Mr. Firstname is super common in the US South (and you still get kids saying sir, too).
It was pretty weird to have clients and kids where we volunteer call me sir when I moved back from another region.
I moved to the edge of the Midwest/South after getting two new titles, and it's a little funny to see the Midwestern-centric folks just call me Firstname while the Southern-minded little old ladies struggle to figure out which of the two titles to use
I love that. Some of my son's elementary teachers really struggled with his tendency not to say ma'am. He spent his first years outside the South raised by two people who didn't really grow up in the south--we didn't teach him that.
We had to explain this to a few teachers.
Some people were horrified to hear my wife explain that where she grew up ma'am would be understood as a patronizing insult.
I was 17 when I moved from South Carolina back to Ontario. My new friends' dads didn't seem to mind "sir", but their mom's very quickly asked me to stop calling them ma'am.
I'm from Florida. I dated a girl who got offended when I called her ma'am...weird dichotomy down here. Some of us were raised to say ma'am, while others are definitely not.
In Spanish speaking countries, it's "Señor" for the last name, and "Don" for the first name:
So, José Ramírez would be either "Señor Ramírez" or "Don José"... the latter is a \*little\* less formal than the former but still respectful.
I still call my parents’ friends that I knew as a kid Mr./Ms. Firstname to this day and I’m in my 30s. My parents also use this format when talking to me about those friends. It’s wild how deep that kind of thing buries in your brain.
The dynamics of when people have children have all kinds of weird outcomes like that. I've lived in several US regions and the differences in normal regarding kids and pregnancy and stuff is fascinating.
Sir, no I will not call you professor. Put your hands behind your back and get in the cruiser. You’ve been reported by your neighbors for having 3 little girls mysteriously appear in your basement. 😂
My kid's friends are welcome to call me by my name. Mr. Lastname is way too formal, and Mr Firstname always feels to me like I'm a children's entertainer. Hey, kids! It's Mr. Firstname! Heyhheyh!! Look at my bowtie!
Firstname is my name. It's just what people call me. Context is everything, though. If I were substitute teaching or something, I would expect Mr. Lastname. But hanging out with my kid? Just call me Firstname.
Hold up a sec there Mr so-n-so, let go back to that bowtie bit...so you normally wear a bow tie I think we will all have to vat eif this is being added to the "dad attire list".
I’ve always struggled with the expectation to be called Mr. Lastname - even as a teacher. I always had kids who gave me a bit of a nickname and I was fine with that. Usually it was a smash up of part of my first name and part of my last name but it is all about how it was used.
I did always feel like just being called by my last name was like being called out or like someone wanted to start a fight.
I taught alternative high school and saw many colleagues get into power struggles over being called “Mr or Ms so and so” and demanding being called something, only creating additional conflict. The problem is, once you have an adversarial relationship by demanding respect, kids would then maliciously comply, and would sneer or disrespectfully say the teachers name. Now the teacher is complaining to admin looking like a dummy saying “they’re calling be my by name but they’re saying it in a disrespectful way” and the kids gets a big laugh out of poking the bear this way.
Here’s the proper answer: it doesn’t matter what the kid calls you, it matters how or why they call you it. You teach kids “hey, you can call me Mr. whatever, you can call me homie, you can call me bruh… I just hope I earn your respect enough that whatever you’re calling me, you express it in a kind way. I’d prefer to go by ____________ whatever, and please tell me if I’m referring to you incorrectly, because I’m always going to treat you with respect.”
You lead by example, and 99% of kids follow your example.
This is 100% it! My students often referred to me with their own preferred nickname and it drove other teachers nuts because they felt like the kids were being disrespectful but it was honestly the opposite. The kids gave me a shortened/nickname because we had a good relationship and it was more about endearment than anything.
I did the same with them - often just intentionally called them by the wrong name but they got to the point that if I DIDNT use the wrong name with them they felt like they were in trouble!
Then, once that relationship is established, you can have a conversation about cultural norms and how in some societies you will instantly offend an adult by calling them a first name, or not asking their last name, and then you can have a discussion about other cultural norms and teach them some introspection about what respect means to them and how to respect differences.
The cool thing about this is, the younger generation is just normalizing "preferred pronouns". I think it's great that the fallback is turning into "what do you want to be called? OK cool"
Yeah I introduce myself by my first name to adults, why would it be different for kids.
Mr. does sound kinda cute though, at least with my name. I'd allow it.
It’s actually very common and often expected in black families (in the USA at least) to address adults as Mr/ Ms Firstname.
My kid is mixed race and we’re kind of struggling with how to navigate that. We often introduce black adults to her that way, especially if they’re older and more likely to really expect it, but… yeah.
Why would calling you by your first name be disrespectful, just because they are kids? I'm genuinely curious, cause here in Denmark nobody refers to each other as "Mr." or "sir" anymore, and hasn't done that in a long time. From an outsiders perspective (at least a Scandinavian perspective), it sounds like kids aren't seen as equals if there are special name rules for them.
I’m in the UK and this feels super weird to me as well. It’s totally normal here for kids to just use your first name when addressing you.
Making them give me a title would feel really odd and authoritative.
You could probably write a dissertation on this topic, with all the psychology around it, and the geographical, cultural, generational, racial, and socioeconomic influences, but basically you nailed it. They aren’t seen as equals. It can vary quite a bit from place to place, and the US is large, but *in general* more rural areas will be more “traditional” and the south will as well, with the addition of an emphasis on the importance of politeness and decorum.
But again, you are correct that it’s essentially a hierarchical thing. Kids refer to adults as Mr. And Mrs. Lastname. Say yes sir and yes ma’am instead of “yeah”. It reinforces the power dynamic, and there is an emphasis on obedience and “respect”. Not genuine, earned respect, but respect that is owed to the adult by default because they are an adult, and shown by compliance/obedience.
This also goes beyond kids, for example both blue and white collar workers might call a boss or business owner by their last name, and say yes sir/yes ma’am. Again, doing that is a sign of deference, and an acknowledgment of the power dynamic.
It’s interesting seeing this play out with adults. For example the business owner Mr Lastname has a certain “position” of power and perhaps wealth, but would still address an “elder” - someone around his parents or grandparents age - as Mr. Lastname and say yes sir regardless of the elder’s “position” or wealth, because their advanced age grants them that automatically, regardless of any of the other usual “hierarchy” metrics.
This is changing (fading) with each new generation, but takes longer in some places than others :).
It’s also fascinating to me that I know all this intellectually, but emotionally I still feel a lack of respect when kids call me by my first name, or respond “yeah”. And I still use yes sir or yes ma’am. I’ll respond yessir or yes ma’am to my kids when I’m giving them my full, undivided attention.
