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Original poster

From Mummy to Mum

28 replies

Nutjob · 19/03/2003 10:56

I was just having a conversation with my sil and we were discussing how our children sometimes call us Mum instead of Mummy. Both my ds (5) and my dd (3) mix the two, although I think dd is just copying ds, and we were wondering is 5 the transition stage from Mummy to Mum, when did your little darlings make the change?

OP posts:
Angel78 · 19/03/2003 11:05

My ds mixes mummy and mum and he's 4. He started the whole mum, dad, nan thing when he was about 3 1/2 I think.

mears · 19/03/2003 11:08

It happened so subtly I couldn't tell you.

oxocube · 19/03/2003 11:17

My kids still call me mummy and they are 5 and 7. The little one only says 'mama'!

Ghosty · 19/03/2003 11:21

My DS calls me Mum sometimes and I hate it ... it makes him sound too grown up ... He is 3.25

Tortington · 19/03/2003 11:31

my 13 yr old calls me mummy when he want something!

Alibubbles · 19/03/2003 13:16

My 17 yr old DD still calls me mummy, DS son does occasionally, but mostly mother, as I hate mum. I still call my mother, mummy (and daddy) and I'm 45!!

jemw · 19/03/2003 13:28

ds started using mum at about 3 1/4 - did sound strange at first, he mixes between mum, mummy and our given names at will....dd at nearly 2 just uses mummy
Anyone else get called by their first name by their children?

Meid · 19/03/2003 13:41

My DD (20 months) sometimes calls my DH by his first time. We crease up each time and liken it to Bart calling Homer "Homer" in the Simpsons.
She also calls me "Mum" sometimes rather than Mummy.

Meid · 19/03/2003 13:41

I mean first name.

sobernow · 19/03/2003 14:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NQWWW · 19/03/2003 14:45

Meid - my ds (aged 2) has started using my & my dp's first names - usually when he has failed to get our attention using Mummy and Daddy. It certainly works!

Bozza · 19/03/2003 15:03

NQWWW - I used to call my Mum "Mrs X" for that purpose.

Sobernow my 2yo DS has taken to saying "Mummy do it" when he can't be bothered to do something - because I used to say "X do it" when encouraging to try things for himself. As he learns to talk I can see all my turns of phrase etc repeated back to me - its scary!

sprout · 19/03/2003 15:23

Bozza, oh yes my dd is a great fan of "Mummy do it", too.

grommit · 19/03/2003 15:40

My dd started calling me Mum at around 3 - rightly or wrongly I kept asking her 'what is Mum?' and now she is back to Mummy...much nicer

Clarinet60 · 19/03/2003 17:19

A 'friend' introduced DS1 to the Mum concept before he was two. I prefer mummy.

soyabean · 19/03/2003 19:09

Ds1 started calling me Mum when he was about nine. The younger two latched onto it straight away so I am rarely Mummy any more. I have come to like it, tho I found it less cosy and friendly at first. It does sound funny ( a bit grown up) to hear my three year old call Mu-um'. I encouraged ds1 tho, because I could see that his friends used MUm, so I just told him that I would be perfectly happy whatever he called me; he switched straight away, so had perhaps been holding back.

tallulah · 19/03/2003 20:18

Mine still say Mummy & Daddy- they are 17, 15, 13 & 11. (DD- 17) went to private school until last summer & everyone else at the school says Mummy. None of mine seem to be embarrassed to say it in front of friends either.
My mother, says "ask your mum" to my kids & it really gets up my nose! Mum doesn't sound right.
As teens, we used to call my dad "Fat one" (how rude!), & DD often calls DH Papa or Poppa or Pa.

nerdgirl · 19/03/2003 20:28

Absolutely hate the word 'Mummy' ( probably a cultural thing, being Irish and all )

My kids call me 'Mammy'. ( which I understand would be a major problem in other cultures ) Ah, the division of a common language, heh?

My brother and I call our parents the auld fella and the auld dear!

OldieMum · 19/03/2003 21:06

As a Welsh migrant to England, I tried calling myself Mummy to dd for the first few weeks after she was born, but it sounded a little alien to my ears. Now I'm using Mam and Mama, as I call my own mother. No doubt dd will have other ideas once she hears her friends using Mummy, so I expect I'll just have to accept it!

bluestar · 20/03/2003 12:57

I started off as mum, then mum mum, then moomin (don't know where this came from!!) and now in the last few days, I have finally become 'mummy' and I love it, it sounds so sweet. DS is only 2 but for some reason could just not fathom how to say mummy, yet saying nanny was fine!

Azzie · 20/03/2003 13:11

Ds (now 5.5) started calling me mum shortly before he started school, although still uses mummy when he's being particularly affectionate (and when there are none of his mates around to hear him ). Dd (3.5) started calling me mum as soon as her big brother did. I don't mind it - I'm really enjoying them both growing up.

Strangely enough they both occasionally call dh by his first name, but never me.

I remember my mum making such a fuss when we wanted to call her mum not mummy!

janh · 20/03/2003 15:33

The biggest disadvantage to being called Mum is when you're out somewhere there are a lot of kids - eg the supermarket - somebody is always shouting "mum!" and it's usually impossible to recognise the voice.

I was a bit sad when I wasn't called Mummy any more - though like Custardo's the big ones still say it when they really really want something! ("Mummy darling....."

Mo2 · 20/03/2003 17:56

Still get Mummy from my 3.2 yr old, and hope it continues - don't think I'm ready for Mum yet.
My parents (from the North) refer to me as 'Mammy' to the kids which I HATE!
Also dislike my DH's names for Gran/Grandpa - "Nan" & "Pop" - because this is what he called his grandparents. Have managed to persuade him to change (for our children) to Nanny & Grandpa, but I still dislike 'Nanny' as I think it's confusing, what with goats & nannies (not that we have either incidently...)

tallulah · 20/03/2003 18:21

Mo2 I'm with you on nanny! My grandparents were grandma & grandad, and gran & grandpa, so we always knew who was who & which was which.
My inlaws already had grandchildren when our first was born & they insisted on nanny & grandad. I couldn't bring myself to even say nanny for years!
With more than 1 grandad (& ours were was still alive - I think there were 4 in the family!) then you have to add bits so everyone knows who you are talking about- grandad Joe & grandad cat or whatever.

Gilli · 26/03/2003 23:02

Just a funny story about nanny/granny misunderstandings- when having dd4 last May, our part-time nanny drove me to the hospital as dh was in the office in London despite warnings from yours truly,. Well, she sat outside labour suite, which was very good of her as she doesn't have/want children of her own, and one of the midwives must have asked her who she was. So there I was, just about to push the final push - all on my own - when one of the midwives rushed out to ask her if she wanted to come in to see her grandson being born! As she is 3 years younger than me and I am 41 she was nearly as upset about being mistaken for my mother as she was about nearly seeing the gory bits......