Originally Posted by MumOfThree
Mana all three of my kids have had a stage lasting months, or even years, of calling my husband and I by first names, usually starting between one or two years old. I've always been surprised when people freaked out about it "She called you firstname!!" "Yep, that's my name..." I don't understand the fuss. They all still call us Mum and Dad, or some variation of such, at least some of the time. But even if they didn't and only used our names I still wouldn't fuss... Maybe that's weird of me?

When our DD tried that out, we nipped it in the bud. We told her that Mom and Dad are titles of respect, much like Father/Reverend, Officer, Your Honor, or Mr. President. She's not on a first-name basis with us for the same reason she's not on one with her teachers... it's a subtle reminder that, while we're perfectly happy to follow her lead in some things, we can and will pull rank when we feel it's necessary.

Maybe because the lesson took hold early on, it hasn't been necessary to reinforce this lately. But I can say that in her toddler/pre-K years, she needed regular reminders that she wasn't in charge. This was a child who was convinced that everything we did revolved around her, when the fact was that only MOST of what we did revolved around her.