What Do You Call The Parents Of Your Spouse/Partner/SO?

[arwalden]

Mom? Dad? Mr & Mrs ______? John & Judy?

Does it feel awkward to you to address someone who's NOT your parent by a name that's traditionally reserved for your actual parents? Or is it weird to be formal and call someone Mr & Mrs (Whatever) when they are your relatives. Or... is calling your elders by their first name too weird?

I choose the formal option. My partner uses my parents' first names.

[phiddle]

1. "jerks"

[arwalden]

4. Wow! Do you say that to them directly?

Or is it just your private reference to them?

[Kire]

self delete

wrong location

[davidinalameda]

2. I don't have a spouse or a partner or anything

:cry:

[ScreamingMeemie]

3. I call her mom (only when my mother is not around. When my mother

is around I tap her on the shoulder or something...isn't that odd?)

My husband calls my parents Mr And Mrs Insert last name here. :hi:

Now separated though.

[arwalden]

8. Any Relation To The Insert Last Name Here Family Of Baltimore?

:hi:

[ScreamingMeemie]

14. Possibly cousins on my mother's side.

But I'm not sure. Our line gets mixed up when you get to the Fill In the Blanks. ;)

[arwalden]

15. Oh!

:rofl:

[LisaM]

DOCTOR! Can you believe it?

They are so attached to titles in that family. He went into a care facility last April and they were offended that a staff member referred to him by his first name rather than as "Doctor."

Even funnier, his dad had a PhD and he has an MD. At their house, there were boxes laballed John Doe, MD and John Doe, PhD because they have the same first name! But they called the son by his middle name, so there was no reason to even use the other name anyway. I howled when I saw those boxes.

Their stock response is, "But Lisa, you don't UNDERSTAND...." and it makes me laugh more - I think I understand all too well. Elitist credentialists!

[Shoeempress]

18. But you do understand, they are arrogant asses.

[LisaM]

28. Yeah, that side of the family is stuck up

Once we were all at a family reunion, and his aunt was blathering on about how everyone in that family is so smart, and how they all have big foreheads. They went around the entire table and looked at all their foreheads one by one, and they conspicuously ignored mine (I guess they were being polite about my small brain.)

[Shoeempress]

35. Damn those reunions sound like such fun. You are far more polite than

I could be under such circumstances.

[LisaM]

48. I know! Can you imagine being proud of being fatheads?

They're basically nice people but very conceited. The first time I met the grandmother (since passed away), she said, "Does anyone in your family drink?" My impulse of course was to say, "yes, as much as possible", but I politely lied and said, "oh, just wine at dinner."

[Midlodemocrat]

5. Grandpa.

Grandma is dead, which prevents me from ever talking to that evil, lying witch again.

Dad and Mom were my parents, it doesn't feel right to me.

[Shell Beau]

6. I call them by their first names, although I did say one time

to my M-I-L that I didn't know if I should call her first name or Mrs. her first name or what. She said you can call me mom. I still call her by her first name. It is just weird to call someone else mom.

[Missy M]

7. I had a difficult time calling my in-laws Mom and Dad......

my daughter-in-law calls me by my first name which is fine with me and what I prefer.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

9. The Outlaws...no really mom and pop

[William769]

10. By her first name.

[scarlet_owl]

11. I call her by her first name.

[Parrcrow]

12. My Father in Law is retired from a career in the military

and he's quite liberal. I call him Sarge or by his first name.

[BikeWriter]

37. Very good. Most vets enjoy their former rank being mentioned.

Unless it's Private.

[CBGLuthier]

13. nothing at all

Since my wife's parents are deceased, but to be more helpful,

My wife calls my parents by their first names.

We have been married just a few weeks shy of 20 years though.

She never addressed them as mom and dad and I don't think I would or ever did the same for her parents.

[Divameow77]

16. I don't call them anything

because they are not nice people and we don't talk to them, my husband calls my mom Mary or sometimes he calls her mom.

[dback]

17. I use their first names

Since I lost my mom in July, I know Judi my mother-in-law would be pleased if I started calling her "mom." But I can't--she isn't, though I care for her very much.

When we speak of them as a package, it's "The Jews." (My partner is Jewish, he converted when he met me.) Thus, we tell friends "Yes, The Jews are coming for the weekend--we've laid in lox and bagels." My partner thus takes to kvetching and saying "Oy" a lot when referring to them. (His usual description of them is "Pain in the ass.")

On the flip side, he calls my dad "Jim," but interestingly he calls my grandmother--the only grandparent left on either side--"Grandma," which she seems to like.

[Semi_subversive]

19. Endora or Old Bat, but with love

My 88 y.o. m-i-l has lived with us for 10 years. She's my drinking buddy.

[arwalden]

59. Endora? Are you kidding, Durwood?

:rofl:

[Semi_subversive]

62. Nope!

We've had a lot of chuckles over it the last 25 years. And it's Darren!!!

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

20. Dead

All of our parents are dead, unfortunately.

[yellowcanine]

21. "Daddy" and "Mom" - what my spouse calls them. Out of respect and love.

First of all, my own Dad isn't living so I am happy to have someone to address that way. And usually my own Mom isn't there when my spouse's parents are around so there is no confusion.

[SidDithers]

22. First names...

I just could never get comfortable calling them Mom and Dad. My wife, on the other hand, has no problem calling my parents Mom and Dad.

Go figure...

