How do I get my 3.5 year old to stop calling me mum?

[whistlers]

Started a couple of days ago and it's constant.

I would like to be called mummy again. Mum sounds dreadful.

My parents were raging snobs and tried to make us call them mummy and daddy when we were far too old. Just go with it.

My father also used to try to make me use the word lavatory at my state primary school, mind you..

@Confusedandshaken

My mum insisted on being called Mummy throughout my childhood because she considered "mum' to be common. It was the tip of the iceberg of her controlling behaviour that resulted in 2 of her 3 children running away from home the second they turned 16. The day of their 16th birthdays they both packed up and disappeared overnight.

We are all old now and only I see or speak to her. The other two are NC/LC. I always call her mum. My brothers only refer to her by her first name. You reap what you sow and she wasn't ever loving or caring enough to be a ' Mummy'.

Pick your battles OP. As long as he is calling you mum with love and respect it really isn't worth forcing Mummy on him.

Same here, it was one of my Mothers many controlling behaviours, and once I was secondary school age I felt so awkward, embarressed and babied, so I took it upon myself to change to Mum but I can still remember exactly where I was the first time I did and the fear that I felt.

I am now non contact with her, for a range of other controlling and bullying behaviours, but it took me to my late 30s to get there. It's been 2 years now and the relief it immense. I just wish I had a normal, kind and loving MUM.

My daughter is 18 now. I’ve been Mum, Mummy, Helen (not my real name but she used my real name) and ‘you have lost the right for me to call you Mum’. We have a great relationship x Don’t worry x

Don’tcha just hate it when kids call it as it is…😃

I'd take mum. My 15 year old son calls me bro.

My children went through a phase of calling me by my Christian name. Goodness knows why, I think it’s quite common.
Just tell your child to call you mummy.

Mine still call me mummy and my eldest is 13. I do t know when I’ll be ok with mum but I really don’t like it! They do say mum in front of their friends though.

I suppose they can’t call me mummy as an adult, that would be creepy I think? I suppose I’ll just have to graduate onto mum eventually but my youngest is newborn so it’ll be a while.

It’s a class thing isn’t it?

We have relatives who are very pretentious social climbers. Kids in their forties still use mummy and daddy. Very weird. Forty year old man saying daddy do you want a whiskey when stood at the bar!

But i can see how you would want tiny tots to call you mummy. Knock it on the head in a few years though!

My friend still insists her 16 year old daughter calls her and her husband mummy and daddy. It sounds ridiculous! It's just part of her wanting to be like the elite classes she aspires to despite being reluctantly working class.

He’s 3. There are very few things in his life he can control. This however is one of them.

He’s doing it because he can (and probably because it winds you up). There’s a good chance he’ll revert back when something else captures his attention.

Could be worse, could call you “muver” like a friends son did

My DS (21) calls me muvver . Or if he's after something it's Muvvaaahhhh
He's got a proper Essex accent .

DD decided when she was going to call me Mum (I think at school they get to an age where Mummy isnt cool ) and every sentence was "Mum are we going out" / "Do you want coffee Mum/Can I do this Mum - like she was re-inforcing in her own mind . Felt weird but I was happy with it . .

I can't believe there are people put there not answering to mum, and insisting on being called mummy 🤣 ridiculous!

@gamerchick
Mammy isn’t really the same as Mummy, it’s more an affectionate thing like ‘aww my wee mammy’ mine don’t actually address me as it 😅

I'm with you OP. It's not been that long since your child started talking! I wouldn't want to give up the sound of mummy so quickly either!

@Ideasplease322

It’s a class thing isn’t it?

We have relatives who are very pretentious social climbers. Kids in their forties still use mummy and daddy. Very weird. Forty year old man saying daddy do you want a whiskey when stood at the bar!

But i can see how you would want tiny tots to call you mummy. Knock it on the head in a few years though!

Yes it is. Have a friend who lives in a ‘naice’ area, her DCs say “momma”. The first thing I think of when I hear ‘mummy’ from an adult is Hyacinth Bucket and Sheridan!

DS did this recently and he is 8. Another dagger to my heart 😂. I feel your pain.

I cringe for the poor kids who unwittingly refer to their mother as "mummy" at school and get ripped to shreds for being a baby 🤷‍♀️

I've got 9 - the younger ones have only ever called me "Mum" as by then the older ones called me "Mum" so that's what the younger ones heard the most. Honestly...I would worry about things that actually impact your relationship with your child and this IS NOT one fo them! It's not disrespectful, it's an appropriate term. "Oi wench!" And you may have a point!

Surprised how many people here don’t get that having a little child who calls you Mummy is a sweet thing that you might want to hold on to for a few more years. Nothing to do with class or pretension. No different from being a bit sad when they want to hold your hand less in public or stop needing a bedtime story. Things we know will happen eventually but don’t want to happen too soon. OP.

What a control freak. Leave the kid alone!

Oh, I get 'sis' too and occasionally 'psycho bitch'. Buckle in!

what a bizarre place Mumsnet is sometimes. Many times.

And the obsession with class in the UK!

I'm shocked people ignore their kids if they call them mum. So mean and controlling

I’d not make anything of it. If your child is anything like mine, they’d call me Mum just to wind me up!

Mine started calling me mum at 3.5ish, which I was a bit surprised by, DS has speech delay and he only managed to say Mama last year. Suddenly one day, he called me Mum! They call me a mix of mum, mummy and mama. DD went through a phase of calling me Dog though, so any variation of mother is good with me!

@HaveringWavering

Surprised how many people here don’t get that having a little child who calls you Mummy is a sweet thing that you might want to hold on to for a few more years. Nothing to do with class or pretension. No different from being a bit sad when they want to hold your hand less in public or stop needing a bedtime story. Things we know will happen eventually but don’t want to happen too soon. OP.

Surprised how many people here have sickly sweet sentimentalism surrounding entirely arbitrary forms of address. Your child is just as much your child if they call you ‘Angela’.