Among Friends

[Jaspersmom]

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@house_cat wrote:

I'm 60 years old and my brother, my only sibling, is 63.  When we discuss my parents, I refer to them as Mom and Dad.  He refers to them as Mommy and Daddy. 

My husband overheard a recent conversation of ours and he said, "Don't you think your brother is a little old to be saying Mommy and Daddy?"  I think it may be because I'm still his little sister and in his mind it makes sense.

My MIL and FIL, on the other hand, refer to one another by their first names when they speak to us.  My husband just got a birthday card from them signed "Love, Chris and Jim". 

Now, I think that's weird.  

It got me wondering how other people address their parents.

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I have a cousin who always refers to his father as Roger, even when he is speaking about him in his presence.  Very formal and weird in my opinion, but that's his thing.

[LindaSal]

We always called our parents mom and dad.  I'm 58 and the middle child in my family.  

Both my parents are deceased.  We would never have addressed them by their first names though my kids have done that to me.......Just being funny because when they want my attention in a conversation they say I never answer to "mom".   Guess cause I've heard it for 35 years!!  LOL

I did however recently lose an aunt (my mom's sister) who we all addressed as Auntie until the day she passed

[CANDLEQUEEN]

My dad has passed now 7 years ago, but he was called Daddy by Us Girls, and Dad by my brother.

My mom is Mom by all of us.. My maternal grandparents were Nana and Papa, and my paternal grandparents were Gran and Gramps! 

To me, there is no right or wrong it is what you and they are comfortable with...

[chrystaltree]

Your husband's family more than weird but it explains that odd comment he made about your brother.  If your brother called your parents Mommy and Daddy when they were alive then, that's how he thinks of them and that is how he will always think of them.  Mommy and Daddy.  He's not going to use terms he didn't use when they were living.  My cousins called their parents Mummy and Daddy throughout their lives and they were in their 40's and 50's when their parents passed.  In our family, we called my mom Ma all of our lives.  When we were young Dad was Daddy but somewhere along the way he became Dad.  I don't when it happened.  My girls called me Mummy when they were little and it morphed into Mum.  Dad was always Dad.  

[CANDLEQUEEN]

Our two daughters call us Mom and Dad, always have. Our grandaughters and grandson call us Mimi and Grandpa...

[CrazyKittyLvr2]

My parents are both gone but they were Mom and Dad.  My sister and I still refer to them as Mom and Dad.  To the grandkids they are referred to as Grammy and Pop Pop.

Neither my sister or I would have ever called them by their first names. We both lost the Mommy and Daddy thing in grade school.

[Suzeecat]

My siblings and I all use Mom and Dad.

[x Hedge]

We all addressed and referred to our parents as ma or mom, and pop.

My brother's first two call him dad, but the next child, born to his 2nd wife, calls him poppa, due to her Italian influence.

Down the block there is a 65 y/o adult child with mental development issues. He uses "mumma and dadda" and it sounds appropriate because it matches his development age.

But my neighbour's son, now nearing 30y/o can still be heard calling out "mumma!-mumma! , daddie!"

He has no development issues, and has sounded absolutely ridiculous still using these terms since he hit puberty, and his 'little boy voice' dropped to a much lower register.

Strange how one is unseemly and the other isn't.

[Peaches McPhee]

Interesting topic.  It varies widely from family to family.  (I do think it is weird that your husband's parents refer to themselves by their first names on greeting cards.)

[haddon9]

I'm 65 and my only sibling, my brother is 61.  We both refer to mom as "mom".  Mommy would sound very silly to me yet sometimes I find myself referring to my DH as "daddy" to my kids (who are both in their early 30s) and they both roll their eyes at me!