When did you make the transition from "Mommy/Daddy" to "Mom/Dad"?

[RadioNate]

My dad was always dad and now I for alturnate between mom and he first name. Don't know why. My DS who's nearly 4 uses mommy, mom and my first name. I don't mind any of them.

I'm shocked so many use mommy and daddy! My SIL is 17 and still uses daddy and every time I hear it I cringe, it just sounds so creepy to me.

 

[rascalmom]

My youngest dd is 12 and usually calls me "Mom" - when I hear "mommy" I know she wants something!

Both girls still call dh "daddy", alternating with Dad. I do the same with my father. I think "Daddy" is somewhat a southern thing.

 

[stinkerbelle]

I don't remember EVER using "Mommy/Daddy"...I might have, but I don't remember. My mom was always Mom, my dad always Dad.

Although now - my brother and I call her "Ma" to tick her off (heheh - still mostly call her mom) and we call Dad "Henry" when he does something stupid. heheh (but still "Dad")

 

[Strawberry Lemonade]

I think I started calling my parents "mom" and "dad" when I was around 8 or 9 years old. I made the switch when one of my parents (can't remember which one) told me I was told old to be using "mommy" and "daddy".

 

[Barb D]

When DS got taller than me (at 12) I told him that maybe he ought to start calling me Mom instead of Mommy. All the kids (even 5yo DD) started calling us Mom and Dad then. Every once in a while I still get a Mommy.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I don't know when I transitioned, but DD went through a phase of calling me Mom instead of Mama. It really bothered me. I hope she always calls me Mama. That's probably wishful thinking though.

 

[snoopy]

My siblings and I always referred to my mother as Mommy, until her death when most of us were adults.

My father was always Daddy to me and my sister, my brothers called him Dad.

My boys are 9 and 6, we are still Mommy and Daddy.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

My sisters and I always called my parents "mommy" and "daddy" when we talked about them to each other, but "Ma" and "Dad" when we spoke TO them. If I talk about them to other people, I'd say "my mother" or "my father", or maybe "my mom" and "my dad".

Now, tho, I NEVER refer to them as "mommy" and "daddy"...just seems a little childish to me. I think "mommy" and "daddy" really turned me off when I heard Kathie Lee Gifford refer to her father as "my daddy". Ick.

I made a point of calling my DH "Dad" to the kids, and he always calls me "Mom" when speaking to them; occasionally, they'll call us "mommy" and "daddy" if they're being all sweet for some ulterior motive.

We call DH "daddy" to the dog, but even the sound of a "D" gets the dog all excited. He could care less who the rest of us are, and looks totally confused at the mention of mom-names.

 

[DiaDeGuadalupe]

I don't remember when I stopped calling my mom "mommy", she's just mom, or mama, or grandma (if I'm referring to DD or DS when speaking to mom) now. Both of my kids mostly go by mom or mama, but DD3 also says mommy. Dad is dad or sometimes daddy (if DD is talking to him). DS14 is "too cool" to call us mommy and daddy. LOL!

One thing I do find funny has nothing to do with saying "mommy" or "daddy", though. My cousins and I all call our aunts "auntie", even though we're well into our 30s. It's hilarious at family gatherings to hear, "Hi Auntie *insert name here*!" over and over again as we hug all of them!

Also, my mom is Filipino, so even if you're a lady and you're friends have kids, those kids will refer to you as "Auntie". For life. One time my mom was out shopping, and she ran into the daughter of an old friend. The girl ran up to her, hugged her, and yelled, "HI Auntie Remy!" I was cracking up when she told me this

 

[Tiger Fan]

This is an interesting thread to me. I do live in SC and I call my mom, "Momma", I am 35 and it's always been this (my 2 sisters also call her this). Daddy is/has always been "Daddy". Now my own DD calls me "Mommy" and my partner "Mom" (has been her other parent since birth, always in the picture - we are her parents). I have often wondered if Em would want to quit calling me "Mommy". I want her to always call me this and liked hearing that some adults on this thread still do. For us, Mom and Mommy are actually names for us. My niece calls her mother, "mom, mommy, momma" whatever and whenever and they are all interchangeable (she's only 6). When she tells Emily to "ask your Mom", Emily will always simply direct the question to only Lynn, it's funny how precise those names are to us and how generic they are to others. Just another spin on the whole name thing.
Lisa
Tiger Fan

 

[disykat]

Around here those terms are considered babyish. Very different from in southern cultures.

