Our son is 2 years old has been calling his father by his first name and refuses to say Daddy. The first couple of times we thought he was just practising his vocabulary but now it is a regular habit. We correct him each time he does it but he goes back to calling him his first name. How can we break this habit.
Thanks everyone for the great responses. Now I know what to do.
Hi Y.,
My parents found my brothers and I doing the same thing when we were younger. They started calling each other mom and dad. it apperently worked I still have trouble calling my mom DEE ..LOL
Christy
Well, you and everyone else calls the man by his first name, so that's what he has learned. Let it go. It's no big deal. The more you try to "correct" it, the more fun this game becomes. He'll come around.
My 2 year old son did the same thing. We corrected him and wouldn't answer him if he called him by his first name.
I don't think it's cute and think it should be stopped. So try not answering him, punishments of not going out with "Daddy". Try offering Daddy time like catch only if he calls him Daddy.
Even when my mom got remarried when I was 3 years old they insisted that I call him Daddy, and I am so grateful for that because he was a wonderful daddy.
its a typical case of monkey see monkey do, you need to call your husband daddy and then your son sill follow suit, if the grand parents are a regular part of your life if they will do the same then he will understand that is daddy,
im sure you call yourself mommy to him and your husband probably does too. at that age they dont really understand the lables that go to people places and things, good luck J.
My neice is 2 and she currently calls her dad honey. Her parents got married last weekend and now she tells people that she is going to get married to honey. It is very cute. I am sure that it is just a phase he will get out of.
Completely ignore it. My son was doing the same thing last year at that age. The first and 2nd time it was "cute" that he was saying our first names, the 3rd/4th we started correcting him. Then I read in a parenting mag that you should just ignore it...that they are getting a "rise" out of you when they do it and will continue to just to test you (like other things they do/say). So, we started completely ignoring it whenever he said our first names. He stopped soon enough.
my daughter did the same with my husband now i call him daddy in front of the kids and hunny when we are alone. well i used to until she caught on now she just calls him daddy :)
Hi, Y.. Do the other children in your blended family call your husband by his first name? Your younger child is probably confused by this. If he's the 2-yr-old, he won't understand the difference between your husband's child and the older child. In other words, he doesn't understand why some kids call him by his name, but he's supposed to call him Dad. Be patient, and see if you can get all the kids to call your husband Dad for the time being, at least in front of the younger one and until he understands what the blended family means.
Peace,
Syl
Everyone around call him by his name, he is doing the same. Tell everyone to start calling your husband Daddy and you do it too. Also ask your son who that is when he calls his dad by his name. When he answers "Daddy", you tell him that's how he has to call him. Tell him it sounds sweeter.
I call my husband babe and our son started calling him babe also. We thought it was funny but then became a habit so instead of calling my husband babe I started calling him "Papi" or "Dad" and then so did my son. While we were doing this when he would call him babe no one would answer. He would only answer back to dad.
my daughter used to call her dad "babe" cause she used to hear me call him that all the time... she eventually stopped. I am sure he will grow out of it too.
My son does this also. I just started calling his dad, Dadddy when I talk to him. My son still calls hin by his first name but not as much.
I would think too much into it. He's only two. But you might try having everyone in the house, even you, call him Daddy. Also try having your husband only respond to that and not his real name. Eventually your little guy will go along.
I can say that it is normal at about that age for children to call their parents by their "real" names - both of my boys did it to me and my husband for a period of time. While I told them I thought they were being "funny guys" I tried to explain that they are suppose to call me "mom" or "mommy" or "momma" & dad, "dad" or "daddy" or "dada" (which my 6 year old still calls him). Anyway - I told them that if they did not call me by my approporiate name, then I would not respond. When they would call out, Sam do this or get me that, I wouldn't even respond or look at them to show them that I heard them. I would just pretend that I never heard them. They would get very frustrated and finally yell out MOM and I would jerk my head and look at them and say "OH, are you talking to me????" It took them about a week each (both at different times) to get past the phase.
The same thing with Dad. If the boys referred to him as Lorenzo, I would ask them who they were talking about and just play dumb. It worked!
Good luck and know that it is just a phase that most kids go through!
Hi Y.
Does your older son call your husband by his first name? Usually we used Mommy and Daddy for each other or when we referred to the other one. That
s what we did. I hope it works out for you.
D.
Unfortunaely your child mimics you.. YOu may have to start calling your husband "Daddy".
This is what I would do the next time your son calls his father by his name. Tell him in a nice voice, "This is your daddy. You call him daddy." If he calls his father by his name again, ignore your son and be sure to let your husband know to ignore his son as well. If your husband happens to be in the room when his son calls him by his name, your husband should say, "Yes, that is my name, but you are my baby and you call me daddy." I will answer you when you call me daddy." And leave it at that. Eventually your son should get the message...children do not like to be ignored. If he wants his father bad enough, he will call him daddy. The more you make a big deal about it, the more it becomes a game. The idea is to nip this game in the pants real quick...and you will do so by ignoring the behavior you do not like.
some kids do this because they hear you and everyone else call him that, so they do not understand why thye have to call him something different. try har to starty calling you hubby dady in front of him. i mean when YOu are talking to your hubby say daddy can you pass me the milk. or daddy what do you want for dinner. and find reason to say daddy ... and maybe he will catch on by your example. cause calling him on will probably just make him wanna do it more.he might think it is like a funny game to him.