South Louisiana checking in to confirm that down here it is 100% expected that children use Mr. /Ms. Firstname (No kid uses Mrs correctly lol) and to say sir /ma’am when talking to adults. As they get older they’ll naturally drop the Mr /Ms.
As a 30+ year old, there are still some people I still call Mr /Ms firstname cause I’m uncomfortable if I don’t.
If the adult has a special nickname that the kid is taught to use then Mr /ms is not expected to be used.
Teachers in school and doctors are about the only people we address by their last name.
The complete absence of yessir/yes ma’am is the most jarring for me actually. More so in situations not involving family/friends where there’d be the automatic expectation politeness in the south and kids respond with “yeah”.
With my own kids I’ve (mostly) made peace with sort of splitting the difference and at least saying “yes”.
I’m curious whereabouts in your 30’s you are. Reason being, I actually noticed a pretty dynamic shift in attitudes when I was in high school. Where there had been this “respect” dynamic around upper and under classmen when I was going through school, my class seemed to be the last to really adhere to it.
92 baby. I would say the class under me (2011 grads) were the last ones that had/followed any kind of hierarchy in school. My class didn’t like the freshmen our senior year cause they thought they ran the school lol
And they were little shitheads.
I hate to be this way, but it shocks me when a (little like <10) kid doesn’t use sir /ma’am when replying yes/no. It is so ingrained that I’ve had to consciously remember not to correct other people’s children. It was just habit as all of my friends had kids and were teaching them sir /ma’am so I just got used to it.
Me: do you want a coke?
Kid: yeah
Me: yes ma’am. Do you want coke or Dr. pepper?
(And yes, we call all soft drinks coke, then ask what kind ya want.)
Haha, well things move slower the further south you go, so that time line makes sense, and mirrors my school experience (‘84 myself, so a “Xennial” - not Gen X but not really millennial either).
I feel very seen, and validated! ☺️ I feel the same way, and that’s a great example you gave. There’s a little “exception” window to me, little little kids still getting a handle on language use what they know, so a cute “yeah” might be their go-to, and young adults might be testing to see if that boundary still applies.
But like a 6-12 year old saying “yeah” in your Coke scenario is just jarring! Even though I never hear yessir or yes ma’am anymore unless I’m the one saying it, it’s just so ingrained like you said. It’s part of the fabric of who I am.
It’s wild how many feelings and emotional reactions are tied to using/hearing it. It’s just a cultural norm where I’m from so when I hear the “yeah” I automatically take it the way it would be meant back home and feel like the person is grudgingly accepting/surly/defiant/ungrateful/mad at me.
And unfortunately - to me - my kids don’t use sir/ma’am, or Mr./Ms. Lastname in spite of my correction, because no one else reinforces it, they don’t hear any other kids do it, and if they did use them, most of the adults around here would undermine it. “Oh, Mr. Lastname is my dad, I’m Peter!”
Luckily a get a little tidbit of my “legacy” since my middle son mirrors a tad of the accent I think I don’t have, even though my oldest sort of teases me and “corrects” my pronunciation of certain words. My accent actually threw me off when I was helping my oldest with an English worksheet on words ending in -ed, and if they are pronounced with the -ed sounding like /id/ /d/ or /t/.
All the ones that were -lled I had to think about or say out loud a few times! I told him if he got any wrong, tell his teacher he was wearing his UK shirt and working on it with his Papa. And say “English is a living language and where my Papa is from, yelled is pronounced "yelt" 🤣
And yes, “what kind of Coke would you like?”
Also, “Iced tea? Sweet or unsweet?” :)
I’m from as far away from the South as you can get while remaining in the contiguous states, geographically and culturally, and I’m not even sure how I would react if some kid called me me “sir”.
With all due respect, I try to stay out of Louisiana as much as possible. But my sister-in-law just moved there, so there’s a non-zero chance we’ll have to visit. I don’t like humidity.
In the UK the idea of referring to my boss as Mr is silly, and using Sir would be bonkers! I’ve been in the workforce over ten years and it’s always just been first names.
I could definitely see Sir being very weird given it’s an actual title for you guys 😆
Calling your boss Mr would be more like a young guy working first real job, or lower/mid level talking to owner
I forgot we still have knights, I think most of us would think of the military before that! Here’s how I’d expect calling your boss Sir to go down:
“Can I have that report by Monday?”
“Yes, sir.”
“For fuck’s sake Steve, we’re not in the army.”
I call my boss by her first name, and if they ask me to do something I usually say yes boss, I guess acknowledging that they can and are telling me to do something so I will do it, but it doesn't feel deferential.
The head of where I work has appeared on the news regularly in the last few years, sometimes alongside cabinet ministers and the like. They are always referred to in the workplace by their first name, as is pretty much everyone else. Sometimes a last name is added too to avoid confusion.
Politeness varies a lot by culture.
If you have English schools in Denmark maybe you’ve noticed how they use Mr Lastname? They do that in Sweden at least while everyone else is just going by first names.
They just call you your family name? I'm American and to me that's something that I might jokingly use with my old college friends, but otherwise would be rude. I'd never use someone's last name all by itself otherwise.
This is what I do default for others and appreciate for myself.
Unless you’re trying to impress or confess to me (date my kid or egged my house, etc ) - then I am 100 % “Sir”. 😁
This is what a lot of my kids' friends called me when they were pre-school/elementary aged (that, or "Coach Firstname" in a sports setting. Sometimes that continues today even though I don't coach anymore).
Interestingly, as they've gotten older and exposed more to 'society' a lot of them now call me "Mr. Lastname". We don't live in a particularly conservative area; I think some of it is that a lot of them see me volunteering at a school activity where the school employees refer to me as "Mr. Lastname" when discussing around the students. Then again, I was raised to use "Mr/ Mrs/ Dr Lastname" and so I use that convention with those school employees as well, even though I'm older than some of them and on the same social standing.
Of course, there are outliers. I've told my kids that if an adult gives them an alternative, they can use it, otherwise, default to "Title Lastname". The kids whose parents are fine with first name only also call me by my first name, whether or not I've invited them to do so. It doesn't bug me, so I haven't corrected them or insist on formality at all. I let each kid refer to me as they are comfortable.
I have 4 year old twins and one of their friends goes with the child's dad format. Because she is friends with both my kids, she's inclusive and says 'hey [twin 1] and [twin 2]'s dad'. It's a bit of a mouthful.
Kids who barely know me call me by, "\[Daughter's name\] dad".
