There was a brief period where I called my mother "Mommy Sharon," and I'm still not sure why I did that. It didn't last very long, maybe six months to a year when I was about five?
I could never bring myself to call my parents "Mom" and "Dad" even when all the other kids graduated to the more 'grown up' terms of affection. Mine were still Mommy and Daddy.
But at some point during adulthood, and to be honest I can't recall when it was, but I stopped calling my parents "Mommy" and "Daddy" and started calling them "Mama" and "Dada" instead. I have no explanation for it. I just did.
So I thought I would see what the rest of you call your parents. I know that doing polls like this doesn't take into account the sheer variety of families in today's world-- I know some of you have multiple mothers or fathers, or step-parents with whom you are closer than bio-parents, or were raised by aunts and uncles. If either of your parents passed away or lost contact for some reason but did so recently enough that you remember your relationship with them, just fill this out with what you best remember. I did add an extra field to put in other things-- like, if you have two moms, what do you call each of them, or what do you call your uncle who raised you, or what you call your stepdad vs. your bio-dad. Whichever. If it doesn't fit, please comment!
My relationship with my mother is/was
Excellent
34(38.6%)
Good
36(40.9%)
Mediocre
13(14.8%)
Poor
4(4.5%)
I have never had a mother/ my mother has been deceased/absent for a long time and I don't recall
0(0.0%)
This question doesn't suit the family I was raised in (I had multiple mothers, was raised by other relatives, etc)
1(1.1%)
I primarily call my mother
Mom/Mum, or similar
70(79.5%)
Mommy/Mami, or similar
5(5.7%)
Mama/Momma, or similar
6(6.8%)
Mother
1(1.1%)
By her first name
2(2.3%)
Other
4(4.5%)
My relationship with my father is/was
Excellent
24(27.3%)
Good
32(36.4%)
Mediocre
20(22.7%)
Poor
8(9.1%)
I have never had a father/ my father has been deceased/absent for a long time and I don't recall
3(3.4%)
This question doesn't suit the family I was raised in (I had multiple fathers, was raised by other relatives, etc)
1(1.1%)
I call my father:
Dad
61(70.9%)
Pop
1(1.2%)
Papa/Papi, or similar
3(3.5%)
Dada/Dadda, or similar
1(1.2%)
Daddy
18(20.9%)
Father
0(0.0%)
By his first name
0(0.0%)
Other
2(2.3%)
If you have a family structure that isn't represented by these questions, or you call your parents something different, post it here!
One was Grandma/Grandpa
When I was referring to them in third person, they were "Grandma/Grandpa Fougner"
One is Grandma/Papa
These grandparents were Grandma Rose and Papa (Rose being first name)
One is Nana/Pop
My two great-grandmothers who were alive when I was born were "Grandma Coviello" and "Grandma Florence" (Coviello being last name, Florence being first name)
Grandma Rose, my maternal grandmother, is sometimes Grandma Rose to her face. My father's stepmother, Grandma Fougner, called herself "Grandma Fougner" in cards and phone calls, but acted like kids weren't supposed to know she had a first name.
My father just gets called "asshole", when I am feeling civil.
I started calling mom Lady sometimes as a joke, and then gradually I guess I did it more and more often until I remember one day in high school I was standing away from her in a store going "Mom! Mom! Mom!" to no response until I finally said "Hey Lady!" and she turned around immediately and I realized even she didn't really think she was "Mom" anymore.
My grandparents were always Memaw and Papaw, and that's stuck around. Started calling all my other relatives by their first names sometime between college and now (i.e. just Mike instead of Uncle Mike).
My husband was adopted by his grandmother and step-grandfather; he calls his grandmother "Mother" and his step-grandfather by his first name. He tends to talk about his mother and step-grandfather, which can be very confusing if you don't know what the family situation is.
Alex calls me "Mama" or "Mommy", her father "Da" or "Dah-dy" and when talking about both of us calls us "Ma-and-Da" as if it is one word.
Edited at 2008-06-30 04:34 am (UTC)
I also call her "Mother" when I'm annoyed with her or I want to have a serious conversation with her, and "Ma" when I'm just being lazy :D
My relationship with my mother is now a matter of public record, if not outright legend.
I called my grandparents Ana and Tommy-Tom, and I'm not sure why. Possibly because I called my great-grandparents Grandma and Grampa, which was because that's what everyone else called them.
Edited at 2008-06-30 06:14 am (UTC)