Monday, March 6, 2006

A Question for You: Your Labels?

I called both of my stepparents by their first names. Cinderella calls me by my first name.
My parents she calls Grandma & Grandpop. As does The Boy and [eventually] The Mouse.
My stepmother goes by the name "Nanny" and her mother "Granny".
My stepdad was referred to as "Poppi" (we all called him that, actually).

We use pretty traditional monikers in our family and they are used by ALL of the kids, step and bio.

What kind of labels do you use for/with your "steps"?

6 comments:

parrotheadmom said...

first names here, asked the stepsons if they wanted to call my mom some version of nana/grandma/nanny they said they had enough of them. That pissed me off enough to drop it knowing the "other side" of the family is full with "step" cousins and grandparents that miracously have become family and don't really acknowledge them...and that my mom is the best nana on the planet. They, too, will see the error of their ways as they grow!
My stepmom, whom I have always called by her first name, did NOT want to be acknowledged in any manner as being a grand-anything for my two little girls. "she is too young for that" (um, not really!). People are so strange! So, they call her by her first name and I remind her that I could have had kids a decade ago and might have agreed at that point, but now, she is just ridiculous!

Kat said...

Ahhhh...this brings up a wonderful memory, that thankfully I can not giggle about. When my parents got together, the topic of names came up almost immediately. My stepfather, being quite a few years (17 to be exact) old than my mother, is very old fashioned...and he did not like the fact that we would be calling him by his first name. He wanted us to call him Mr. XXXXX! Can you imagine?! Eventually, he warmed to the idea.

His parents had died a long time ago - but we use "aunt" and "uncle" for the extended family. My grandmother still went by Meme for all the steps.

Erin said...

I call my stepmother by her first name and her kids call my dad by his first name.

I call my stepgrandparents Baba and Grandpa, which is also what their own grandkids call them and they always refer to me as just their granddaughter. My dad interesting enough calls them Mom and Dad.

My stepsiblings called my grandmother Mrs. (Last Name). But her dementa had already really set in so she would have been even more confused if they called her anything else. She was already confused who my stepmother was no matter how many times we explained it.

My step-niece calls my dad "Doug-Pop" combining both his first name and Grandpop.

I call my step uncles by their first names most of the time but so do their nieces and nephews.

Lauri said...

Nothing strange here either..my skids call me by my first name. They call my parents by their first name although the younger one tested out grandma and grandpa a bit but it didn't stick.

daionara said...

Your blog was linked to a friends blog so I'm nosy and started reading. Hope you don't mind.

My "step" dad married my mom when I was 2ish. He's Dad. The man Mom was married to when I first came along is reffered as "Dad (then his first name)" unless I am actually speaking with him, then it's Dad. I call his wife by her first name.

I have 5 step siblings. Two of which I call "brother" and "sister", the rest are just "them".

Another Wicked Step Mom said...

When my "Prince Charming" & I got married my 3 beautiful step kids had been calling me by my first name and asked if they were now supposed to call me "Mom". I told them to just continue to call me by my name and that if the day came when they and their mom were comfortable with them calling me something else we could discuss it then. In jusst a few months the chidren decided they wanted to call me mom to both my supprise and their mom's, who happened to be on the phone with them at the time. Needless to say she was not happy. However she did discuss it with them and they started calling me "Step Mom". This went on for about 4 years at which time they expressed to her and thir dad that they wanted to be able to call me "Mom" and their step dad "Dad" if they wanted. Both parents agreed and now I am "Mom".