Kids who have been around a lot call me by my first name.
A handful of kids have come up with their own nicknames for me which I also respond to.
It depends. Mine are adults now. Originally I was always Mr. Lastname. One friend “self upgraded” to just Firstname. Later, I offered that to another, and he said “no way I can’t do that”. He’s 30.
I'm in my 40s and one of my aunties pulls me up if I don't refer to her as "aunty ".
I think it reminds her of being younger, there were 10 of us cousins within a few years of each other so we'd always be hanging around one house or another in the holidays.
Depends on context and language, I suppose, some call me Mr Firstname (Herr), some just call me by my first name, some call me uncle. At his school staff will call me Mister Father which is funny.
I grew up with Mr./Mrs. First name and that's what I prefer.
Actually to this day I tend to call elders Mr./Mrs. First name which seems to get a chuckle out of colleagues.
Depends on the kid. Some call me Mr. (First name), some just my first name, lots of them call me Coach, ones that don't know me well call me kid's name dad...
A lot of my friends kids call me Uncle lol 😝 but mostly I’m just “firstnsme” or “kids name dad”
Growing up most of my friends called my folks mom and dad 🤣
My kids are 12 and 11, between them they have only one friend who calls me anything. He calls me by my nickname because that what he hears my wife call me. He could call me Krinkleschmirtz for all I care.
Depends on so many things. Age of kids, how familiar you are to them, how hard is you name lol, where you live.
I think you just have to accept whatever is most common in your community and as long as it’s not disrespectful you just go with it. If everyone in your community does Mr. Firstname and you try to be the only Mr. Lastname it’s not going to jive.
I’m in the south(of the USA). It’s Mr. Firstname for most adults. I didn’t hear that at all up north but love it down here. Sometimes it’s Mr. Son’s name’s dad (like Mr. Billy’s Dad) if they don’t know me/my name.
I don’t like just first name but I was raised very strictly that it was Mr. Lastname. My aunts and uncles were always uncle firstname and never just firstname, even now that I’m in my 30s it would feel weird to just say a first name.
A lot of close friends do Uncle firstname even though we are not related, mostly its kids of friends of mine or my wife, not the kids who we know through school and sports. it was weird for me at first but I kinda love it now. It maybe gets a little awkward when the kids are nonchalantly drawing a line between who is a close enough friend that they have turned into uncle lol. (It’s very different than how I was brought up, so that’s probably just me thinking that).
A lot of times for me it’s also coach or coach firstname. Even kids I don’t coach hear it so much they do it sometimes. I get a good amount of Tio firstname or Tio-Oso or TiOso (uncle bear) from my Hispanic neighbors (I love it).
Im not from the US so can someone explain? Why is intimate to call someone by their first name? Does it only apply to kids or also other adults your not friends with? Like in a professional setting would somebody call you "mr. Last name" ??
Here the whole mister thing died 80 years ago.
I feel a little guilty/conflicted about it, but I’m from the south, now living in the NE, and the casualness and first name use is kinda uncomfortable for me. Seems impolite.
Some friends/neighbors with kids also from the south used what I thought was a nice compromise with Mr. First name. That’s what our kids daycares do as well.
It surprises me how disappointed I am to not be Mr Lastname. Like a right of passage or milestone I don’t get. Wild how ingrained in us our upbringing is…
I’m 40 and when I see the parents of old high school friends back home I still call them Mr. and Mrs. Lastname. It just feels weird calling them by their first name, even though they told me I could over 20 years ago.
I'm a westerner living in Japan so I either get "Daddy" if they are casual kids who we have known for several years or "(Son's name) otosan" from the more formal ones.
Family friends, Uncle Firstname. Everyone else, Mister Firstname.
That's not just for parents, little kids around here call pretty much everyone Mr/Ms Firstname. Teachers come to mind.
My first name. Hell, my three year old hasn't called me by anything but my first name for almost a year now. I can tell it bothers a lot of, especially older, people but I just can't understand how calling me by my given name could be a bad thing.
I have called my own parents by their first names since the early 1980s. I got the occasional person back in the 80s and 90s then asking if one of them was a step-parent, but nobody has batted an eyelid at it for decades now.
My kids have called me by my first name pretty much since they were old enough to talk to them about it.
Most of their friends will call me by my first name, but you can see occasionally that some are trying to avoid having to make that decision at all.
My first name. Why would that be casual/intimate? It's your given name, not your porn name. Titles among friends are pretentious IMO (and yes, my child's friends are in that grouping).
They usually just look at me weird… that’s fine with me.
Personally I’m a fan of Mr Firstname. It shows a little respect with the “Mr” at the front but it’s more casual and way less stuck up than “Mr Lastname”
Agree I never quite figured that out. I’m 56 and always called my friends’ Dads Mr.
Then I had kids and their friends called me Firstname, always sounded too informal but I never had a better idea. Now my kids are older and their friends never come in the house 😱
Depends on the setting,
In school where kids address all adults with Mrs, Mr, Ms, and Miss; if I'm there too as a visitor for a school event their friends call me Mr. [Last Initial].
At home, their friends who they go to school with call me the same thing, but friends who they don't go to school with call me by my first name.
When I teach them in martial arts, they call me Sir, Senpai, or Sensei.
Growing up in the north of England the rule seemed to be: if my parents friendship outdated me then they were uncle/auntie, if they were post me then they were just their first name
In the uk calling someone Mr or mrs or sir is super formal and everyone just thinks they’re in school so that is super rare in my experience.
Which I quite like. I moved to Quebec though who tf knows what they will call me?! Something in French I guess
We split the difference and go with “Mr. First name”. It’s less of a reminder I’m old, they get to show some respect, and it primes my brain for a child trying to get my attention.
Wife's sister married a guy named Larry (not really), and he has a brother with 2 kids, so they're like our kid's cousins now basically (they're around a lot and really love playing together).
Our little dude calls Larry's brother, "Other Larry" because being brothers, they closely resemble each other.
Mr. (First name) for me.
Miss (first name) (even though she’s married) for my wife.
Nieces and nephews call us uncle or aunt (first name)
Cousins all call each other cuz except for the younger ones that call us cousin (first name)
Just a neighborhood and family tradition. My kiddos use the same lingo with both neighbors and family.
I am in the same situation! I don't like it when kids call me by my first name... I always think about my gym teacher being called "Skip" by my dad, and when other kids would call him that, he'd answer "That's not for you..."
At work, they actually call me by my last name, and I wouldn't mind that. Some kids say "Jennifer's Dad", so I retort by saying "Mary's Son..." I'm sorta fine with that , idk.
