Friend call 4 year old 'the baby' and it is driving me mad.

[Eggrules]

I know I am being unreasonable but I hate it. Does this bother anybody else?

How do others manage relationships with friends that have totally different styles?

Hmm colditz good theory

Apart from I'm not actually that keen on babies

It's just an affectionate nickname here, she was called it when she was born to help DD1 get to grips with it all and it's stuck!

Sometimes I can read an OP and totally relate to it.

Other times, I think WTF?! And this is one of those times.

My DS is 15 months. I sing to him that he will be my baby when he is 5, 15, 25, 55, 105.

I came across a letter that my mother had written me when I was 11 years old. I was staying at my grandma's for a few nights. My mother finishes the letter with 'I can't wait until my eldest baby is back home with me'. I love that line.

I think there is probably two very distinct styles of mothering at play in this thread. Those that are OTT with pet names and silliness with their babies (and children!) and those that are a little more sensible. I DEFINITELY fall in the first category!

OP, you would wince if you heard what I call my husband!

Maybe your friend can't remember your child's name and is trying to be polite?

Hmm,dh still calls our youngest two 'the babies' despite them being 10 and 12! It's just a habit thing. We have two older dd's also and from the start it was just easier to group them into 'the big ones' and 'the babies'.

He doesn't call them 'baby' when he is speaking to them though.

And thinking about it, I do still call them 'baby' from time to time. They will always be my babies, however old they are.

So there!

My gran was called Baby Ciss by her 8 brothers and sisters as she was the youngest. I always thought it was rather sweet when she was in her 60s.

BBface - pet names and silliness are fine; fun is essential. In the family I grew up in we all had and still use pet/family names.

My friend and I have very different parenting styles and it does cause tension. She isn't a better mother or more loving because of her desire to keep her child as 'the baby'.

Whilst I totally agree with the each to their own approach to life, this bugs me.
Have you got a drink for 'THE BABY' irritates me. I also admit to having bellywarming judgy pants on when said drink goes into a bottle.

My MIL rings up and asks of my 8 year old bruiser 'Hows baby?'
Drives me mad too

I call my three younger ones the weans,bairns,smalls or babies. The eldest is 8 and youngest 3. Harmless

I say "hey Baby" to all of mine, and dd and ds2 are "the littles"

Ds1 is 19, dd is 16 and ds2 14.

likes to imagine people think I am young enough to have actual toddlers of my own

My children will always be my babies, no matter how old they are.

Both my DC are my babies, at 15 and 16, they don't seem to mind......

NotnOtter weans,bairns,smalls or babies are lovely ways to refer to your DC.

Catsmamma "Hey baby" and "the littles" is grand.

argghh MIL/DM asking after my 5 YO DS, "how's baby?" = argghh

The use of pet names is to be encouraged. It is specifically use of the phrase "the baby" which is part of an infantilisation that gets on my last nerve.