What should children call non-family adults?

[DeaverTex]

LOL...I will be married 20 years this October and MRS. XXX sounds like my MIL still!!!! I would never have anyone call me that outside of a formal situation or school.

Based on this thread, I think there are clear regional lines....Miss/Mr First name never happens here...outside of preschool!

Ma'am/Sir is never said outside of a store clerk not knowing what to say.

Aunt/Uncle...no...unless we are family!!!!! I did know a few people who had very, very close family friends and used that term. Not in my family! You had to be family to use it!

My MIL made mention a few times many years ago that I didn't call her MOM...NO..I will NOT call you MOM...You ARE NOT my MOM! LOL...I met her at 13 and was introduced by her first name and it just stuck!

It all comes down to what we are comfortable with. Just go with what feels right!

Reference the bolded text: Oh, how different are the North and the South! You would NOT want to be a child in these parts and not call adults ma'am or sir. It wouldn't be a pleasant thing.

I agree completely with your last two sentences, too.

 

[AngieBelle]

I was born in Southern California and moved to Memphis, TN when I was 10 years old- what a culture shock!

In CA, all my friends called my parents by their first names. (At birthday parties, if Mom said something about Dad to us and our friends, she'd call him Dave-slash-Daddy.) I knew my friends' parents by their first names. To me, the only people who went by Mr. or Mrs. were teachers.

Then we moved to the South, and everyone was so much more formal. A friend's mother called on the phone. When she told me she was Mrs. Parker, I said "Who?" After a while, I started just avoiding addressing friends' parents by name if I could help it. Another time, I got scolded at summer camp for saying "What?" when my name was called instead of "Yes?" but I had never been told not to before.

I'm *still* not comfortable saying sir or m'am and certainly don't care for being called m'am myself- I have to bite my tongue around kids who use it with me because I know they were brought up being told it was respectful. Within my family, it was actually considered *disrespectful* because my sister generally used it when she was being smart.

My sister calls herself an aunt to her friends kids and calls them her nieces or nephews. I'm not comfortable with that myself. My friend with a little boy refers to me as Miss Angela when talking to him, but I'd be perfectly happy with kids calling me Angela.

 

[aprilgail2]

Reference the bolded text: Oh, how different are the North and the South! You would NOT want to be a child in these parts and not call adults ma'am or sir. It wouldn't be a pleasant thing.

I agree completely with your last two sentences, too.

Won't be a pleasant thing here if you started Ma'aming me! That would get you a smack upside the head!

I'm *still* not comfortable saying sir or m'am and certainly don't care for being called m'am myself- I have to bite my tongue around kids who use it with me because I know they were brought up being told it was respectful. Within my family, it was actually considered *disrespectful* because my sister generally used it when she was being smart.
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LOL---most people I know consider being called Ma'am an insult too! Its certainly not something a nice kid would be saying to an adult-its something a smart mouth kid would say!

 

[cornflake]

I think sir/ma'am is in the tone and circumstance. I actually use it and like it and always have but not just to anyone and not snarky (well, unless I mean it snarky, heh).

I think it can be taught (up north, I realize down south it's used in a blanket sense some places) to be used so people don't get that vibe from it. It's in the tone mostly, and in when you use it, imo.

 

[Eliza32]

I don't even let my real nieces and nephews call me Aunt...makes me feel old!!!! My first name is fine.