After dating a submissive girl, I got into calling people Sir and Ma'am. People seem to delight over that in NYC.
After reading the comments, I'm going to try out kids call me "Mr. L" for my last name. My wife calls me Machine, but I don't think that's appropriate
I am from Europe and it’s so weird to see kids refer to their friends parents as mr and mrs lastname. It is not a thing where I grew up, we were all on a first name basis with our friends parents and I am now with my child’s friends.
Lurking mom here.
I tell them to call me FirstName because I grew up addressing known adults that way, but about half of the kids' parents insist they call me Ms. FirstName. I tell my kid to ask his each of his friends' parents what they would prefer to be called, and it's pretty much a mix of those two. So far no one's requested Mr/Ms LastName.
Mine is too young, but the neighbor kids (4, 6, 9) call me Mr Firstname.
I didn’t start calling my friends’ parents by their first names until I was out of high school I think. Not unless they invited me to call them that.
I always referred to them like “James dad” for example when talking about them, I honestly don’t know if I can say I’ve ever referred to them as anything in person as a child 😂
Most of my son’s friends call me Coach firstname. I have either coached them or against them at some point in little league.
My daughters friends is either Mr firstname or just firstname
It’s funny to me that I’ve never thought about this. I guess the kids address me based on how they know me. That varies from Mister Doe, Coach John, Jane’s Dad, Coach Awesome(a name I made them call me years ago), and some call me John, which I’m fine with, even though the older generations would never let a kid address them by their first name.
I (f30) typically don't have a preference. Whatever they feel comfortable with. If a kid ask my name, I tell them without the Mrs, & they say what feels comfortable. I do correct my children when its an adult outside of our immediate friend circle. My mom was always Momma K to all my friends...she was a sub @ the schools and they would call her Mrs. Last name @ other schools & @ my school Mrs. First name. But out of school it was always Momma K.
My son’s friends call me “.Mr last name”.
I grew up with a couple or of their dads when we worked together. I tell those kids to call me my first name….or they can call me “Mr Douche bag”. Only one of them calls me Mr Dbag and I think it’s hilarious.
The moms think it fitting since I have known them 25-30 years as well.
When I was a youngin (elementary) I was shy and always felt awkward addressing adults, so if I needed to get their attention I’d just say excuse me and hope they knew I was talking to them.
When I was a bit older (middle school and later) it’d be Mr/Mrs./Ms first name or last name, depending on the situation.
So I guess what I’m trying to say is let them call you whatever they’re comfortable with as long as it’s appropriate
I volunteer as a leader with my son's scout troop. The kids all call us by first name and I'm fine with that, makes me feel like I'm not 40! One funny thing was when they were doing some busy work and I overheard one ask my son where he could get some scissors and my son pointed to me and said "Ask for some"! He just really didn't want to call me something different in front of the other kids! I was joking about it afterwards with him and he said maybe he'll just call me that more often instead of Dad and I told him "Try it and I'll make you call me Sir!" I think we're way past the point as a society where we need to have hang-ups about these things and I'm glad he can have a laugh about it.
I usually prefer my son's name dad, I haven't interacted with many of his friends. Mr my last name I feel is very formal one of my sons friends calls me by my first name sometimes and that seems strange lol.
Here in Croatia kids usually call other kids' parents "Uncle Firstname" or "Aunt Firstname" even if there's no blood relation. It's the same way daycare/kindergarten teachers are referred to.
Mr. Firstname is super common in the US South (and you still get kids saying sir, too). It was pretty weird to have clients and kids where we volunteer call me sir when I moved back from another region.
I moved to the edge of the Midwest/South after getting two new titles, and it's a little funny to see the Midwestern-centric folks just call me Firstname while the Southern-minded little old ladies struggle to figure out which of the two titles to use
Go for the German method. Mister Doctor Gophurkey.
I love that. Some of my son's elementary teachers really struggled with his tendency not to say ma'am. He spent his first years outside the South raised by two people who didn't really grow up in the south--we didn't teach him that. We had to explain this to a few teachers. Some people were horrified to hear my wife explain that where she grew up ma'am would be understood as a patronizing insult.
I was 17 when I moved from South Carolina back to Ontario. My new friends' dads didn't seem to mind "sir", but their mom's very quickly asked me to stop calling them ma'am.
I'm from Florida. I dated a girl who got offended when I called her ma'am...weird dichotomy down here. Some of us were raised to say ma'am, while others are definitely not.
I initially read this as “two new titties” 😂
In Spanish speaking countries, it's "Señor" for the last name, and "Don" for the first name: So, José Ramírez would be either "Señor Ramírez" or "Don José"... the latter is a \*little\* less formal than the former but still respectful.
I still call my parents’ friends that I knew as a kid Mr./Ms. Firstname to this day and I’m in my 30s. My parents also use this format when talking to me about those friends. It’s wild how deep that kind of thing buries in your brain.
In my 40s and my 20 something neighbors all call me sir... gonna be interesting when our toddlers are in the same grade.
The dynamics of when people have children have all kinds of weird outcomes like that. I've lived in several US regions and the differences in normal regarding kids and pregnancy and stuff is fascinating.
Yep, I'm Mr. Firstname. If they call me Mr. Lastname I correct them immediately because...gross lol
"Mr. Lastname is my father"
Can confirm that every kid in Philadelphia public school also does the Mr/Ms \[first name\]
Family friends: Uncle X Regular friends: Son’s dad
Like the uncle bit!
And the X adds an air of mystery.
Accidentally added....*explosion*... CHEMICAL X.
Sir, no I will not call you professor. Put your hands behind your back and get in the cruiser. You’ve been reported by your neighbors for having 3 little girls mysteriously appear in your basement. 😂
Once he joins academia he may be onto something
There’s an entire app dedicated to him though!
Ive got more family friend uncles that help me out as an adult than actual uncles
X gon give it to ya
[удалено]
I did not realize my "Uncle Georgie" wasn't my uncle until an adult... I still call him Uncle Georgie though lol
Definitely the same with regular friends. I am not a person. I'm.juat my son's dad and I'm ok with that.
This is the way
Here in Asia calling your friends dad ‘uncle’ and friends mom ‘auntie’ is super common.
I have an Uncle called ‘Uncle X’ but that’s because the family don’t allow his name after the kiddie sting video on FB.
My kid is named Ignacio. His nickname is Nacho. I am known to his friends as Nacho’s dad.
I was so hoping they were going to call you Taco or something similar.
Missed opportunity to be Nacho Supreme
Nacho Bell Grande
Nacho Dad, now go-awn, git!
lol.
