To think my parents should refer to themselves as Nanny and Grandad

[TheMagpieRobin]

Whenever my mum or dad are talking to me they refer to each other as "mum/dad" but I think that if my kids are around they should use "nanny/grandad" (their choice - I don't care what they call themselves). Or at the very least say "your mum/dad" so the kids are clear who they're talking about. Eg if my mum is talking about my dad she'd say "Dad'll be home soon" and then my kids get confused thinking their dad is coming home.

Inevitably they often forget when speaking to their grandkids as well and will refer to themselves as "mummy/daddy".

It's not a huge deal but it annoys me so much every time they do it.

Well no, I think people refer to each other by their first name or nickname.

Did your parents call each other 'mum' and 'dad' in front of you when you were a kid?

Surely it's the kids that call them Grandma or whatever. Adults don't call each other those names usually?

Your parents call each other mum and dad? That's so weird regardless of who it's in front of.

I assume they've always done it though? So probably hard for them to change now. You should have stopped them years ago - it's too late now!

It sounds very confusing OP.

I think it's reasonable to expect them to use language appropriatel to the situation so everybody, including your DC, knows who it is they are talking about.

Too complicated - they won’t remember.

My parents always said your Mum or your Dad even to us children. Then when the grandchildren were around they always said your Grandad will be home soon. That way the children knew exactly who they were talking about.

My PIL don't use the "your" so FIL will say Mum is going to the theatre on the weekend and then there has to be clarification, whose Mum? Mine or yours from Dh? It gives me the ick when they don't use the your clarifier especially when you are referring to your wife.

We made a big family tree with photos so that the children understood relationships, so Aunty Claire is my sister, Grandma Fields is my Mum sort of thing. My PIL were Grandma and Grandad surname, mine were not because my Mum's MIL was so awful she refused to have the same name as her ie Grandma and surname and my Dad was completely fine with that.

The threads today are insane.

it can’t be that confusing fgs. Surely the circumstances make it fairly clear.

Your parents call each other mum and dad? That's so weird regardless of who it's in front of

When I’m talking about my husband to our children, I call him “dad” because that’s what he is to them. Sometimes I forget and use his name or very occasionally call him “dad” when I’m talking to someone else.

I might remember to call him “grandad” sometimes if we ever have grandchildren, but I couldn’t promise to get it right every time.

It's like a heatwave and a full moon around these parts today 😳

Get a grip. It's not that confusing

I get you OP. We all call my mum Grandma now since my nephew and niece were little. It's kind of nice in a way.

I also refer to my partner as Daddy to the dog though 🤣 'Go to Daddy for a biscuit'. Which I do have to try not to do in the company of others as it's a bit weird.

If they don't remember I would just let it go though. It's not a huge deal. The kids will work it out.

😂 agree!

Eh?! So if your mum is talking to you about your dad she’d say “Jim is at the dentist”?! Or about her father she’d say to you “Dad is coming round” but mean your Grandad?!

This is very odd OP. I’ve never heard of people being incapable of speaking as you would like them to. It’s so obvious.

My gran and grandad always referred to each other as mother and father. Never confused me in the slightest as a kid.
I think there are better things to get your knickers in a twist about to be honest.

It’s not remotely complicated. It’s…normal?!

You would tell your 5 year old Janet will be home soon. Of course you say mum

Are you deliberately being weird or stupid? They obviously don’t call each other Mum and Dad but when referring to the other to the OP they say Mum and Dad. That is natural speech.

I’ve literally just thought the same I have read some WILD posts today 🤣🤣🤣

If I'm talking to my DC I refer to my DH as "dad". If I'm talking to my DGC he is "grandad". If I'm addressing my DH I use his first name. I think my DH might sometimes call me "mum" to the DGC but they seem to cope.

If your mother is addressing you and not your children, “Dad will be home soon” is perfectly normal to say. They’ll figure out as they get older that “Dad,” when it’s said by their grandmother to you, means their grandfather. My mother does the same thing and my kids figured it out by the time they were five or so and I’d told them, “my dad, not your dad” a few times.

My mother used to say Mum is taking to Dad when she meant my Grandmother was talking to her son, my father. It was extremely confusing but we just laughed about it and asked for clarification if necessary. Children eventually get it.

I call my DH by his first name as he called me. My kids never once did this . When the grandparents talked they called each other by their names, if my mother was talking to me about my father she would say ‘your father’. If she was talking to my child she would refer to him as ‘your grandfather’.
My aunt used to call her husband ‘father’. None of their five children were ever confused by that.

So that’s what the OP wants (whether or not the “your” is included). What don’t you understand?! To their Grandchildren they are saying “Dad” rather than “Grandad” or “your Grandad”. They aren’t privately calling each other Mum and Dad to their faces.

I was just thinking the same!! I think the heat has gone to many people’s heads!! 😱

Are they doing it intentionally or just out of habit/forgetting.

Saying to their grandchildren that their dad will be home soon is obviously very confusing but it’s a very easy mistake to make out of habit.

If they did it every now and then by accident then it wouldn’t bother me but if they refused to use the correct names then I’d be annoyed.