When your child calls you by name?

Question

How do you deal with this? My son is 21 months old and has just recently started calling my husband by his first name. He’s obviously picked this up from me calling for my husband or hearing me say his name. But he’s also heard my husband call out for me too and he doesn’t call me by my first name.

We were at Sam’s Club the other day and my husband got ahead of my son and myself. He yelled at the top of his lungs, “HEY Matt! WAIT” And I just wanted to die. Yes, at first, it was a little shocking and funny to hear my son call him Matt instead of Daddy. But now it’s not so funny going on a week….

I’ve tried to tell him it’s Daddy, not Matt. And he just carries on….I’ve also starting calling my husband Daddy for everything in hopes my son would pick up on it.

Any suggestions here? Will this go away?

Thanks for the advice!

Answer 1

Just yell at the kid :)

Answer 2

It will go away, but you need to stop being upset by it.

I would practice "selective deafness."  Don't respond when he calls Matt by his first name.  Don't have Matt respond.  Only respond when he calls him Daddy.

In this way, your son will learn that he can't get a reaction by using the right name, and with all the fun taken out of it, he'll go back to Daddy.

All the best...to you and Daddy.  :)

Answer 3

just correct him each and every time he does it.

I don't think i even knew my parent's real names until i was about 7! lol. They always called each other mum or dad.

has he learned from pre school to call adults by first names? my husbands family called his parents by their names because one of them learned it in pre school.

Answer 4

Correct him, laughing at the beginning may have perpetuated the "name calling".   LOL, my 3 year old calls my husband "Honey" but she knows he's Daddy!

Answer 5

We started teaching our daughter our names when she was about 2.  She is now 3 1/2 and call's us mommy and daddy, but sometimes if she really wants to get our attention, she'll call us by our names.  It's a safety issue.  I'd rather her know and use our real names, just in case she gets lost.

Answer 6

call each other mom and dad that way he picks up and he'll be calling you mom in no time.

Answer 7

I would just ignore it. It could be worse. My daughter has started calling her dad babe!  

Answer 8

My son did that to me and it's because everyone else called me Juanita.  

Answer 9

You need to keep calling him daddy or dad. he will s****.grow out of the phase. Yes it is a phase he is going through. try some exercises to call him dad or daddy. like ask him his name and if he says Matt politely say no and say what u want him to call your husband.

Answer 10

explain to your son how his daddy feels.  have daddy ignore his son if he doesn't call him Daddy.  it could just be a phase.  he's almost 2 and they test limits a lot.

Answer 11

It won't go away unless you stop it. My older son used to do it, we laughed and let him, he is 15, he is still doing it. My younger son tried it, we stopped him. Tell him, you are his dad/ mom and pretend not hearing him unless he calls you  dad/mom. Say ' ooopss, I couldn't understand it was you, I thought it was Mary/ Sam/ John / whatever names of a friends you have. Once he gets used to it, it doesn't go.

Answer 12

My daughter 2 has started doing it, we find it quite funny she often does it when she dosn't get our attention. We tend to say 'I'm Mummy to you' and she laughs it's become a little game - which we don't mind.

As with a lot of things small children will copy what you do, repeat what you say etc... My daughter calls me 'little love' because thats what I say to her. It's her way of being part of the family and beginning to build her own relationships.

My son did this when he was little, when I asked him why, he said it was because everyone else called me Sarah!

Makes complete sense!!!

Good luck

Sarah

Answer 13

just call your husband daddy or dad or w/e and your husband calls you mommy or mom but of course it will take a while when he realizes matt ius no the correct way to call dad other than that dont worry about it