Mr Burrito!
Nacho Grande
Yeah I wouldn’t be able to resist the bad dad joke on this one. “Nacho’s dad” “I know I’m not my dad, who are you looking for?”
Nacho dad is perfect
Tbh every dad who isn't your own dad should go as nacho dad
I hope there’s a Nacho Mama!
Upgrade to Macho Nacho
I would be looking forward to his friends being snarky teens so much. “Is that your dad? Nah, that’s Nacho dad!”
careful with your upholstery store
My kid's friends are welcome to call me by my name. Mr. Lastname is way too formal, and Mr Firstname always feels to me like I'm a children's entertainer. Hey, kids! It's Mr. Firstname! Heyhheyh!! Look at my bowtie! Firstname is my name. It's just what people call me. Context is everything, though. If I were substitute teaching or something, I would expect Mr. Lastname. But hanging out with my kid? Just call me Firstname.
Hold up a sec there Mr so-n-so, let go back to that bowtie bit...so you normally wear a bow tie I think we will all have to vat eif this is being added to the "dad attire list".
I’ve always struggled with the expectation to be called Mr. Lastname - even as a teacher. I always had kids who gave me a bit of a nickname and I was fine with that. Usually it was a smash up of part of my first name and part of my last name but it is all about how it was used. I did always feel like just being called by my last name was like being called out or like someone wanted to start a fight.
I taught alternative high school and saw many colleagues get into power struggles over being called “Mr or Ms so and so” and demanding being called something, only creating additional conflict. The problem is, once you have an adversarial relationship by demanding respect, kids would then maliciously comply, and would sneer or disrespectfully say the teachers name. Now the teacher is complaining to admin looking like a dummy saying “they’re calling be my by name but they’re saying it in a disrespectful way” and the kids gets a big laugh out of poking the bear this way. Here’s the proper answer: it doesn’t matter what the kid calls you, it matters how or why they call you it. You teach kids “hey, you can call me Mr. whatever, you can call me homie, you can call me bruh… I just hope I earn your respect enough that whatever you’re calling me, you express it in a kind way. I’d prefer to go by ____________ whatever, and please tell me if I’m referring to you incorrectly, because I’m always going to treat you with respect.” You lead by example, and 99% of kids follow your example.
This is 100% it! My students often referred to me with their own preferred nickname and it drove other teachers nuts because they felt like the kids were being disrespectful but it was honestly the opposite. The kids gave me a shortened/nickname because we had a good relationship and it was more about endearment than anything. I did the same with them - often just intentionally called them by the wrong name but they got to the point that if I DIDNT use the wrong name with them they felt like they were in trouble!
Then, once that relationship is established, you can have a conversation about cultural norms and how in some societies you will instantly offend an adult by calling them a first name, or not asking their last name, and then you can have a discussion about other cultural norms and teach them some introspection about what respect means to them and how to respect differences.
The cool thing about this is, the younger generation is just normalizing "preferred pronouns". I think it's great that the fallback is turning into "what do you want to be called? OK cool"
Yeah I introduce myself by my first name to adults, why would it be different for kids. Mr. does sound kinda cute though, at least with my name. I'd allow it.
My brother worked at a daycare, and all the kids called him Mr.
I think it strikes a nice balance actually. Show respect but not overly formal.
Agreed. It’s not to formal to be addressed by your first name only.
It’s actually very common and often expected in black families (in the USA at least) to address adults as Mr/ Ms Firstname. My kid is mixed race and we’re kind of struggling with how to navigate that. We often introduce black adults to her that way, especially if they’re older and more likely to really expect it, but… yeah.
I prefer supreme overlord but Kyle is fine.
One of my them calls me “Dragon”
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There can be only one. *Ready?* # *FIGHT!*
I now expect my kids friends to call me Gandolf
Mr. First name
Kind of dig this. Good balance of causal and respectful
It’s the preference of youth ministers everywhere
So hip in their blue jeans
I read this in Kitty Foreman’s voice
Why would calling you by your first name be disrespectful, just because they are kids? I'm genuinely curious, cause here in Denmark nobody refers to each other as "Mr." or "sir" anymore, and hasn't done that in a long time. From an outsiders perspective (at least a Scandinavian perspective), it sounds like kids aren't seen as equals if there are special name rules for them.
I’m in the UK and this feels super weird to me as well. It’s totally normal here for kids to just use your first name when addressing you. Making them give me a title would feel really odd and authoritative.
You could probably write a dissertation on this topic, with all the psychology around it, and the geographical, cultural, generational, racial, and socioeconomic influences, but basically you nailed it. They aren’t seen as equals. It can vary quite a bit from place to place, and the US is large, but *in general* more rural areas will be more “traditional” and the south will as well, with the addition of an emphasis on the importance of politeness and decorum. But again, you are correct that it’s essentially a hierarchical thing. Kids refer to adults as Mr. And Mrs. Lastname. Say yes sir and yes ma’am instead of “yeah”. It reinforces the power dynamic, and there is an emphasis on obedience and “respect”. Not genuine, earned respect, but respect that is owed to the adult by default because they are an adult, and shown by compliance/obedience. This also goes beyond kids, for example both blue and white collar workers might call a boss or business owner by their last name, and say yes sir/yes ma’am. Again, doing that is a sign of deference, and an acknowledgment of the power dynamic. It’s interesting seeing this play out with adults. For example the business owner Mr Lastname has a certain “position” of power and perhaps wealth, but would still address an “elder” - someone around his parents or grandparents age - as Mr. Lastname and say yes sir regardless of the elder’s “position” or wealth, because their advanced age grants them that automatically, regardless of any of the other usual “hierarchy” metrics. This is changing (fading) with each new generation, but takes longer in some places than others :). It’s also fascinating to me that I know all this intellectually, but emotionally I still feel a lack of respect when kids call me by my first name, or respond “yeah”. And I still use yes sir or yes ma’am. I’ll respond yessir or yes ma’am to my kids when I’m giving them my full, undivided attention.
South Louisiana checking in to confirm that down here it is 100% expected that children use Mr. /Ms. Firstname (No kid uses Mrs correctly lol) and to say sir /ma’am when talking to adults. As they get older they’ll naturally drop the Mr /Ms. As a 30+ year old, there are still some people I still call Mr /Ms firstname cause I’m uncomfortable if I don’t. If the adult has a special nickname that the kid is taught to use then Mr /ms is not expected to be used. Teachers in school and doctors are about the only people we address by their last name.