I think it has to do with what you're used to and how your parents refer to themselves. If your parents continue to always refer to themselves as mommy and daddy, if you try to make the switch - it doesn't stick. My dh is never really comfortable calling his parents mom and dad because they continue to call themselves moma (I swear the spelling isn't my fault) and daddy. I think now he just avoids calling them anything because he knows I find it a major turnoff to me if I hear him calling them that, but doesn't want to hurt their feelings. It is very unusual around here to hear adults calling their parents by those terms. I don't even hear them used in elementary school beyond 2nd or 3rd grade.

The only times we use those terms around here are with the dog. (She is spoiled and gets babytalked to a lot!) Dh sometimes slips and uses them and the kids give him lectures about how grown up they are and to stop it.

 

[cruisnfamily]

My kids(ages 9 & 12) use both interchangeably, sometimes I'm Mom, other times I'm Mommy. I don't usually even notice which name they are using. If they are talking to someone about us however they refer to us as "my mom" or "my dad". I call my MIL "grandma" even when my kids aren't around. It annoys her if we're out shopping or something w/o the kids and I call her grandma because she thinks people might think she's my grandma. Anyway, back to the question, I imagine the kids will always continue to use both interchangably which is fine with us. When I'm talking about DH to them I'll sometimes say "dad" and sometimes say "daddy" so I guess I do it too and that's where they get it from. Either way is good with me.

 

[ShuisFan584]

I'm 20 and I don't remember when I started calling my mother "Mom." Whenever I'm calling for her I call her mom, but when I'm talking about her to my dad, sister or grandparents, I call her mommy. As for my father, he's always been known as daddy. I think it would be weird if I ever called him dad. The funny thing is that my sister is the same way, she calls them mom and daddy.

 

[Raylyn]

<FONT COLOR=“Yellow”> fish </FONT>

 

[jjarman]

I'm 55 and I still call my mother Momma and my father, who is deceased, will always be Daddy. My son is 27 and still calls us Momma and Daddy.

 

[MIGrandma]

My mother called her parents "mama" and "daddy" all her life. Even after they passed away, up until my Mom passed away at age 80, she referred to them as "mama" and "daddy."

I don't ever remember calling my parents "mommy" and "daddy" really. I'm sure I did when I was a toddler, and before I went to school, but I really don't remember it specifically. The only thing I do remember, quite distinctly, was that my Mom told me never to call her "Ma." She felt it was disrespectful.

Our own kids called us "mommy" and "daddy" until they were 4 or 5 years old, then started with "mom" and "dad."

 

[CdnCarrie]

I don't recall when we (my siblings and I) changed over. Sometime in elementary school. No it never felt weird.
My kids did it around the same age (maybe ages 6-8?). Never took me by surprise. It's a natural progression.

Even some of the really silly nicknames I had for them as babies stopped at a certain age as we outgrew it.
Never knew this was a "thing" people thought about.

 

[luvsJack]

Well, I never called my mother "mommy". She was always Momma until I became "Momma" and then it was Mom sometimes and Momma sometimes. My kids all call me Momma. Well unless they are asking for a favor and then it becomes "Mommy" (even my 30 something 6 foot tall sons lol).

Daddy was Daddy since the day I could speak. I am 53 and he has been gone almost 20 years and he is still Daddy. DD calls dh Daddy. My younger son calls his father Dad or by his first name, my eldest either calls him Daddy or by his first name. No idea why they call him by his first name. I no longer get involved in their relationship.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

At least you are not MOTHER....my dd's frequently call me that.

We are still mommy and daddy to the fur pups! LOL

 

[mickeyfan9194]

Pretty sure my brother and I transitioned over to calling them Mom and Dad by elementary school. Everybody else I knew did the same. My own kids called me and DH Mom and Dad by grade school age as well.