What's with everyone writing 'Mom?'

[Ottersmith]

Why is everyone writing Mom in their thread instead of 'mum'? Are you American? Are you from the Midlands? If neither of these then stop doing it. It's everywhere and it's so annoying.

First School, then Middle School, then High School

It’s all bonkers anyway- surely first school should be followed by second and third school? Or at least middle and last school!

as long as we all know what we are on about it doesn’t matter.

Totally 😂

I call my parents Mummy & Daddy and I'm in my 40's 😂

My English husband thinks it's weird 🙃

You know the Midlands is huge, right? You make it sound like an obscure African village where a dying indigenous language is still spoken by only 37 people. The West Midlands conurbation is the country’s second most populous area!

Can an exception be made for those Brits who went to a high school or whose children attend a high school so they can avoid the risk of being shot as traitors to the English language?

I'm 53 it's always been High school as far as I'm concerned.

It's the same where I live now too so not the only county,middle schools seem to be a dying breed though and on their way out.

Because dialects exist and people have different preferences. Surely this isn't news?

I'm an American ex-pat and for years I made a great deal of effort to adapt my speech and writing to be less American soley to avoid ruffling the feathers of the more fragile Brits like OP. Then somewhere around age 30 I stopped expending so much energy on people who are just determined to be angry. Y'all can lump it.

I think some of it is autocorrect too
I don't live in an area that uses it, my dad never does and yet when he texts it always says mom - when he would say mum

I agree. Language is about communication. If my kids say candy instead of sweets doesn't really matter. I understand what it means so why does it cause a problem. Who are we trying to impress really?

There's a weird xenphobic streak on Mumsnet. It's really obvious to any of us living outside the UK. Some members seem to be puzzled, if not outright offended that there are people posting on here from other countries, and the anti-American sentiment is the worst of it.

An OP will post about some sort of personal crisis and you'll have a reply which completely ignores the problem and just says 'you said trash, are you American? We don't use that phrase in the UK'. I'm sure they think they're being very clever but they come across as the opposite, and just really small minded to boot.

Genuinely, why do you care about this so much OP?

@Ottersmith

I miss my mom, who taught primary school and my Nana, who taught high school.
I honestly don’t give a rat’s ass whether what I call the women in my life annoys you or not.
We’re complete and total strangers and what I do and say in my life has absolutely no effect on your life whatsoever - and vice versa.
And I notice that a lot more people call their moms “mom” than just us Americans, which is something I didn’t know - so, thank you fellow MN users. I like learning new things.

The one thing I can't stand is Mam/Mammy. Yes mam, no mam, three bags full mam! Someone on this site is called [insert name]s(I forget the name)Mammy. Makes me so stabby and it sounds so immature. It rhymes with ham/hammy and that's how I read it (not sure if that is how it's pronounced, ie mam as in ham, not marm as in farm). FFS, grow up, use mum/mom or mother. Every time I see mammy I want to ask the poster wtf is wrong with them.

Why would I not like the way you say 'me Mum'?? I'm from the North West too. I don't see anyone from the North West saying Mom though. There can't be that many Americans and Midlanders to warrant the number of 'Moms' mentioned on Mumsnet.

Rude!

Why are so many Americans getting offended on here? My post says if you aren't American or from the Midlands then stop it. I couldn't give a shit what you call your mother. I get annoyed with British non Midlanders using it in posts when they say Mum in real life.

Get a grip. Ask yourself ‘wtf is wrong’ with you to be so offended over a total non issue. Overly sheltered life with a sprinkle of xenophobia perhaps?

Also: the irony of using the term ‘makes me so stabby’ whilst complaining about other people’s allegedly immature language.

What is your point? Attacking other cultures because they dare to be different from yours? What a tiny world you must live in.

This isn't about culture, as it's an English term used in English countries.

Why are you only having a go at me? What about the OP?

Everyone in Australia seems to say “mum”.

But they do have some Americanisms such as truck instead of lorry. They seem to use both motorway and freeway interchangeably however.

Exactly this. It’s bloody embarrassing. And it’s not just Mumsnet, it’s rife on TikTok too.

I think trash is a brilliant word and I use it often. It’s so emphatic. And don’t tell anyone, but I’ve also taken to spelling it curb because I hate the way kerb looks.

Mum Mom is all the same to me. Can't imagine caring much less being offended over what anyone calls their mother.

Of course you're entitled to add your opinion. I'm entitled to add what I think of your opinion. See how it works?