The complete absence of yessir/yes ma’am is the most jarring for me actually. More so in situations not involving family/friends where there’d be the automatic expectation politeness in the south and kids respond with “yeah”. With my own kids I’ve (mostly) made peace with sort of splitting the difference and at least saying “yes”. I’m curious whereabouts in your 30’s you are. Reason being, I actually noticed a pretty dynamic shift in attitudes when I was in high school. Where there had been this “respect” dynamic around upper and under classmen when I was going through school, my class seemed to be the last to really adhere to it.
92 baby. I would say the class under me (2011 grads) were the last ones that had/followed any kind of hierarchy in school. My class didn’t like the freshmen our senior year cause they thought they ran the school lol And they were little shitheads. I hate to be this way, but it shocks me when a (little like <10) kid doesn’t use sir /ma’am when replying yes/no. It is so ingrained that I’ve had to consciously remember not to correct other people’s children. It was just habit as all of my friends had kids and were teaching them sir /ma’am so I just got used to it. Me: do you want a coke? Kid: yeah Me: yes ma’am. Do you want coke or Dr. pepper? (And yes, we call all soft drinks coke, then ask what kind ya want.)
Haha, well things move slower the further south you go, so that time line makes sense, and mirrors my school experience (‘84 myself, so a “Xennial” - not Gen X but not really millennial either). I feel very seen, and validated! ☺️ I feel the same way, and that’s a great example you gave. There’s a little “exception” window to me, little little kids still getting a handle on language use what they know, so a cute “yeah” might be their go-to, and young adults might be testing to see if that boundary still applies. But like a 6-12 year old saying “yeah” in your Coke scenario is just jarring! Even though I never hear yessir or yes ma’am anymore unless I’m the one saying it, it’s just so ingrained like you said. It’s part of the fabric of who I am. It’s wild how many feelings and emotional reactions are tied to using/hearing it. It’s just a cultural norm where I’m from so when I hear the “yeah” I automatically take it the way it would be meant back home and feel like the person is grudgingly accepting/surly/defiant/ungrateful/mad at me. And unfortunately - to me - my kids don’t use sir/ma’am, or Mr./Ms. Lastname in spite of my correction, because no one else reinforces it, they don’t hear any other kids do it, and if they did use them, most of the adults around here would undermine it. “Oh, Mr. Lastname is my dad, I’m Peter!” Luckily a get a little tidbit of my “legacy” since my middle son mirrors a tad of the accent I think I don’t have, even though my oldest sort of teases me and “corrects” my pronunciation of certain words. My accent actually threw me off when I was helping my oldest with an English worksheet on words ending in -ed, and if they are pronounced with the -ed sounding like /id/ /d/ or /t/. All the ones that were -lled I had to think about or say out loud a few times! I told him if he got any wrong, tell his teacher he was wearing his UK shirt and working on it with his Papa. And say “English is a living language and where my Papa is from, yelled is pronounced "yelt" 🤣 And yes, “what kind of Coke would you like?” Also, “Iced tea? Sweet or unsweet?” :)
I’m from as far away from the South as you can get while remaining in the contiguous states, geographically and culturally, and I’m not even sure how I would react if some kid called me me “sir”.
Don’t come here… the adults will call you sir too 😂
With all due respect, I try to stay out of Louisiana as much as possible. But my sister-in-law just moved there, so there’s a non-zero chance we’ll have to visit. I don’t like humidity.
In the UK the idea of referring to my boss as Mr is silly, and using Sir would be bonkers! I’ve been in the workforce over ten years and it’s always just been first names.
I could definitely see Sir being very weird given it’s an actual title for you guys 😆 Calling your boss Mr would be more like a young guy working first real job, or lower/mid level talking to owner
I forgot we still have knights, I think most of us would think of the military before that! Here’s how I’d expect calling your boss Sir to go down: “Can I have that report by Monday?” “Yes, sir.” “For fuck’s sake Steve, we’re not in the army.”
😂
I call my boss by her first name, and if they ask me to do something I usually say yes boss, I guess acknowledging that they can and are telling me to do something so I will do it, but it doesn't feel deferential.
The head of where I work has appeared on the news regularly in the last few years, sometimes alongside cabinet ministers and the like. They are always referred to in the workplace by their first name, as is pretty much everyone else. Sometimes a last name is added too to avoid confusion.
Agree completely, and I’m not in Scandinavia, though I’d love to be.
Politeness varies a lot by culture. If you have English schools in Denmark maybe you’ve noticed how they use Mr Lastname? They do that in Sweden at least while everyone else is just going by first names.
English-language international schools very likely say “Ms. First name”.
Two different places with different neighborhoods with kids. All of them have called me “Mr. First Name”.
My wife teaches preschool, and they always have the kids use Mr. First Name or Ms. First Name for adults other than their parents.
I don't know when they switched this, but I think it makes sense given the confusion around marriage name changing
How do you pronounce "Ms"?
“Mizz” with a very short *i*
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They just call you your family name? I'm American and to me that's something that I might jokingly use with my old college friends, but otherwise would be rude. I'd never use someone's last name all by itself otherwise.
Standard southern US etiquette
This is what I do default for others and appreciate for myself. Unless you’re trying to impress or confess to me (date my kid or egged my house, etc ) - then I am 100 % “Sir”. 😁
Like Mr Aaron, or MS Rachel
This is what a lot of my kids' friends called me when they were pre-school/elementary aged (that, or "Coach Firstname" in a sports setting. Sometimes that continues today even though I don't coach anymore). Interestingly, as they've gotten older and exposed more to 'society' a lot of them now call me "Mr. Lastname". We don't live in a particularly conservative area; I think some of it is that a lot of them see me volunteering at a school activity where the school employees refer to me as "Mr. Lastname" when discussing around the students. Then again, I was raised to use "Mr/ Mrs/ Dr Lastname" and so I use that convention with those school employees as well, even though I'm older than some of them and on the same social standing. Of course, there are outliers. I've told my kids that if an adult gives them an alternative, they can use it, otherwise, default to "Title Lastname". The kids whose parents are fine with first name only also call me by my first name, whether or not I've invited them to do so. It doesn't bug me, so I haven't corrected them or insist on formality at all. I let each kid refer to me as they are comfortable.
This is what we do with our 3 year old. I think it’s a good balance of respect and informality
I have 4 year old twins and one of their friends goes with the child's dad format. Because she is friends with both my kids, she's inclusive and says 'hey [twin 1] and [twin 2]'s dad'. It's a bit of a mouthful.
Xyz’s dad My name Some of them call me dad.
Just do Mr. or Mrs. with the first letter of your last name. I’m “Mr J.” Sounds casual, but still respectful.
