do you have your lo call grownups mr.& ms.?

[taramoon13]

it seems a lot of people i know have their children call all grownups by mr. or ms. then their first name. i've always just had ds call grownups by their first name unless it was an actual teacher in which case i would add the ms. or mr. what do you do? do you think it's rude for children to call adults by just their first name?

[VillageMom6]

I do find it rude for children to call adults by their first names. I've always taught my children to address adults as Mr. and Mrs. Lastname.

It's a little thing but I think it establishes a respectful boundary. Children and adults can have warm, friendly relationships... but they are not peers.

I still call my parents' friends Mr. and Mrs. Lastname. We may all be adults now but they are not my peers.

[bea694]

We do Mr. and Mrs. Lastname as well.

[mamazee]

When I lived in the Chicago area, kids seemed to just call adults by their first names, but now here in Southern Ill kids call adults Miss Firstname or Mr Firstname, which sounds odd to me but it seems to be the way here. For me, it's a "when in Rome" issue. I don't have strong feelings, except that just the first name sounds most natural to me.

[blessedwithboys]

Mr. and Mrs. Lastname unless the adult invites the child to do otherwise.

[Alyantavid]

Nope. It's always first names, except for teachers.

I do have one friend (from New Orleans) who has her kids call every woman Miss Firstname.

[lovingmommyhood]

My children call their teacher "Ms/Miss Amy" and for everyone else it's basically first names. If an adult introduced themselves as Mr. or Mrs. I would think my children would call them as such.

[hergrace]

I think a lot depends on the particular group and how close the kids and the adults relationship is. In one area where we lived, the parents of kids in playgroups together were generally, Mr. or Ms. FirstName; more distant adults were Mr. or Ms. LastName and family was FirstName. Now we live somewhere where the Mr. or Ms. FirstName isn't used and I miss it. It marked a level of relationship that was close enough to not be formal but distant enough to be uncomfortable using firstnames. Where we are now, that level of formality tends to end up as Child's Mom, which I find much more annoying.

[taramoon13]

Originally Posted by lovingmommyhood

My children call their teacher "Ms/Miss Amy" and for everyone else it's basically first names. If an adult introduced themselves as Mr. or Mrs. I would think my children would call them as such.

i guess i should've added that if someone introduced themselves as mr. or ms.soandso i would have ds call them that, but most times when ds asks someones name they just say their first name

[chfriend]

My kids, who are respectful people and don't seem to have any boundary troubles, call adults by their first names unless the adult introduces themselves a different way.

If my children call an adult by a more formal name, I call them by the same name.

I prefer children to call me by my first name(s). Adults in formal work settings sometimes call me Mrs. LastName or Ms. LastName, which is fine with me.

[liberal_chick]

We do Ms./Mr. Firstname. I think it is a southern thing. I was born and raised in the south and it is what we always did (with the exception of teachers in grade school and beyond), so it is what I do with my kids. I don't have strong feelings on it, it is just kind of how it is done.

[mamalisa]

Depends on the relationship. Close friends are aunt or uncle or just first names. Casual friends, parents from school or baseball are Mr. and Mrs. unless otherwise asked.

I truly prefer to be called by my first name by everyone.

[ledzepplon]

We do Mr. and Mrs./Ms. unless that adult has specifically asked otherwise and we have a close relationship with them.

[Chamomile Girl]

I think kids are often treated as second-class citizens and so I am all about the first names for adults. In fact as a teacher I also just go by my first name in the classroom for the same reason.

Kids may not be the peers of adults but I think they ought to be treated as social equals.

[Drummer's Wife]

My kids call adults whatever they are introduced as.

I can't think of anyone, besides teachers, that they call Mr. or Mrs. But they would if that was how the adult preferred to be addressed.

ETA: oh, and I personally don't like being called Miss Katie or Mrs. Lastname. ugh. Makes me feel old and odd - whether it's an adult or a kid saying it.

[daytripper75]

Originally Posted by VillageMom6

I do find it rude for children to call adults by their first names. I've always taught my children to address adults as Mr. and Mrs. Lastname.

It's a little thing but I think it establishes a respectful boundary. Children and adults can have warm, friendly relationships... but they are not peers.

I still call my parents' friends Mr. and Mrs. Lastname. We may all be adults now but they are not my peers.

Yes! I hate it when parents encourage their children to call me by my first name without asking me what I prefer.

[tbone_kneegrabber]

We use only first names. It has never come up that someone wanted to be called something else. I don't think I run in a crowd where ANYONE would be Ms/Mr Lastname. But ds goes to a very progressive co-op preschool so we haven't had a run in with "regular" school yet.

I actually think if *I* had a friend who needed/wanted my kid to call them Ms/Mr Lastname I probably wouldn't continue that friendship any longer. However, I guess if the person was a friend of my mom or my inlaw's we would be cool with that.

[Areia]

Originally Posted by blessedwithboys

Mr. and Mrs. Lastname unless the adult invites the child to do otherwise.

This. I always feel its better to err on the side on politeness. Although personally, I don't mind being called by my first name, sometimes even DD does it.

[MaerynPearl]

It depends... Most of the adults my children interact with are family so of course there is no mr/mrs necessary there.

Teachers, of course. They go by their title UNLESS the teacher has the kids do otherwise (for example the kindergarten teachers helper going by miss *first name* but that is her choice) Other professionals... Dr. *last name*, Officer *last name*

as for friends parents... it seems to be that all kids in the area I was from call their parents *friends names* mom/dad, even to them. I can not tell you HOW many times I was called *DS*s mom.

Otherwise, there are not any other adults that they interact with enough to even need to know their name.

[AndrewsMother]

Miss/Mr First name for close friends and Miss/Mrs/Ms/Mr Last name for others, unless the adult introduces themselves to DS by their first name. Adults that are the age of my parents and above it is always Miss/Mrs/Ms/Mr Last name unless they request something different.