Is she an auntie?

xMonsoonx

She is an Aunt, but if they don't want her to be I guess she doesn't have to buy any birthday/christmas presents for said child.

babymoo

I only have Uncles by blood but each of their wives is an Auntie to me!

My niece calls my DP Uncle and we're not married. It's just accepted that he will be that role in her life.

reehsetin

Soleil_lune wrote: »

Have to agree with these posts. Why would anyone call someone who isn't their mother or father, 'mum' or 'dad?' :huh: Is it a generational thing? A regional thing? What?

I would never call my MIL and FIL mum and dad. I have a mum and dad. Similarly, my husband doesn't call my parents mum and dad either.

I find it very strange.

For me it's cultural (indians) - you never call anyone older by their first name and I had specific orders from all parents to call my in laws mum and dad. Don't think I'll ever be 100% comfortable but it makes them all happy.

snowleopard61

I didn’t think my ex-mother-in-law would welcome being called Mum (which was what my own mother called her mother-in-law, so I would have felt comfortable with it - ETA she actually called her Mother, which is a bit formal!) but on the other hand couldn’t quite bring myself to call her by her Christian name, so I never called her anything at all really! I wonder if there are other daughters-in-law like me out there.

I call my fiance’s mum by her Christian name and feel fine with it - she's just a warmer, friendlier person so it's easy. I’d also be happy to call her Mum but wouldn’t like her own daughter to think I was muscling in somehow.

GobbledyGook

When i got married MIL wanted me to call her and FIL Mum and Dad, but I couldn't.

My friend and her husband call each other Mum and Dad. It's not so odd when their children are around, but it's super weird (to me) when they are not. Her Mum lives with them as well so you get "Would you like another glass of wine Granny?" "Thanks Mum" when it's an all adult night at theirs.

I'll say to the children 'Ask Dad' or 'Go and ask your Dad', but we don't call each other Mum and Dad.

olgadapolga

I have always called my in-laws by their names - they aren't my mum and dad so why on earth would I call them mum and dad?

My parents used to call their in-laws "Mother" and "Father" which, even as a child I found weird.

However, the weirdest thing ever was when my MIL started calling ME mum - this was after I'd had my first baby. I found it really creepy and had to tell her to stop (which went down very badly and she stopped speaking to me but at least she wasn't calling me "mum" anymore!)

lostinrates

My husband calls my parents by their nicknames mainly, as do I most of the time. Sidesteps this sort of dilemma entirely.

maman

snowleopard61 wrote: »

couldn’t quite bring myself to call her by her Christian name, so I never called her anything at all really! I wonder if there are other daughters-in-law like me out there.

I call my fiance’s mum by her Christian name and feel fine with it - she's just a warmer, friendlier person so it's easy. I’d also be happy to call her Mum but wouldn’t like her own daughter to think I was muscling in somehow.

I can empathise with this. I've had two MILs. The first I could never have called by her first name and Mrs X sounded too formal so I didn't really call her anything until after my DD was born when I called her Nanny!!


Second MIL was more like a friend and always called her by her first name.

GobbledyGook wrote: »

they are not. Her Mum lives with them as well so you get "Would you like another glass of wine Granny?" .

Strangely enough my DD1 has taken to doing this almost exclusively. She will occasionally call me mum but more often or not she calls me Nanny. I don't really like it but its hardly worth making a fuss about.

lostinrates

maman wrote: »

Strangely enough my DD1 has taken to doing this almost exclusively. She will occasionally call me mum but more often or not she calls me Nanny. I don't really like it but its hardly worth making a fuss about.

My mother sometimes calls herself 'granny' when talking to our dogs. Occasionally I find myself talking about her as granny . Not too often thank goodness.

morag1234_2

snowleopard61 wrote: »

I didn’t think my ex-mother-in-law would welcome being called Mum (which was what my own mother called her mother-in-law, so I would have felt comfortable with it - ETA she actually called her Mother, which is a bit formal!) but on the other hand couldn’t quite bring myself to call her by her Christian name, so I never called her anything at all really! I wonder if there are other daughters-in-law like me out there.

I call my fiance’s mum by her Christian name and feel fine with it - she's just a warmer, friendlier person so it's easy. I’d also be happy to call her Mum but wouldn’t like her own daughter to think I was muscling in somehow.

You mean first name, not "Christian".

All of this stress seems so unnecessary, just call everyone by their first name unless they provide an alternative.