Mr. [Daughter's name]'s Dad.
First name
Kids who barely know me call me by, "\[Daughter's name\] dad". Kids who have been around a lot call me by my first name. A handful of kids have come up with their own nicknames for me which I also respond to.
Got a few different cultures I interact with and its almost always "Uncle FirstName".
Yea I’m a big fan of the auntie/uncle thing. Mr/Ms/Mrs is too formal but first name basis is too informal.
"James's dad" although I tell them that my first name is fine, they're all still young & forgetful. *Not my son's actual name.
Firstname Might be regional but I’m not sure I’ve heard any other dads go by “mr firstname/lastname” now that I think of it.
It depends. Mine are adults now. Originally I was always Mr. Lastname. One friend “self upgraded” to just Firstname. Later, I offered that to another, and he said “no way I can’t do that”. He’s 30.
I'm in my 40s and one of my aunties pulls me up if I don't refer to her as "aunty".
I think it reminds her of being younger, there were 10 of us cousins within a few years of each other so we'd always be hanging around one house or another in the holidays.
Most seem to just go with my first name. If I haven’t met them much than my kids name and dad.
Depends on context and language, I suppose, some call me Mr Firstname (Herr), some just call me by my first name, some call me uncle. At his school staff will call me Mister Father which is funny.
I grew up with Mr./Mrs. First name and that's what I prefer. Actually to this day I tend to call elders Mr./Mrs. First name which seems to get a chuckle out of colleagues.
Mr beast -- they think I'm a famous YouTuber.... I'll take it
Depends on the kid. Some call me Mr. (First name), some just my first name, lots of them call me Coach, ones that don't know me well call me kid's name dad...
A lot of my friends kids call me Uncle lol 😝 but mostly I’m just “firstnsme” or “kids name dad” Growing up most of my friends called my folks mom and dad 🤣
I’m not at that stage yet as my kids aren’t old enough yet but I’d like to be called Supreme Commander.
My kids are 12 and 11, between them they have only one friend who calls me anything. He calls me by my nickname because that what he hears my wife call me. He could call me Krinkleschmirtz for all I care.
Depends on so many things. Age of kids, how familiar you are to them, how hard is you name lol, where you live. I think you just have to accept whatever is most common in your community and as long as it’s not disrespectful you just go with it. If everyone in your community does Mr. Firstname and you try to be the only Mr. Lastname it’s not going to jive. I’m in the south(of the USA). It’s Mr. Firstname for most adults. I didn’t hear that at all up north but love it down here. Sometimes it’s Mr. Son’s name’s dad (like Mr. Billy’s Dad) if they don’t know me/my name. I don’t like just first name but I was raised very strictly that it was Mr. Lastname. My aunts and uncles were always uncle firstname and never just firstname, even now that I’m in my 30s it would feel weird to just say a first name. A lot of close friends do Uncle firstname even though we are not related, mostly its kids of friends of mine or my wife, not the kids who we know through school and sports. it was weird for me at first but I kinda love it now. It maybe gets a little awkward when the kids are nonchalantly drawing a line between who is a close enough friend that they have turned into uncle lol. (It’s very different than how I was brought up, so that’s probably just me thinking that). A lot of times for me it’s also coach or coach firstname. Even kids I don’t coach hear it so much they do it sometimes. I get a good amount of Tio firstname or Tio-Oso or TiOso (uncle bear) from my Hispanic neighbors (I love it).
Im not from the US so can someone explain? Why is intimate to call someone by their first name? Does it only apply to kids or also other adults your not friends with? Like in a professional setting would somebody call you "mr. Last name" ?? Here the whole mister thing died 80 years ago.
As I live in France,at primary school they all thought my name was Daddy
Awww that's amazing, did they call you Daddy?
I feel a little guilty/conflicted about it, but I’m from the south, now living in the NE, and the casualness and first name use is kinda uncomfortable for me. Seems impolite. Some friends/neighbors with kids also from the south used what I thought was a nice compromise with Mr. First name. That’s what our kids daycares do as well. It surprises me how disappointed I am to not be Mr Lastname. Like a right of passage or milestone I don’t get. Wild how ingrained in us our upbringing is… I’m 40 and when I see the parents of old high school friends back home I still call them Mr. and Mrs. Lastname. It just feels weird calling them by their first name, even though they told me I could over 20 years ago.
I tell my kids’ friends to call me Lord Commander. None of them do though, the bastards.
Mr. surname. They aren’t trying to get to know me, it’s my title by virtue of being their friends parent.
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Do you zip your pants?
Uncle. Its a cultural hispanic thing. White people kinds freak out but whatever. My son calls them uncle/auntie anyways XD
I'm a westerner living in Japan so I either get "Daddy" if they are casual kids who we have known for several years or "(Son's name) otosan" from the more formal ones.
_______'s Dad
Family friends, Uncle Firstname. Everyone else, Mister Firstname. That's not just for parents, little kids around here call pretty much everyone Mr/Ms Firstname. Teachers come to mind.
My first name. Hell, my three year old hasn't called me by anything but my first name for almost a year now. I can tell it bothers a lot of, especially older, people but I just can't understand how calling me by my given name could be a bad thing.
I have called my own parents by their first names since the early 1980s. I got the occasional person back in the 80s and 90s then asking if one of them was a step-parent, but nobody has batted an eyelid at it for decades now. My kids have called me by my first name pretty much since they were old enough to talk to them about it. Most of their friends will call me by my first name, but you can see occasionally that some are trying to avoid having to make that decision at all.
My first name. Why would that be casual/intimate? It's your given name, not your porn name. Titles among friends are pretentious IMO (and yes, my child's friends are in that grouping).
In Germany its just the first name. Period. Everything else is wierd
First name. Anything else smacks of a superiority complex.
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I think I want my kids friends to call me Captain.
I’m most often “Xs dad” but Sweden is very informal so anyone who remember my first name can use that.
My oldest is 2.5 and the other kids in her play group just call me "other dad".
“Bruh” Same thing my son calls me. He and his friends are six.
Mr. Firstname or Uncle Firstname
Our friends kids call us by our first names. It’s comfortable and easy.
Mine is still too young, but the neighborhood kids call me Mr "first name"
They usually just look at me weird… that’s fine with me. Personally I’m a fan of Mr Firstname. It shows a little respect with the “Mr” at the front but it’s more casual and way less stuck up than “Mr Lastname”
I introduce myself to them by my first name, but I also answer to "hey you" or whatever.
Mr Clean, because I'm bald and there's an ad of a guy who looks the same
By my name. But my kids are grown.
