To want my adult niece and nephew to call my Aunty Emma?

[egaley]

AIBU? Am I old fashioned?

I have an adult nephew and niece (28 and 26). They have always called me Aunty Emma.

We were having a big family meal and my cheeky nephew called me just “Emma” when he wanted to say something. I corrected him and asked him why he called me Emma, my name is Aunty Emma!

Yes, you are.

Yes.

Embarrassing. They are adults not children anymore .

Is this serious? Of course YABU.

I think once people are adults they call their aunts and uncles by their first names, that’s totally normal.

Yes, you are! I dropped the titles as I got older. I do still say mum and dad though. I cannot imagine changing that, although I know a couple of adults that have.

My mother in law corrected my 35 year old husband when he referred to an aunt (not even a real aunt) like this when she wasn't even there. I found it incredibly strange. I don't even expect my toddler and primary age nieces and nephews to refer to me as Aunty Name really. They do occasionally but I have no issues with them calling me by my name just like friends' children would.

YABU and treating them like children

I remember when I hit about 14 my uncle specifically saying I should just call him Fred because I was too old to need to call him uncle (and it made him feel old!)

I think generally these things naturally die out as they get older. I’m in my 40s now and can’t remember the last time I called my relatives aunty or uncle, my nieces and nephews are in their teens and don’t really use Aunty any more.

You sound like Miss Marple. 😁

Your name isn't Aunty's Emma it's Emma. My nephew couldn't pronounce my name and called my a cute nickname, then my sister had a kid and so on, anyway they all called me this name, then they grew up and now call me my actual name.

My kids call theirs by their first name. Is this real? Are you from 1800's? Bizarre!!!

Even the grandchildren call me by my first name. My neices and nephews only throw the Aunty in when they are being cheeky

Haha the responses to this are making me laugh because I had no idea people drop the title.. mid thirties here and still referring to all aunts and uncles with their title. That works for me and I will continue to do so but if they don't want to I don't suppose you can enforce it

Me and my cousins are all in our 40s and 50s and still use Aunty and Uncle before names!

To me, that’s ridiculous.

My nieces and nephews called me by just my first name from when they could speak. We’ve never used Aunty or Uncle in my family.

My 50 year old brother in law still calls his 80 year old aunt Aunty. It makes us laugh and him sound like an overgrown toddler.

I guess you could say that we’re quite a traditional family, but the young generation has NEVER referred to us as Aunty or Uncle. I did to mine when I was little but around my mid to late teens I must have stopped. It’s a very old-fashioned concept really.

I always call aunts and uncles, by auntie or uncle with their name. It’s special to me to have aunts and uncles I would dream of calling them by their first names only.

Calling my aunts and uncles “Aunt/Uncle X” was something that gradually stopped with childhood for me. I’d write it in a card, but just say their names. If that was your reaction though, you might not have to worry a huge amount about what your nephew calls you when he’s around.

My niece calls me just by my name which I encouraged from when she was quite young but despite my advancing years, I still call both my aunts and uncles, all in their 90s now, aunty and uncle in front of their name.

I know it's weird but I can't seem to drop the aunty and uncle bit. 😆

I think it's perfectly fine they don't call you aunty Emma, just plain old Emma.

Annoys me too OP. But it's seen as old fashioned. I still use uncle and auntie for mine. Personally I think it shows respect and I love the family connection.

I wouldn't have mind if I'd been asked but it was just dropped. I was proud to be auntie, as a lot of modern things I'm just sidelined.

Out of interest, are the adults on this thread referring to other adults as Aunty Alice or whatever the same people who talk about their family members without using 'my'. So "Grandma is ill" rather than "My grandma is ill" when talking to people outside the family. Again my husband's family do this and it drives me mad!

Aw I’m 45 and I still call my aunts, uncles and godparents Aunty and Uncle.

I’d definitely find it weird if they corrected me if I didn’t though. So don’t do that.

But that’s not your name.

Aunty is your relationship to them. Your name is Emma.

The only time I call my Aunties ‘Auntie first name’ is if I am referencing them to someone who doesn’t know them so I don’t need to explain who they are. So if someone asked what I am doing today ‘I am meeting aunty X for lunch’, rather than ‘I am meeting my auntie for lunch’ or ‘I am meeting X who is my auntie’ .

Are you my MIL?

She stopped talking to DH's cousin because she didn't call her 'Auntie X'.

She visibly flinches when I use her first name (I'm her DIL). I'm in my mid forties!

It's called the authoritarian personality. Strict hierarchies so that you can treat people beneath you with contempt and kow-tow to those above you.