How important is it to you that your children

To me it is very important. I was raised in the south where people still believe in being respectful to their elders. I always called my family by their proper titles. My nieces (My husband's brother's daughters) don't ever call me Auntie. But this is California, maybe things are different. I do try not to take offense though. I do have my son call their mother Auntie though.

Since I grew up using titles, it still comes naturally to me to call relatives by their titles even now. So my kids follow suit. There are exceptions of course, and these must be ruled individually and should ultimately be decided by the person being addressed. I have a stepmom who did not come into my life until I was an older teenager. I only address her by her name. But with my kids I do tend to call her Grandma ***, and they sometimes do the same. But I've noted that she doesn't really care to be called Grandma (I think it makes her feel old - she has no kids of her own). And so we tend not to use that title when around her. My husband has aunts and uncles who live around us and whom we visit from time to time. He addresses them by first names only, but again with the kids we tend to add the title of "Aunt" and "Uncle". I think it just comes natural that children should use those titles. Plus it gives the kids a better idea of who the heck these people are! How many of us met many relatives as kids, but had no idea who they all were? Then there's the matter of ex-relatives. We still get along with my brother's ex-wife, and the kids still call her Aunt. My husband is friends with his sister's ex-husband and our kids tend to call him Uncle. So...this is getting rather long...sorry..I think the tendency is that childre SHOULD use the titles to be respectful unless told otherwise by the person addressed. It's all relative.

My girls do show respect and always call their aunts or uncles by that. Even friend they remember to say Mrs or Miss. I wouldn't worry about your son, he is still a little too young to understand. The best advice is to show by example and your children will copy and follow you.

I know it is considered to be respectful and all but I am wondering if that is just another one of those things our parents drilled into us that really doesn't matter. Little kids are little kids. I am not offended if my neices don't call me aunt as long as they are being respectful. One of my own girls went thru a spell of calling me by my name because it is my name. She was not in any other way being rude and so I just let her...after all it IS my name. As long as the person is respectful then I really don't feel it important to cut them apart on so called "proper words". In fact some of the worst kisser uppers are experts on "proper etiquette". Lets never forget "eddy haskell".

I think it is right for him to address his elders as uncle or aunt. If not, how does he address them. If he is so small and dont know their names, the easiest way is to say aunt or uncle. If he learns respect at this age, he will be respectful always, though this is no judging criteria.

If my children are talking to my brother and sister then it is really important that they address them as Aunt and Uncle. However they don't have to say Aunty Sue or Uncle Jo as long as they just say the Aunty or Uncle. I know this means a lot to my brother and sister. They only have my children to be Aunt and Uncle to. Mind you my children haver never referred to them as anything other than Aunt/Uncle. As they have gotten older they have added in the first name occasionally or when it suits them. I think it gets down to how you refer to people as well. When talking about my brother or sister to my kids I always use the term Aunt/Uncle Having said that though I will not let anyone other than my brother and sister be referred to as Aunt or Uncle. In my mind it is a very special term that should not just be thrown around willy nilly!

A child that is 21 months is really young to be consistent with such titles. For a real aunt or uncle, I would ask what the adult wants to be called. For example, my Aunt is called Nanny; my brother and I call her that, my husband calls her that, my son and nephew call her that even though she is their great aunt. For people who aren't really Aunt or Uncle, they just need to understand that kids are not always going to call you what they want you to and you should tell your child that if they don't want to say Aunt or Uncle they should at least say Mr or Mrs. That is something an older child would be able to comprehend.

When I was growing up we didn't call any one by a title except for grandparents and so I didn't raise my kids to call any one by their title ether.Now that I live in the south I find it very common for most kids to call people by miss this or miss that. Since your child is only 21 months old he is just learning about manners and how to call people what. If he hears this all the time it will become second nature to him. The people that are bothered should back off and give him time to grow up some before they get upset.

We are pretty relaxed about that kind of thing, since my son's one uncle is only 6 weeks older than him! (I have a brother who is 21 years younger than me!) There is no way a kid under the age of 2 could be able to know really when to say aunt or uncle - some kids don't even reallt talk at all until much later. But my son never calls his one uncle an uncle because they are the same age and that would seem really weird! He does call my older brothers uncle, but I think that's just because I liked to tease them and just started calling them that myself.

I dont have any children, but if i did, it would be a huge part of their upbringing indeed. Having respect for your elders is a very respectable thing to teach children at a young age, so that once they are older it will already be instilled in them and will not seem so new. My parents always taught me that it was "Yes Sir" or No Sir" and the other way around. Now that i am 22, it has stuck with me and i dont think that even today i can turn away from those teachings.

hey if they are very young then don't bother at all, they are kids and they like to call people whatever they wish we must take it for affection rather than imposing rules on them. they are kids after all!

My kids call my sisters by their first names--no "aunt". It's actually what my sisters prefer. My 2 younger sisters were quite young when they became aunts and to them it seemed silly to be called "aunt" at such a young age. So they've always been called by their first names. I don't mind it, my sisters don't mind it, and my kids still show them respect. My nephew also calls me by my first name. I made it very clear to him that I didn't want to be called "aunt". I prefer to be called by my first name and my sister doesn't care that her son calls me by my first name. And he still treats me respectfully. It does however irritate my mother and grandmother and aunts. My sisters and I don't really care though. It's none of their business. If they don't like it they can just stop listening. I don't care what kids call adults as long as they are still respectful--please and thank you and excuse me are more important to me than the word "aunt."

In my opinion it is very important to teach children the respectful address for adults. I did grow up in an environment that every adult, relative or not should have a proper address. The way you are disciplining your child is good but don't push it too much because he is still very young. Just remind him...and eventually he will learn it and you'll be amazed. It is already in his brain. If you can't hear him use it, it is because his brain is not fully functional yet for the process of expressing thoughts like talking. Take care =)

I would not at all be bothered if people referred to me informally. I call my mom by her first name and it doesn't bother her at all, so I guess my family is just really relaxed about stuff like that.

I think it is important that children address adults by their titles out of respect, but at 21 months they can still be reminded without being reprimanded. Even my son's girlfriend is "aunt" since she has been a part of the family for so long and they do have 3 children together. To me it is a respectful thing that a child should do just as they call their teachers Mr. and Mrs. It used to bother me as a child when my cousin called my aunts by their first names without the aunt in front. One of my aunts would not answer her son when he called her by her first name, which he also did to his father, who didn't care.

In my part I grow'up with all respect to the older people I know! so it is okay to teach the kids to have better quality of respect.I agree all your opnion for teaching the kids in a right way even it is not their real aunt or uncle either to called but thats a sign being a good kids.

I don't think it is all that important as long as they are polite. My friends 5 year old grandson is starting school and they went to see the Headmaster. As they were leaving the boy shook the Headmasters hand and said "Goody Old Man" Now that is polite

Well, I will let them do what they feel comfortable in doing. I would like for them to be able to address them as they become older. Like at 14 or 15 years old. This would be the latest time for them. I believe that it shows a level of love and respect when they say uncle and aunt. This is a great time for them to start calling them by aunt and uncle.. At 11 0r 12 would be a good age too.

Yes, it is important to me, but I do not feel the child should be punished. After repetition, the child will just naturally say it. And if you constantly refer to that person as "aunt so&so" or "uncle so&so" when you are speaking of them to the child, they just subconsciously will take to it. I also feel it is important when introducing a new adult to your child, to introduce the adult as "ms." or "mr." I think it help build the child's understanding of respect.

of course it is important to teach our children respect on elders. addressing elders is one of the good way of respecting.