Kids Calling You Mommy?

[DBug]

What do you do when dc kids call you Mommy? Do you correct them every time? I've got 3 or 4 calling me Mommy (and yet my own 2 year old calls me by name!), and I'm not sure how much of a deal I should make of it ...

[tymaboy]

I usually start out by ignore it. After I know that they can say my name then I tell them Mommy is at work making money. Sometimes they just slip then say my name right after they say mommy (after I ignore them) I found out that they call mommy by my name at home every so often.

[melissa ann]

my dc children call me by my name and sometimes mom. I just let it go. It's no big deal, imo. but then, the kids are in my care for 11hours/day and they hear my kids call me mom.

[safechner]

I run an in home daycare for past 8 years and many kids have called me "mommy" or "nana." I think it is not big deal for them to call me and I am fine with that. They got correct to call my name about 3 years old or 4 years old whenever they are ready. So far I only have 3 or 4 kids who called my name correct when they were 2 years old. Actually, I really enjoyed to hear them said that since they all are my babies ::

[My4SunshineGirlsNY]

My almost 2 year old daycare nephew calls me "mom" because he hears my own kids calling me that...he's at the age where he copies what he hears. Most of the time I correct him, so he doesn't get confused. He's only copying what he hears.

[DBug]

Do you find it bothers the parents at all?

[missnikki]

If you mention it to the parents, you might ask them to bring in a picture of the family. Then you can point to them and say "That's your mommy, I'm Miss Nikki (insert your name, not mine )." You could even show them a picture of your mommy, too.

[mamajennleigh]

No Big Deal

I found that the little ones (under 2) call me "Mommy" and usually by the end of the day, my own little one is calling me "Jenn" - I usually just repeat back what they just said, and insert my name where they called me "Mommy" if I bother to correct it at all. I have found that they usually grow out of it by the time they are over 2 and will sometimes slip up and call me "Mommy" or call their own mommies by my name. I don't usually bother with that.

For example, if dcg says, "Mommy, more snack?" I will say, "Would you like Ms. Jenn to give you some more snack?" They say yes, life goes on. After a while, they stop calling me Mommy on a regular basis, and then just once in a while.

I don't think it's a big deal at all, but I have had some moms who really get twisted up over it. I don't see how you think you can leave a baby with another woman for basically all of their waking hours every day and not expect the baby to get somewhat confused about who mommy is. I think it's fine and they have always grown out of it after a year or two.

[originalkat]

A lot of the kids call me mommy and they call my husband daddy. LOL. Honestly, I dont think it is a big deal. I usually ignore it and sometimes remind them what my name is (they call me Kat). I dont even tell the parents about it. As they get older and speak clearly, I tell them to call me by name. But they know who their real mommy and daddy are so I dont worry much about it.

[DBug]

Thanks for all of your help, ladies! I did mention it in passing to one mom without thinking, and she did look a little hurt. Since then I've been correcting all of them, but with the number of times little ones are asking for your attention in a day, it gets a little mind-numbing to keep saying it over and over. I think I probably just need to be careful what I say around the real moms, and ignore it the rest of the time.

Thanks!

[TGT09]

My Great-Aunt practically raised me from 3 mos-11 years. My Mom worked 60-70 hours a week and my Dad was "busy". Aside that this was a family member, to this day (and I'm almost 30)...I cannot call my aunt, aunt. I call her Mommy. When her face comes to mind, so does Mommy. I call my own mom, Mommy also and always have. They tried to correct it when I was young and never were able to "fix" it. I think it probably hurt my mom's feelings at first but then I think she was grateful that I felt that way about my aunt and knew I was in the best capable hands. I think any mom would be slightly hurt (maybe some more than others).

Just know that it's probably more from you being an authority female figure in their life. They associate a female authority figure with the word MOM! Especially, the younger ones.

On that note, I almost always correct my dckids but rarely do they call me mom. If they do, they almost always correct themselves immediately.

[laundryduchess@yahoo.com]

I tell the older ones that mommy, is a special term,.. most kids have a mommy,.. not many have a miss jill,... can they please call me that? the younger ones I just say,.. Mommys not here, let Miss Jill help you.