to not understand why so many OPs use the word 'mom' when they are not American.

[LuluJakey1]

I regularly see posts on MN where the OP uses the word 'mom' instead of mum/mother. At first I thought they wete all American OPs but now I tealise many are British. Is it just me who finds it a bit of an affectation?

'Mam' in Wales too.
Interesting about Mom being Midlands...I've seen it used online and assumed it was an Americanism, but thinking about people I know with Brummie accents, it does really sound like Mom.
You learn something every day on MN! :-))

Another brummie here and I have a "mom". Can't say I have ever heard anyone else from around here use "mum" and mom is very much the norm

I'd use ma,maw,mum,mammy

I'm a mommy and I have mom. We're all from the Midlands and most people I know say mom. God forbid! I can assure you it's not a affectation or a desire to be American.

I think the real question is why would anyone actually care what other people call their mothers?

I have a mom and she had a mom but my dc call me mum, which I blame on formative years outside the Midlands. But I know other Black Country folk & Brummies who'd never say Mom. Each to their own!

From what I remember there are a lot of o sounds in Chaucer that have mutated into other vowels - stonde instead of stand, etc, so 'Mom' has probably been around a year or two. But the accents and dialects of the West Mids are rarely represented, accurately or otherwise, in national broadcasting, so it's not surprising that so many people have never heard it.

I have a mom, she has a mom, she had a mom. 100% working class Black Country. I never heard anyone growing up call their mom anything else.

I was perpetually confused by Mother's Day cards that all said mum growing up.

I however appear to be mummy (no longer in BC), which makes me a bit sad...

They're all lovely and they're all right. Mum isn't right with all the others being dialect/affectation etc.

My own mother is Mam, she was Mammy when I was little, since I've lived in the states she's quite often Ma. No ones business but mine and my Mams.

Actually, mam is right... It's short for Mammary, lol

harrietspy good point. Hammer is pronounced 'oma' with a true Black Country accent. I'm sure there's loads of other examples of similar.

"mum" always seemed more difficult to pronounce than "mom" to me, for some reason. The "o" sounds just comes more naturally.

also, I'm not British and DH is American.

so "mom" I am

It is DISCUSTING

Yes my brummie friend definitely has a mom. And my North East friend has a mam. I think my Irish friend has a mam too. I have a mum. We are now in contact by email mainly and they write it this way.

I love the Brummie mom thing. I remember having a conversation about it with one of my colleagues, who'd taken a phone message from my DM and put a little note on my desk saying "your mom called" when I'd only been there for a few weeks and wasn't familiar with it. And my sister is very definitely a Brummie mom, having lived there most of her married life and brought up two properly Brummie offspring. It's definitely not an affectation!

Ludways try the indoor market for mam cards.

Standard in Shropshire. I was surprised when I moved here. I grew up with my mam in the North East moved to mum later and now live in mom land though it is very much a 'born and bred' usage and not generally acquired by incomers :)

Another Worcestershire person here - and another one who has a mom and is a mom! My DCs grumble when school makes them write 'mum' instead of 'mom' and cards that call me mum make me want to say 'noooo - that's not me!'

To me Mum is an underarm roll-on deodorant (do they still make it or is it a 70's memory?) and a Mummy is a dead egyptian wrapped in bandages. Of which I am neither

I say mom. It's SO HARD to find a mother's day card that says 'Mom' on it. I've never found one! They are always 'mum' 'mother' or 'mummy'.

My mom is American, so has always liked to be called "Mom", and not "Mum".

Now DH, DCs and I actually live in the US, and although we've only been here seven months, I've noticed "Mom" is already creeping past my youngest DCs lips.

I don't like it at all. I live in the West Midlands and it isn't used here where I live.

Out of a trio of us who got together at a toddler group and stayed in touch, the two of us from NE England (where we all live) are definitely mam, we both say that we're not mum, we're most definitely mam. However, our third in the group is from Hull, and her children call her Mummy, which is how she wants to be addressed. Not sure how much longer she'll get that as the eldest is 10 now. Suspect it'll be shortened to Mum soon.

Another friend is from Cheshire and she's most definitely Mum to her son.

If you have a particular preference for what your DC call you you just have to be consistent in applying it. My ILs (from the NW) refer to me as their mum when mentioning me to the kids, so the kids when younger would sometimes address me as mum, but I would always correct them.

I was born in the Midlands and lived there until I was 23 but I never heard anyone referred to as Mom. Is it a recent development? I'm old

I don't like it, sick of creeping Americanisms. Like people saying "can I get a" and talking in faux american accents, replacing t's with d's etc. I find it pathetic tbh.

TusconGirl - have you actually read the thread?

Mom is not an Americanism, it is said in some regional dialects over there in the UK.