What do your children call you?

[Loonaandalf]

Irish parents, if your children were born and raised in Britain, what do they call you?

I am expecting my first and wondering what we should encourage them to call us.

DH and I always said ma, mam, da, dad.
I like mama/ papa also but would we come across a bit pretentious since we’re not ehm Italian 🤣

I really want to avoid mum, mummy if possible. Would even prefer children to call me by my own name but DH thinks it’s silly. My name is my name though so…

Never ever heard of anyone using mum in Ireland, what is this a thing??

Seriously?!

This. I reall dont care if a child uses my name, would prob prefer it. Just for some reason can’t stand mum, mummy or mammy. Maybe mam or mama I could cope with but I’d hope at some point they’d start using my real as they grew up. I use my parents real names now as I’m older. How did you get your children to call you by your name? Did they always stick to it?

Same! The only people I know in Ireland who use mum are from the south, Cork, Kerry, Waterford region. Ma or mam here!

Most people I grew up with all said mummy / daddy. It was only older and very west Belfast family who said Ma & Da. Posh school friends or Protestants said mum and dad.

My own kids raised in England go between mamma and mummy, they are still young though.

But yes, Mum absolutely the norm among my friends in Dublin and North Wicklow, as well as my cousins in Kildare. Not to mention across NI.

I know Mam and Mammy are very common too (that's what my mum used for her mum), but I'm really surprised you've never heard Irish people using Mum or Mummy.

oh I forgot mom as an option, I love that. I used to live in North America and have lots of American friends here so I might be able to get away with that more.

I lived in area where there was not a posh person in sight but I have family outside Dublin in Wexford/ limerick and never heard anyone say mum. I am shocked to the core on this one. I also worked with middle class people in Ireland and never heard mum either. I thought mum or mummy were British terms tbh.

Depends whether I'm within hearing distance or not

I opted for simple "mum" but my oldest (7) has called me by my first name for about 18 months now. She realised I responded much more automatically to it than "muuuuuuuummmm" and it stuck.

I was mummy until DS was about 6 - now I'm mum

I was mummy until DD was 3 - now I'm mum

😂 I was hoping to hang on to mummy a wee bit longer, but anyone over the age of 11 who refers to their mummy and daddy freak me out

Northern Ireland and I'm wee mummy he's 17.

If he's in a mood it's Ship as in the mother ship 🙃

born in belfast. I called my parents mum and daddy (dad as I got older) My children were born in Canada and at first I was mum , but our kids suddenly started calling me Ma out of the blue when my eldest was about 14. It has stuck and they are in their 30's now. To the boys my husband is always Dad. To our daughter he is Dad or Daddy (still at 35) Daddy makes him get very suspicious as she usually wants something. To our grandmonsters I am grammy and husband is pops or poppa (because that is what his father and grandfather were to him and to our kids when they were still alive)

Mine were born in England, but we moved over here when my youngest was six months old and my eldest was 2 1/2. They call me Mama mostly which I know was very different but it’s just the way it happened and they say it in a really cute way which is nice.

Really? I'm very surprised. I used Mummy and then Mum as a child. So did my friends, my children and most other children I know.

I am trying to remember, it happened organically I suppose as everyone around me called me my name. The odd crèche worker would say there's your mum and my sons would just say hi my name.

Others spent time telling their children to "say mama" etc. Though to be fair my eldest spoke very early and had a very good vocab early. His party piece was saying roundabout for his key worker 🤣.

I am in Dublin it's mum for generations here🤣.

I've always encouraged DD to call me Mama, I love it, but its changing to Mummy and probably wont be long before Im Mum. 🙁

My Dad is Welsh and always used Mam, but I've noticed his family use Mam and Dad when speaking directly to their parents but Mother and Father if they are referring to to them.

You have a Christian name and a surname. Presumably the name I was christened with,no idea I was a baby.

My Irish friend calls his mother "the mother" or "the old one." Father is "the old fellow." Makes me laugh

Mine call me my name. It's far too confusing having lots of little people shouting mam and not knowing if they are talking to you or someone else.

same here, Mammy when you were small then mum from tween on was standard where I grew up in the 80’s in a very WC town in the North East.
Mummy seems to be prevalent name used amongst friends in Northern Ireland.

DD started out calling me Mum, I’m now Mam.

Mum. Mummy when they were little. I can't imagine what is remotely wrong with that. Calling you by your name is plain weird if you ask me. It seems disconnected. My Irish Dad used "Mum" too. I do sometimes get called "girlboss" or "mumzilla" but that's another thread entirely!

My siblings and myself refer to our parents as "the auld wan" or "the auld lad" and have for decades, iirc it came from them when they'd refer to each other. It has never been seen as disrespectful.

14 year old calls me mum, he did go through a phase when he was younger of calling me by my first name which I’m assuming is from hearing other people say it & it seemed to bother everyone else but me. I didn’t mind, didn’t make our relationship feel any less. My 8 year old calls me mum or mother, can’t say I love being called mother in the playground but he makes me chuckle the way he says it & 3 year old calls me mum, mummy, mama.

Let them call you whatever you’re happy being called as it will be your parent name after all, you’ll be hearing it for the rest of your life! 🤣
Just bear in mind in England Mum/mummy, dad/daddy is used everywhere, so it might be hard to escape. Especially once they start nursery or school. As naturally the staff will call you mum or mummy, along with hearing other children calling their parents it.

And you’re from the Republic of Ireland ?