Parenting Question: What Do You Call Your Spouse's Parents?

[Phemie]

Well, the sad fact is sometimes you have to borrow. My grandfather lived in the house between that of my friend and I (cozy!) so she called him the same thing I did: “Grandpop”. Her grandfather had been long dead.

Similarly, by the time my eldest daughter was 1, she only had one grandparent left, a distant grandfather. My wife’s cousin is 23 years older than her and had grandkids the same age as my kids. Her grandkids called her “Grandma” so my kids have called my wife’s cousin “Grandma” to this day, the only grandma they will ever get to meet. Me, I call her ‘Grandma’, too. My wife calls her ‘Aunt Gwen’ which I consider highly inaccurate.

I had so many “Aunts” & “Uncles” that it took me years to decipher who was really one and who was ‘honorary’. To this day I call two of the honorary aunts (who are not related at all) Aunt, yet I can call my 87 year old real aunt by her first name.

Things are so different in other families. I kept wondering who my daughter’s 8 year old friend was talking about when she referred to Lise & René. It took me a while, and I finally had to ask, to find out that they were her mom and dad. No maman or papa in their house. I can’t even imagine not referring to myself as mom when talking to my kids.

 

[Anne1964]

I call my in-laws by their first names as that is what they prefer. I wouldn’t be comfortable calling them Mom and Dad.

 

[happymommy]

First names…as much as I love my in-laws, I would never call them Mom and Dad, I don’t think of them that way, more like good friends. My husband always called my mom…Mom, even when we were dating, they were always close. He calls my dad “Doc”, just like everyone but my mom and us kids.

 

[erazo]

I call my them…mother-in-law and father-in-low. Although it is not as long when said in Spanish. I also call my family by thier relations: my sisters…i call “sister”…my brothers…I call “brother”…my cousins…I call “cousin”…my friend… i call “friend”.

 

[Consecrated]

Consider ‘dear’ or ‘sweetie’.

i think if someone didn’t want to be called by a first name, that this would go over like a lead balloon.

Em (or should I say Mrs. Em_in_Fl?), if you’re bold enough to try it, let us know how it goes!opcorn:

 

[Ljrm18]

My husband and I have been married only 8 months so far. My FIL and MIL are ok with being called Dad and Mom, but I haven’t become that comfortable with it yet. It’s still Jim and Carole. My husband calls my parents by their first names. He doesn’t feel comfortable calling them Mom and Dad either.

 

[Beau_Ouiville]

I had so many “Aunts” & “Uncles” that it took me years to decipher who was really one and who was ‘honorary’. To this day I call two of the honorary aunts (who are not related at all) Aunt, yet I can call my 87 year old real aunt by her first name.

I, too, had numerous ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’, none of whom were related to me. My 95 year old ‘maran’ (Creole for godmother) I still call aunt. Her mother and my grandmother were friends in 1920s New Orleans.