Sid

[bertha katzenengel]

23. by their first names

but they love me :loveya:

[Modem Butterfly]

24. My partner's dad has the same name as my partner

So I call him Doctor or Doc (he's a college professor). I call his mother by her first name. He calls my folks by their first names. No one has objected so far.

[Saphire]

25. I don't call them anything.. I refuse to speak to them.

[JVS]

26. Fargin bastiges

[Debi]

50. Iceholes?

:shrug:

[Kerrytravelers]

27. assholes... motherfuckers... hounds from hell... slimy bastards...

bush-loving-murdererous-fundamenatlist-fruitcake-nazi-saluting-homophobic-intolerant-biggot pigs who will never be around our children unsupervised.


And that's just what I can say in public. Imagine what I really feel.\

[steely]

29. Go with first names, you'll get used to it.

They should let you off the hook themselves, but if they're not with it - use their names. I say you are more sensitive to manners (in a good way) than they are.

You could also call them Mom and Dad -

Personally, I did the same thing - and I didn't like "mom & Dad" either.

Be glad you didn't ask what we'd like to call them. (just kidding)

[Withywindle]

30. Brian & Elaine

Why would I call them anything else?


IMO, once you're out of high school, you call fellow adults whatever they want you to call them. His family's not formal at all, neither is mine (actually I was raised calling my parents by their first names as well, but that's a whole other thing I guess...).

He calls my parents by their first names too--bigger deal for him since my mom has a name that looks simple on paper but is really not easy for English speakers to pronounce; I'm glad I've had my whole life to get the hang of it. :)

[LeftyMom]

31. First names

Which can be wierd because my mother and LeftyDad's biomom (he's adopted, they met a few years ago) has the same first name as my mom. If the phone rings and he says it's "mom" that could be his childhood mom or his bio mom, if he says it's Debbie it could be his bio mom or my mother.

Eventually somebody's getting a new appelation or my head's going to explode.

[hallc]

32. This is gonna sound funny...

But I don't call them anything!!! I kind of avoid the situations where i would have to call them by a name...I think it would be weird calling the Roy and Lee...and equally as weird calling them Mom and Dad. And I refuse to say Mr. and Mrs. - so its nothing for right now.

[Rising Phoenix]

33. I call them by their first names

[BamaGirl]

34. Out-laws ;)

If I'm forced to deal with them face to face, I call them by their names. My husband calls my parents by their names too. Now, my best friend's mother, I call mom lol. ;)

[ahem]

36. I use her first name.

I could never imagine calling her Ms. <blank>, that's far too formal for family. (Plus I never address anyone formally unless they address me the formally.) And she's not my mom, so I can't imagine feeling comfortable calling her that. She just a great woman, who I address as I would a friend--a friend who just happened to have given birth to my spouse. :)

[pitohui]

38. ****heads

we haven't spoken in a couple decades

[Ilsa]

39. First names. n/t

[trackfan]

40. First names

[trof]

41. Mom and Pop.

Since I had neither there was no confusion.

[Old_Fart]

42. Dust

n/t

[sundog]

43. non existent

:D

[Kire]

44. Colonel

If I were married, I'd love to call my father-in-law Colonel.

[terrya]

45. Dead

Doug's mom and dad died several years ago. I wish I had met them.

[arwalden]

58. Similar...

... Mike's mom died just before I met him. I love hearing stories about her and he thinks we would have gotten along with each other very well.

[SarahB]

46. Arrrggghhhh!

More to worry about. :crazy:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=3828133

Are first names ok? :D

[Pale Blue Dot]

55. "Your Majesty" works.

Or, you could call them by their pet names for each other, "Turkey" (dad) and "Cocky"(mom). You should know that these nicknames resulted from a 4-year-old's mispronunciations, and not some bizarre sexual in-joke between the two of them :puke:.

:hi::loveya:

[SarahB]

63. I so want to call your mom "Cocky".

Just because it would be acceptable. It's ok though, when you meet my mom, you can call her Cocky too! Not sure what she'd do, but I'd sure love to see her face. :evilgrin:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

47. It felt awkward to call them Mom and Dad at first,

but I got used to it. My mom hated it; but learned how to deal. I credit my in-laws for teaching me what kind of mother-in-law I don't want to be.

If and when my kids find partners, we'll have a chat about what we all feel comfortable with.

[Debi]

49. Dead.

Cuz they're well, dead.

But my husband call my parents by their first names (as well as my grandparents).

[flamingyouth]

51. By their first names.

They're really nice, cool people. I'm lucky. :)

[Left Is Write]

52. I call them by their first names.

I should add that my husband calls my parents "Mom" and "Dad" unless he's speaking about them to his own parents, and then he refers to them by their first names.

[Maat]

53. Pre-blessed-with-kid: by their first names.

After we were blessed with Beloved Daughter: 'Nana and Papa.'

[tinfoilinfor2005]

54. deceased.

Sorry, bad joke, because they were wonderful people. I called them mom and dad.

[MrSlayer]

56. I call them by their first names.

I don't call anyone Mom and Dad except Mom and Dad. Heh.

[RetroLounge]

57. I call my mother-in-law Mom

My FIL passed away before I met my wife, but I know I would call him by his first name and we would have gotten along great. I feel cheated not having had known him...

RL

[NMDemDist2]

60. Phil or Gail n/t

[bliss_eternal]

61. To her face--her first name

behind her back--crazy, evil bitch most of the time.

Thankfully, I don't have to see her anymore, so most of the time dh and I just refer to her as 'that woman.'