'Good girl'

[BalaRua]

My mum, step dad and dad all call me a 'good girl' all the time. For no reason.

Eg: mum: how are you?
Me: fine thanks
Mum: good girl

This so annoys me. I'm youngish but I'm married with a child! Is this unreasonable of me to hate it? Is there a polite way to make them stop?

My family are all Irish and I've never thought about it being infantalising/a particularly Irish thing. Neither my 82 year old great uncle nor my friends take offense to "alright, good boy?" as a greeting. Regional perhaps? My Welsh friends say it a lot

If it is said with love and affection and not in a demeaning way, it's not demeaning and you should accept it for what it is.

My mum says it to me. I'm 35 with a partner of a decade and a baby. Come to think of it, she says it to my DP and the baby too. We cope. It's quite sweet. I'll probably end up doing it to the baby when she's 35 too.

On the other hand when a male colleague, 2 years younger than me, called me a "good girl" I nearly nailed his knackers to the wall.

My mum doesn't use it often but if I fix something for her that she's struggled with, such as getting her tv back to normal when she has sat on the remote, then she tends to say, 'ah, you're a good girl' and I love it.
A few years back she went to grab my hand to help me cross the road, which she hadnt done in years, then checked herself as it happened but I smiled and we swung arms for fun.

My mum says it in her gorgeous Irish accent but only on occasion and in a bit of a nice cheeky way when she's after something. It's heaven to my ears when she does it. Sometimes she says ahh you're a good little girl. She's not being demeaning or infantilising, we both understand the undercurrent that I've helped, she's grateful and she's glad she gave birth to such a star hehe. Or maybe I'm soft and being taken advantage of, cos she's not daft and knows exactly how to get what she wants but it works and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Just remembered . I was also called 'little' as in 'here is little feckit' by the same manager..it irritated the hell out of me at one time until I got used to the person ..now I just find it amusing..it isn't meant in a demeaning way...she is genuinely fond of her staff and tends to treat us in a familial way.

My dad says "that's my girl". It's said with affection and received the same way. I'll always be his little girl. No need for me to hurt his feelings by pointing out I'm not a girl anymore, when he says it with nothing but love.

He also takes my arm when crossing the road. I love it. I love being his baby. I love thAt he worries about me like I'm ten still! No need to grow up too fast!