You may never break him of this habbit. My sister in law still calls her parents by their first names. She has never called them Mom and Dad even though her older sister does.
No one knows for sure but some children just do this.
My daughter started calling me by my first name and I just ignored her and didn't respond. Didn't take her long to say Mom.....She didn't try calling me by my first name again....My neighbor's five year old calls them by their first name at times. But it is because he hears them call each other by their names. When I am visiting I call them Mom and Dad, and he does the same. But if I slip up and call them by their first name then so does he.
My Mom and Dad are in their 70's and still call each other Mom and Dad around us kids. Grandma and Grandpa around the Grandkids...I think that is a very good practice. My husband refers to me as Mom when the girls are home even though they are adults. And I refer to him as Dad. And my girls are adults now...
My son did the same thing at about that age. Kids repeat what they hear and thank God; my husband doesn't call me mommy and I don't call him daddy. He would call me by my nickname (Poohba) and he would call dad by his first name. It drove my husband nuts. I just ignored it and let him call me what he wanted (I thought it was cute and not worth the stress). He knows who I am. My husband would correct him and the more he corrected him, the more he would call him Jorge. What I did was stop calling my husband by his first name. I either called him dad or I called him by a nickname. Our son eventually stopped. Like I said, he knows who you are. He is just testing his boundries. Good luck and I hope this helps.
You should call your husband Daddy. I know he is not your Daddy, but by calling him Daddy, rather than is name, you son likely will too. Not just when you are talking to your son, but ALL the time. As in, "Daddy will you hand me that fork?"
Otherwise, just wait it out.
He is only doing this because it is what he hears you call his daddy. If you call your husband daddy in front of him, he will catch on. Not to worry, he is learning and exploring his new world. Good that he has such a vocabulary with well pronounced words. Accentuate the positive and by you calling your hubby daddy, he will be whistling dixie along with you on that soon.
Cheerio,
Jen
This is really a normal stage. Keep correcting him gently, and it will stop eventually. All kids do it. He is just learning who calls who what. He hears you and others call daddy by his first name, but his is supposed to call him something different. It's confusing. I used to call my grandparents mom and and dad and called my mom by her first name at that age because that is what they called each other. He will outgrow it.
My kids would call me by my first name if i didn't respond to the mommy request quick enough. LOL ...
I completely disagree with the other posters that suggest you have your older children call him "Dad" if he isn't their father. He may be a great father to them, but if they have a Dad already, they should never be asked (and definitely NOT forced as once person wrote) to call a step-parent Mom or Dad. Those are singular and very special titles and shouldn't be used lightly.
Just my 2 cents.
I would say the quickest way to break it is for you to call your husband "daddy". After all, your son probably started it because he heard you calling him by his name. I would also simply say "daddy" after each time he says his name. You also say you have a blended family - does your son call your husband by his name? If so, the younger one is copying.
I'd just say "daddy" every time he calls him by his name. I've always done that with my son. If he says something the wrong way I repeat it right back to him in the proper way. If it is very important I ask him to repeat it but usually I just let him hear the correct way to say things.
Yes, I agree this is normal. You could also try having your husband not respond/answer when he calls him by his name. You can say something like, I am sorry, there is no "name" here, but daddy is. Good luck
Do not respond when called by first name. Only respond when he says Daddy. He will soon realize that if he wants Daddy OR Mommy to get Daddy, it will only happen if he says Daddy.
Why not ignore it? What's the big deal about it? Do other people in the home call your husband daddy? It doesn't sound like an issue worth struggling with.
Explain that it is not right for him to call his Dad by his first name and you wont be responding anymore until he uses the term of respect "Daddy". Then tell your husband do not respond to anything but Daddy
my daughter was doing that because thats what I called him, by his name. So we had to start calling each other momma and daddy and now she does. Explains alot bout our parents doesnt it! LOL
It's just a phase. They all go through it. You should start referring to your husband as "Daddy" when you are around him. Your son will catch on. I remember laughing so hard when our son did this thinking "it's starting early" because my husband's high school clique was VERY close and all called each others parents by their first names (not in front of the parents though)...
I still find myself calling my husband Daddy, and our kids are 8 and 11 years! See how well it works???
just keep ignoring it and when referring to daddy, stress DADDY. if he says, "John, can I have that toy?" say "Oh, you want DADDY to give you that toy? ok. DADDY will give you that. DADDY loves to help you!"
He's just going through a phase. He'll get over it.
My little guy did this with me... called me Jess instead of Mommy for a long time. I started having the entire family call me Mommy and not responding when he said Jess or just saying, "you mean Mommy?" and he eventually moved past it.
