How should kids refer to adults?

Celestrina wrote: Which have you taught your kids? Do you mind when a kid refers to you another way?

PrairieMom replied: we always do Mr, Mrs first name. I don't know why we started it. It just seems formal enough to come across as respectful with out making the other person uncomfortable.

Danalana replied: It will me Mr. or Mrs________. That's how most of the kids are taught to refer to adults around here. That, or simply sir or maam.

msoulz replied: We always do the usual "Mr/Mrs. Smith" unless otherwise instructed by the adult. But IMHO (and probably just me!) I don't see the big deal about titles and would have no trouble with a kid calling me by my first name.

Danalana replied: Oh, I meant to say it will be mr. or Mrs + first name, for the most part. Sometimes it might be the last name instead of the first.

MyBlueEyedBabies replied: If it is adult they met at school it is Mr. Mrs. Last name. If it is from outside of school Mr. Mrs. First name then throw the sports affiliations in and it's coach first name

stella6979 replied:
Same here.

mom21kid2dogs replied: If they are 60 and up, we refer to them as Mr & Mrs. Younger we are first namers. At first we tried to do Mr & Mrs with the younger crowd but everyone told her to call them by their first name so we stopped trying the Mr & Mrs thing after a couple of years. Apparently, it's pretty passe in this neck of the woods unless your grandparent age.

MommyToAshley replied: Ashley has been taught to refer to adults as Mr & Mrs + last name unless otherwise instructed. Coaches and leaders (such as her Brownie leader), we usually go with how they introduce themselves, and it is usually Ms. or Mr. + first name. A few of my very close friends, Ashley is more informal and will call them by their first name only.

mckayleesmom replied: Mr. Miss, Mrs...first name...Yes sir and maam.

Nina J replied: It depends. With close friends, it is their first name. But, other's it is Mr., Mrs., Miss (Last Name), unless they get told otherwise.

I prefer people to call me by what there parents call me. So, it is usually Neen or Nina.

Boo&BugsMom replied: It really depends on the person. Close friends/friends who we see regularly, it's by first name. If it's a mom/dad of a friend who we don't know, it's Mr./Mrs. Last Name. "Older" people are also Mr./Mrs. Last Name. If it's someone who we are friends with, but aren't really "close" to, then it's Mr./Mrs. First Name. I prefer being called by my first name or Mrs. First Name. I am not a formal person. Heck, the pastor of our church we all call Pat (he prefers it). Although, we are also a very close-knit church as well. Our Worship Arts pastor is a close friends of ours, and the kids call him by his first name, and his kids know us by our first names as well. All depends on who we are referring to and the relationship we have with that said person.

CantWait replied:
Robbie and Anthony's school does this as well for Elementary students.

I like this idea although I don't think we've really taught the kids any of them, probably just by first name since I know most adults HATE the Mr. Mrs. thing (including myself).

~Roo'sMama~ replied: So far, our kids call all the adults they know by their first name, except for a couple who have introduced themselves or refer to themselves as Mr/Mrs when talking to my kids. Almost none of our friends want to be called Mr or Mrs, and I don't really like being called Mrs myself. It makes me feel uncomfortable! But, every once in awhile I come to a situation where I have to tell my kids someone's name that I'm not very familiar with, and then I'm stuck. I guess I should just ask them if they want to be called Mr or Mrs or just by their first name.

Cece00 replied:
Very much this. It would be really weird for our kids to call people our age "Mrs" whatever, unless its a teacher or something. But our friends? no. I dont want my kids friends calling me "Mrs. First or Last Name", they can just call me by my first name. I dont need the "mrs" on the front of it for me to consider a kid respectful. Some of the most respectful kids I know call adults by their first names.

WAY outdated except to old people here. My inlaws would prefer to be called "Mr/Mrs" but I really really dislike my inlaws and I also dislike that they try to force it on people (I've known these people since I was 10) and so I purposefully do NOT use that term with them. But its an example of how that matters mostly only to old people in my area.

paradisemommy replied: here in hawaii, everyone gets referred to as either "aunty" or "uncle". if you know their first name than that will follow the aunty and uncle but if you don't - then just aunty and uncle will do.

unless we're talking about school - ours is the traditional Mr./Mrs. Last Name

oh and if they are elderly like grandma/grandpa then it's "nana" and "papa"

coasterqueen replied: Mr. and Mrs. unless family or close friends.

DVFlyer replied: Close friends/ neighbors- First name: "Mom, Jenny called"

Teachers/ other people- Mr./ Mrs. Last Name.

jcc64 replied: I think it depends largely on the sensibilities of the community. I live, not surprisingly, in a quasi-hippie town, and things are very casual around here. My kids never called anyone Mr or Mrs until they entered public school for the first time. On the other hand, just a few towns over, in a more traditional community, all the kids refer to us as Mr or Mrs. So I guess for us, it's situational--the kids know who needs to addressed more formally, and who doesn't.

luvbug00 replied: mr/mrs. last name if your over 40 . miss or mr first name for friends my age.

I hate it when kids call me by my first name. They have a tendency to do so since i appear and act so young.

DVFlyer replied: Something about the Mr./ Mrs. "First name" sound really awkward to me.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
Having worked in daycare and preschool for so many years, you get use to it. All the EC teachers are "Mr./Mrs. First Name".

Celestrina replied:
Me too. Being raised to refer to adults as Mr./Mrs./Ms. + last name, I guess I expect the same from kids today.

The main reason I started this poll was because the kids in our neighborhood are taught Mr./Ms. + first name and it really bugs me. I didn't want to explain why because I was afraid it might affect people's responses.