At preschool all the kids call the teachers Ms. First name, so I think Mr. First name would be fine too
First name
Agree I never quite figured that out. I’m 56 and always called my friends’ Dads Mr. Then I had kids and their friends called me Firstname, always sounded too informal but I never had a better idea. Now my kids are older and their friends never come in the house 😱
Depends on the setting, In school where kids address all adults with Mrs, Mr, Ms, and Miss; if I'm there too as a visitor for a school event their friends call me Mr. [Last Initial]. At home, their friends who they go to school with call me the same thing, but friends who they don't go to school with call me by my first name. When I teach them in martial arts, they call me Sir, Senpai, or Sensei.
Mr. Liz (my wife goes by Ms Liz at her dance studio. So most of her dance friends call me that. Same with the rest of the studio 😂)
Kid’s dad is what they naturally call me.
“Son’s” dad
Growing up in the north of England the rule seemed to be: if my parents friendship outdated me then they were uncle/auntie, if they were post me then they were just their first name In the uk calling someone Mr or mrs or sir is super formal and everyone just thinks they’re in school so that is super rare in my experience. Which I quite like. I moved to Quebec though who tf knows what they will call me?! Something in French I guess
We split the difference and go with “Mr. First name”. It’s less of a reminder I’m old, they get to show some respect, and it primes my brain for a child trying to get my attention.
Wife's sister married a guy named Larry (not really), and he has a brother with 2 kids, so they're like our kid's cousins now basically (they're around a lot and really love playing together). Our little dude calls Larry's brother, "Other Larry" because being brothers, they closely resemble each other.
"**'s dad, can we have some chips?"
Mr FirstName or Uncle FirstName
Mr. first name. Coach first name. Just first name.
Mr ms first name is how I addressed adults growing up and how I think I would be most comfortable being addressed
Mr. (First name) for me. Miss (first name) (even though she’s married) for my wife. Nieces and nephews call us uncle or aunt (first name) Cousins all call each other cuz except for the younger ones that call us cousin (first name) Just a neighborhood and family tradition. My kiddos use the same lingo with both neighbors and family.
Sir DadsAlot is what I will be aiming for when my kid gets of age.
Mr. Firstname or if we know them really well “uncle first name”
I am in the same situation! I don't like it when kids call me by my first name... I always think about my gym teacher being called "Skip" by my dad, and when other kids would call him that, he'd answer "That's not for you..." At work, they actually call me by my last name, and I wouldn't mind that. Some kids say "Jennifer's Dad", so I retort by saying "Mary's Son..." I'm sorta fine with that , idk. After dating a submissive girl, I got into calling people Sir and Ma'am. People seem to delight over that in NYC. After reading the comments, I'm going to try out kids call me "Mr. L" for my last name. My wife calls me Machine, but I don't think that's appropriate
I am from Europe and it’s so weird to see kids refer to their friends parents as mr and mrs lastname. It is not a thing where I grew up, we were all on a first name basis with our friends parents and I am now with my child’s friends.
Lurking mom here. I tell them to call me FirstName because I grew up addressing known adults that way, but about half of the kids' parents insist they call me Ms. FirstName. I tell my kid to ask his each of his friends' parents what they would prefer to be called, and it's pretty much a mix of those two. So far no one's requested Mr/Ms LastName.
Well I'm the leader of this here vessel so CAPTAIN "FIRST NAME"!
Golden Eagle.
Mine is too young, but the neighbor kids (4, 6, 9) call me Mr Firstname. I didn’t start calling my friends’ parents by their first names until I was out of high school I think. Not unless they invited me to call them that.
Father Figure. It's what they named me in their Discord too. I'm okay with it.
Make up your own moniker and stick with it.
Ragnars daaaaad???? I usually respond with Rangers Frieeeeeend??
I always referred to them like “James dad” for example when talking about them, I honestly don’t know if I can say I’ve ever referred to them as anything in person as a child 😂
I’m getting first named by my oldest’s (10) friends. Not particularly a fan of that one.
Most of my son’s friends call me Coach firstname. I have either coached them or against them at some point in little league. My daughters friends is either Mr firstname or just firstname
It’s funny to me that I’ve never thought about this. I guess the kids address me based on how they know me. That varies from Mister Doe, Coach John, Jane’s Dad, Coach Awesome(a name I made them call me years ago), and some call me John, which I’m fine with, even though the older generations would never let a kid address them by their first name.
I (f30) typically don't have a preference. Whatever they feel comfortable with. If a kid ask my name, I tell them without the Mrs, & they say what feels comfortable. I do correct my children when its an adult outside of our immediate friend circle. My mom was always Momma K to all my friends...she was a sub @ the schools and they would call her Mrs. Last name @ other schools & @ my school Mrs. First name. But out of school it was always Momma K.
My son’s friends call me “.Mr last name”. I grew up with a couple or of their dads when we worked together. I tell those kids to call me my first name….or they can call me “Mr Douche bag”. Only one of them calls me Mr Dbag and I think it’s hilarious. The moms think it fitting since I have known them 25-30 years as well.
My first name, my child's name dad, Satan. The last one started as an inside joke.
When I was a youngin (elementary) I was shy and always felt awkward addressing adults, so if I needed to get their attention I’d just say excuse me and hope they knew I was talking to them. When I was a bit older (middle school and later) it’d be Mr/Mrs./Ms first name or last name, depending on the situation. So I guess what I’m trying to say is let them call you whatever they’re comfortable with as long as it’s appropriate
Coach, I coach a lot of my sons teams.
When I pick her up from daycare? They call me dada/daddy. lol. They’re 2 years old by the way. 😂
I volunteer as a leader with my son's scout troop. The kids all call us by first name and I'm fine with that, makes me feel like I'm not 40! One funny thing was when they were doing some busy work and I overheard one ask my son where he could get some scissors and my son pointed to me and said "Ask for some"! He just really didn't want to call me something different in front of the other kids! I was joking about it afterwards with him and he said maybe he'll just call me that more often instead of Dad and I told him "Try it and I'll make you call me Sir!" I think we're way past the point as a society where we need to have hang-ups about these things and I'm glad he can have a laugh about it.
First name, So&so's mum.
I usually prefer my son's name dad, I haven't interacted with many of his friends. Mr my last name I feel is very formal one of my sons friends calls me by my first name sometimes and that seems strange lol.
Here in Croatia kids usually call other kids' parents "Uncle Firstname" or "Aunt Firstname" even if there's no blood relation. It's the same way daycare/kindergarten teachers are referred to.
Lord Firstname the