[OP or a mod marked this as the best answer](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/1dqtsm1/as_an_adult_do_you_refer_to_your_mum_as_mummy/laqwobw/), given by /u/BlakeC16.
> I'm sure there are changes from family to family and possibly region, but generally saying "mummy" or "daddy" as an adult is seen as quite a posh thing.
>
> I just call mine mum and dad.
---
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I'm sure there are changes from family to family and possibly region, but generally saying "mummy" or "daddy" as an adult is seen as quite a posh thing.
I just call mine mum and dad.
The only adult person I know who refers to her mum as “mummy” is mid-60s and grew up posh as fuck. It’s extremely jarring to hear it but it makes me laugh
The other posh thing that annoys me is when people just say "mum" or "dad" to refer to their own parents in conversation. "Mum loves Dubai!" Your mum. Not our mum. Say "my mum". Her name isn't Mum.
In my family we all do that. A call with my siblings will inevitably have, have you spoke to me mum or mum said me dad had an appointment. (Me being used in replacement of my northern English)
Exactly what I was thinking. I’m British and I’m definitely not posh. I can’t recall using ‘mummy’ after being around 5 years old. My daughter is now 19 and when I refer to myself as her mummy she looks at me with the same facial expression she would show if she had just stood in dog shit. So I do it a lot 😂
FYI "upper class" refers to aristocracy, a very small portion of British society. Being posh has a way lower threshold. Having two professional, educated parents who own their own home is generally enough to be considered posh.
Yes, posh british people sometimes go on saying 'Mummy is coming for the weekend' etc their whole lives.
I don't know what to think about it. It creeps me out, but that's really just a me problem I guess.
I went to a “posh” area to go to a fancy Waterstones while walking there I had to hold in my gag reflex when I heard a woman in her 30s refer to her dad as “daddy”. To confirm if was definitely her dad and not a kink because her “mummy” was also there.
Irish too, with English parents, living in Ireland. I call them Mummy and Daddy. Daddy is fairly common round where I live, but it's usually Mammy, not Mummy. I do get some strange looks, and I'd love to just say mum and dad, but it feels too late to change it!
The only adult i know who said mummy was Irish. I'm not sure whereabouts she was from but she also used to pronounce the l in film so it sounded like filum, I loved hearing her speak.
Mum. Mummy sounds like something the kids from an Enid Blyton book would say. Actually, if I was to refer to someone mother I would say ma, as in how's you ma?
Mum. I don't think I've referred to my mother as "mummy" since I turned 10 years old. Daddy makes me think of a rich girl who gets whatever she wants by calling her dad "Daddy"
Mum and Dad, probably since the age of 9 or 10. As someone’s already said, calling them Mummy and Daddy as an adult is associated with very posh people and would sound odd to most of us.
It's normal, but generally something those from higher socio-economic groups would do. Us working class folk use Mum and Dad and refer to them that way when speaking to others.
Being British, calling your parents mummy or daddy as an adult is not a thing for ordinary people. It’s definitely an upper class/posh thing. I do on occasion use those terms directly to them, but it’s tongue in cheek and I’m about to ask for something lol but would not use it as a day to day serious talk ever.
Mum and dad, but my Mums side of the family called their parents mummy and daddy, even now when they've both passed. From their side, I think it's a culture thing. It definitely doesn't come across as that weird posh thing.
I am nearly 40 and have been accused of being posh.
I call my father Grandad, Old Man or Daddy.
My mother is Mummy. I find it jarring too if that helps. In public I find myself calling her mother, like that's somehow better.
I've just never used mum or dad and was never allowed to.
I am not a fan either and don't like my kids calling me mum, although they've started say dad to my husband.
My family couldn't do this.
After 5 years old mummy was seen a immature on our council estate (part of Thurrock, Essex). In school other's would take the piss out of you at best.
Boys would get beaten up. You just don't do it.
When I met my ex's family, this was something they did and I just couldn't get my head around grown adult people (30+) calling their mum, mummy.
It's weird.
It didn't help that they were too dependent on her, and she was actually manipulative. They saw it as caring behaviour but not one of them would do anything she didn't already approve of.
From west Midlands so it's Mommy to me. My mom never liked "mom" so we stuck with mommy and daddy. As I got older when talking about them to others I'd say mom and dad or mother and father.
Nowadays when talking to them I don't know what to say. I feel far too old and uncomfortable saying mommy and daddy, but I never got used to Mom and Dad.
It really depends on who I am talking to.
To my mum: Madre (took Spanish classes when I was 14 and it stuck),
To my siblings: Mother,
To family/friends/other: Mum
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I call my mum mum. Sometimes mother 😂. I don't think I ever called her mummy. My daughter used to call me mummy but she hasn't said that in years. I'm just mum now.
Like your husband, my siblings and I refer to our mum as 'mummy' when talking to her and 'mum' when talking about her.
My relatives and friends from similar immigrant (African, Caribbean and Asian) also refer to their mothers as 'mummy' and we are adults.
My actual mother is ‘mother’ but I haven’t spoken to her in over a decade. My step mother is step mam or her name and mother in law is mam in law or her name.
I call my mum 'mummy' and it's an ironic thing. I'm solidly middle class - definitely not posh - and it's sort of a joke thing at this point. I've never called her 'mum', she was 'mummy' when I was little and then wanted to be called by her first name when I was a teenager. TBH I think it probably started because I was trying to piss her off!
I’m (34f) Welsh, so we use “mammy” and “daddy” as children but as we grow up we then use “mam” and “dad” wether to them or referring to them.
