<p>mousegray, sometimes my S’s friends call me Mrs. Husband/Son’s Last Name, which is not mine. I just let them, but it is a little weird. I’m on the fence about what I would prefer to be called. So far S hasn’t introduced us to any SOs, so it hasn’t been an issue! <g></g></p>
<p>My H has it easy: my sib and I always called our parents by their first names, so he can too without feeling odd. For a while I just avoided calling my inlaws anything, but after my MIL died I started calling my FIL by his first name.</p>
<p>I posted before that I am uncomfortable when kids call me by my first name, but I generally don’t make an issue of it. This is because I know that some adults prefer being called by their first name, and it would not be fair to blame kids when they receive inconsistent or contradictory instruction on this matter. I am offended when store clerks use my first name.</p>
<p>However, I did raise my son to call all adults by their last name (with an honorific, of course), just as I was raised. My mother said this was a southern tradition. My son continues to use last names unless asked to do otherwise. I think it makes him sound like a polite young man, and others seem to agree.</p>
<p>Our D’s bf calls us by our first name. Even though they are over 2 hours away from each other he always calls us on our aniiversary, birthdays etc. just to say hi. He is an incredibly thoughtful and nice person. It is funny though because my D has performed for a number of years professionally with her Elementary school teacher and he has told her to call him by his first name but she can’t. She says he will always be Mr.— no matter what he says.</p>
<p>My kids’ friends call me by my first name. Many of them, I have known since they were infants and have called me by my first name always. My d’s bf who is 19 calls me Mama (last name). Some of her other friends do so as well - makes me feel like their second Mom. I don’t answer to Mrs. **** on the first go.</p>
<p>My parents had all their kids in-laws call them by their first name. I would never expect any sons-in-law to call me Mrs. or Mom. Now that my kids are all grown, I introduce myself by my first name and if they call me Mrs., I tell them to please call me by my first name.</p>
<p>Interesting topic; S doesn’t have gf but I just asked him what he calls parents of his friends. He calls one by first name after vacationing with them several times and practically living there in-between. I think she would be offended if he was more formal; her husband is friend’s stepfather, so the friend also calls him by first name. The parents of the rest of his friends are Mr. and Mrs. I am mostly called Mama Lotsofquests and sometimes “S’s Mom” as in Hi, S’s Mom!</p>
<p>I have one daughter who occassionally calls me by my first name. Once in the store she was calling me over and over - “Mom!”, “Mom!!”, “MOM!!!” - I just assumed it was another kid. She finally calls - “justamomof4” and I turned, first try. Then again, I have answered strange kids when they call me “Mom”, usually with weird looks from their own Mom!</p>
<p>I have had some kids - mostly in MS or HS call me “D’s Mom” when they see me around. This gets my attention, too.</p>
<p>This thread made me realize that at our church (mainstream Protestant) not a single person is know as Mr. or Mrs Anybody. Every person regardless of age, education level (i.e, MD’s), personal wealth or career/job is addressed by their first name. Everyone. Even the priest is Fr. “First Name”. Our congregation is made up of mostly folks 50 yrs old and older. Maybe it’s a West Coast/Pacific Northwest thing.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t want to be called 'Mom" by my future SIL or DIL. That would feel weird to me. I never called my MIL “Mom” either. </p>
<p>percussiondad, My college D is now good friends with a HS teacher who she always called “Ms. So-and-So”. She has a really hard time calling her by her first name and still thinks of her as Ms. SaS. Even though they are now friends who go out together!</p>
<p>D (age 20) was freaked out last summer when she was teaching at a summer program where a couple of her high school teachers were also on the staff. They were all instructed to call them by their first names, which she dutifully did, but she was uncomfortable with it. A couple of the teachers were high school juniors who had to go back into the classroom with those teachers for senior year, and switch back to “Mr.”.</p>
<p>In our state, many call folks “auntie” and “uncle” even tho there is no blood relationship. It works pretty well. All D’s friends call me Mrs. HIdaughter’s Mom (don’t think they even know my first name).</p>
<p>Around here, all young’uns call all adults Mr. or Mrs. so-and-so. When the kids were small, I was Mrs. M (my last name was hard to pronounce) and I am still Mrs M to some of them.</p>
<p>So, to suggest that our son’s GF do otherwise would presume a level of my involvement in their relationship and an evident assessment of its seriousness that doesn’t seem right to me. As I said earlier, it is their relationship(and I’m fine with it). Should they ever take it to another level, I’ll probably suggest that she call my by my first name. I wonder if she’d feel comfortable doing so.</p>
<p>First names. I think it might be a west coast thing. My kids called their middle school teachers by their first names including the headmaster. I have a couple of friends who have taught their kids to use Mr and Mrs’s. I am not used to anyone calling me Mrs so I am always caught off guard. I guess my kids would seem disrespectful if they traveled to a home of a friend who lived in another region of the country. Something else to remind them of.
After I was married my MIL told me I could call her Mom. I was not comfortable with that so continued to use her first name. Funny that since we have had kids I usually call her Grandma.</p>
<p>I’m not picky so I go with whatever is comfortable for them. If they call me Mrs. X I’m fine, if they call me by my first name I’m fine. My good gfs call me “EB” hence the screen name. It all works. People often try to shorten my name and while I don’t prefer it unless I know them well I let it slide.
There definitely is a level of respect in keeping the title. For years my D worked as a receptionist at her dance studio. Once she started in that job all the girls had to call her Miss First Name instead of just First Name. The same with the teachers and studio owner, Miss First Name. Adds a little layer of class and respect.</p>
<p>I have the opposite problem. Everyone elongates my name. I introduce myself as Kate. My name is Kate. It says Kate on my birth certificate, it says Kate on everything. And yet 90% of people INSIST on calling me Katie. GRR!</p>
<p>My fiance called my parents Mr. and Mrs. Romani (it’s not my real name obviously) for like a nanosecond. Then he called him by their first names. He still calls my mom by her first name, but calls my dad “The Dad” and my dad calls him “The Boy”. Not sure where that started but whatever lol.</p>
<p>My friends all call my parents mom and dad.</p>