Do any other moms get tripped up over what to call themselves when they're talking to their kids?
I know that 'mommy' is the standard name - and it's simple enough when you're saying "Mommy wants you to leave the room." But what about when things get more complicated, like "Mommy wants you to leave the room because __ on the toilet and it's nicer for her when you're not sitting on her lap." How do you fill in that blank? Saying 'she's' on the toilet feels like we're taking the third person thing too far and we really are discussing someone who has the unfortunate name of Mommy, but saying 'I'm on the toilet' is on of those grammatically awkward sentences akin to saying "We has fun when we go out" or "He have a dream of becoming a pilot". Cringe.
Similarly, what's the rule when the child's other parent enters the picture? Leya loves hiding games, so often James will walk into her room and say "Hmm - I wonder where Leya and Lisa could be?" Again, it sounds all wrong, and I worry that it plants a seed that will have Leya acting like an eye-rolling, precocious teenager who calls her mother by her first name before her fifth birthday - or like a lentil-and-hemp-eating hippie who eschews titles like mom and dad because they destroy the equality that is inherent in each of us as one of The Creator's beautiful beings.
On the other hand, I completely know why he does this. Saying to Leya "Should we tickle Daddy" or - worse still - "let's ask daddy if he's ready for supper. Daddy, are you ready?" feels strangely porny, like I'm some kind of Lolita.
Anyone feel the same way?
I know that 'mommy' is the standard name - and it's simple enough when you're saying "Mommy wants you to leave the room." But what about when things get more complicated, like "Mommy wants you to leave the room because __ on the toilet and it's nicer for her when you're not sitting on her lap." How do you fill in that blank? Saying 'she's' on the toilet feels like we're taking the third person thing too far and we really are discussing someone who has the unfortunate name of Mommy, but saying 'I'm on the toilet' is on of those grammatically awkward sentences akin to saying "We has fun when we go out" or "He have a dream of becoming a pilot". Cringe.
Similarly, what's the rule when the child's other parent enters the picture? Leya loves hiding games, so often James will walk into her room and say "Hmm - I wonder where Leya and Lisa could be?" Again, it sounds all wrong, and I worry that it plants a seed that will have Leya acting like an eye-rolling, precocious teenager who calls her mother by her first name before her fifth birthday - or like a lentil-and-hemp-eating hippie who eschews titles like mom and dad because they destroy the equality that is inherent in each of us as one of The Creator's beautiful beings.
On the other hand, I completely know why he does this. Saying to Leya "Should we tickle Daddy" or - worse still - "let's ask daddy if he's ready for supper. Daddy, are you ready?" feels strangely porny, like I'm some kind of Lolita.
Anyone feel the same way?
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