents' friends, the people at the library who call me to tell me a book's being held, etc. And, growing up, my teachers called me by my first name, but that didn't mean we were friends.

 

So I don't think "friend" or even "peer" is implied by using a first name.

 

It's all cultural associations. If a child grows up in an environment where it's the norm to call adults by their first name, they aren't going to somehow not understand distinctions between children and adults, and they won't see using first names as something you only do with peers/"equals"; to them, it will just be how you refer to people.

 

It's like the "Miss First Name" thing. Sure, it's not somehow inherently more respectful to put "Miss" in front of a first name than to just use the first name. But, in cultural contexts where that's the form that's used, it is seen as more respectful (at least by a good number of people).

[Night Elf]

I prefer my first name, Beth. I'm totally okay with Miss (Mrs) Beth. I really dislike Mrs. X because it is way too stiff and formal. I'm just not a formal person. But I have never raised a fuss if the parents insisted their children call me Mrs. Last Name. But I cringe inside each time I hear it.

[Rhonda in TX]

I'm really comfortable with whatever they're taught. Most call me Miss First Name. I've had a few just call me by my first name only. Rarely, I'm called Mrs. Last name. I really don't mind any of the above though. My kids call adults Ms. or Mr. First Name. That is the most common way here, and at church this is the way all of the children address adults, including pastors. So, unless instructed otherwise, we use Ms. or Mr. First name for addressing adults.

 

Same here, except I really don't want them just calling me by my first name only. I let their parents set that standard for their family. My children call most adults by Mr./Mrs./Miss Last Name. We have a few close friends that they call Mr./Miss First Name.

[reign]

I prefer they don't say Mrs. Lastname. I don't really like my last name and waited till the last minute to change it (the month oldest wad born) . I usually suggest all the other options to the parent saying It's ok whatever they are most comfortable with.

[nowimscrappin]

Mrs. Lastname.

 

I also call other adults Mr/Mrs. Lastname around my kids. Even when I am talking about them, I say "when Mrs. so-and-so comes to pick you up.

 

Just went to public school tonight for open house with my middle son. One of the teachers introduced herself to my son as "Mrs. so-and-so" and then introduced herself to me as "firstname". I introduced myself and told her that she would be "Mrs so-and-so" around my son. I want them to hear me addressing their teachers with a level of respect that shows they are adults and he is a child.

 

But, then again, I was raised saying Yes Ma'am and Yes Sir and still say it often to other adults, and my father STILL says it to other adults.

[LidiyaDawn]

I prefer to be called by my first name… if anyone addresses me as Mrs.Lastname, I usually don't even realize they're talking to me. :tongue_smilie:

[Runningmom80]

I prefer to be called by my first name… if anyone addresses me as Mrs.Lastname, I usually don't even realize they're talking to me. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

 

I still look for my MIL!:lol:

[gardenmom5]

I go by Mrs. ___, even by my adult childrens adult friends.

 

Like your other friend said - they are not my peers, they are my children's peers. I despise when clerks in stores, or medical offices, call me by my first name that they've picked up off my file or credit card. though it's worse when they can't even get my name right. ..

Edited August 25, 2011 by gardenmom5

[gardenmom5]

Or, actually, the most popular among all ages seems to be "Thomas's mom" or just "Thomas mom." I think they generally don't remember my name. ;)

.

 

:001_huh: you mean you have a different name? gasp. who'dda thought it.:D

[HRAAB]

By my first name. You're apt to not get a response if you call me Mrs. LastName. Not intentionally. It's just that so few people call me by that name I've never gotten use to it. That's my mil's name.

[nd293]

First name.

 

In South Africa a more "old fashioned" approach would be to say Aunty First Name. In South Africa and Australia, and with the many British people we knew when in the Middle East, I was only ever addressed by my first name by children, and my children only ever addressed adults they knew by their first name.

 

Respect is an attitude, and not a title. All people deserve to be treated with respect, regardless of their age. And not all people are worthy of respect, regardless of their age.

[lailasmum]

First name, amongst our friend we all use first names regardless of age, whether parent or child.

[eternalknot]

Many of my kids' friends call me Auntie. Where I come from, that's the norm. It's not the norm around here, but they've picked up on it because that's what my kids call their friends' moms :) I think the kids like it; as the OP suggests, it implies a certain closeness and relationship.

 

Kids I'm not close to call me by my first name or Miss FirstName. Occasionally I get Mrs. LastName. I have no strong preference either way, and usually defer to whatever the child's family would rather go with.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

I leave it up to their parents' discretion. I don't mind being called by my first name.

[Janie Grace]

Mrs. Lastname. It does sound disrespectful to me when kids call me by my first name, without having asked (or parents having asked) if this is okay. It's how I was raised. There were Mr & Mrs. Lastname friends, and then there were a few very close friends who were Aunt & Uncle Firstnames. I didn't call ANY adult by his/her first name until I was in college, and even then it was hard!