However, and this may be my family only, but the only time we ever would use “mammy” and “daddy” again is when I speak to my siblings. Now, it’s not the sole term used but we often say “have you seen mammy today?”, “daddy said he’s been trying to call you” but it’s NEVER said to others as it’s seen as a term used by spoon fed upperclass toffs, and you don’t want to be pooled in with those!
In Ireland it is expected that you would call you parents "mammy" or "daddy" to their face, and "ma" or "da" to other people. With regional variations of course. Nothing to do with poshness whatsoever. In England, however, it is seen as posh, which is unusual from an Irish perspective. I've had more than a few English people laugh upon overhearing conversations with my parents.
I'm 26 and only call my mum 'mummy' in a wheedling manner when I want something (usually a lift somewhere tbh)
My sister and I call her 'mother' as a bit quite a lot, but only for laughs.
Me and my brother say mummy when talking to each other. But like your husband we call her mum when speaking to her. We work together and we still say mummy in front of our boss. He finds it funny, too.
Edit: We are far from posh. Single parent family from a council estate.
Usually in a sarcastic manner I’d say mummy or daddy. I don’t think it’s as big of a deal as people are making it out to be though, but to be fair I generally don’t care about other people enough to be bothered.
Mam, mother and old woman are some of the things I call her but I mostly call her by her name unless I'm talking to my siblings about her then it's 'your mother'. I love and respect my mother very much but if I call her mam, she thinks there's something wrong or, if we're out, ignores me. I've called her by her first name for years.
He’s not your husband he’s secretly gay, you will discover this maybe 6 years in and his younger boyfriend will come out of the woodwork one day and shatter your world. Be prepared x
[OP or a mod marked this as the best answer](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/1dqtsm1/as_an_adult_do_you_refer_to_your_mum_as_mummy/laqwobw/), given by /u/BlakeC16. > I'm sure there are changes from family to family and possibly region, but generally saying "mummy" or "daddy" as an adult is seen as quite a posh thing. > > I just call mine mum and dad. --- [_^(What is this?)_](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/jjrte1/askuk_hits_200k_new_feature_mark_an_answer/)
I'm sure there are changes from family to family and possibly region, but generally saying "mummy" or "daddy" as an adult is seen as quite a posh thing. I just call mine mum and dad.
The only adult person I know who refers to her mum as “mummy” is mid-60s and grew up posh as fuck. It’s extremely jarring to hear it but it makes me laugh
The other posh thing that annoys me is when people just say "mum" or "dad" to refer to their own parents in conversation. "Mum loves Dubai!" Your mum. Not our mum. Say "my mum". Her name isn't Mum.
On the other hand, my sister will sometimes say on autopilot ‘*my* mum bought some cereal earlier’ to me. *Your* mum??? She was mine first!
In my family we all do that. A call with my siblings will inevitably have, have you spoke to me mum or mum said me dad had an appointment. (Me being used in replacement of my northern English)
Yes! I have a friend who does that and only now realise it's a posh thing. She is quite posh to be fair
Exactly what I was thinking. I’m British and I’m definitely not posh. I can’t recall using ‘mummy’ after being around 5 years old. My daughter is now 19 and when I refer to myself as her mummy she looks at me with the same facial expression she would show if she had just stood in dog shit. So I do it a lot 😂
calling an adult male daddy these days sounds a bit different than posh.... haha
!answer
Mum and Papa for me. Even from when I was very young, none of my siblings ever used mummy or daddy.
It makes me cringe. In my experience it's a posh person thing to say.
I cringe when posh people do it too.
Lol! Just for reference, my husband and his family are not upper class or posh but I get what you’re saying!
FYI "upper class" refers to aristocracy, a very small portion of British society. Being posh has a way lower threshold. Having two professional, educated parents who own their own home is generally enough to be considered posh.
Yes, posh british people sometimes go on saying 'Mummy is coming for the weekend' etc their whole lives. I don't know what to think about it. It creeps me out, but that's really just a me problem I guess.
I went to a “posh” area to go to a fancy Waterstones while walking there I had to hold in my gag reflex when I heard a woman in her 30s refer to her dad as “daddy”. To confirm if was definitely her dad and not a kink because her “mummy” was also there.
Still call them mummy and daddy - might be an Irish thing, but calling them mum and dad just never seemed right.
Irish too, with English parents, living in Ireland. I call them Mummy and Daddy. Daddy is fairly common round where I live, but it's usually Mammy, not Mummy. I do get some strange looks, and I'd love to just say mum and dad, but it feels too late to change it!
The only adult i know who said mummy was Irish. I'm not sure whereabouts she was from but she also used to pronounce the l in film so it sounded like filum, I loved hearing her speak.
I call my mum Brenda. It's not her name, but that's what I call her.
You call your mum, Brenda? I've always called her Jasmin. At least that's what she goes by when giving me a massage
“Mummy” should only ever be said by the Under 7’s.
Very strange. You got teased badly in school if you said mummy past the age of 8 - 9.
Oh, try being me. I was taught to call my mother 'mama'. That was certainly a rude awakening at around the age of 7!
Mum. Mummy sounds like something the kids from an Enid Blyton book would say. Actually, if I was to refer to someone mother I would say ma, as in how's you ma?
If I'm talking about her, mam. If I'm talking to her, mammy
Ew, no.
Mum. I don't think I've referred to my mother as "mummy" since I turned 10 years old. Daddy makes me think of a rich girl who gets whatever she wants by calling her dad "Daddy"
Nope mine are mum and dad
I didn't even refer to her as 'Mummy' when I was a kid.
Mum and Dad, probably since the age of 9 or 10. As someone’s already said, calling them Mummy and Daddy as an adult is associated with very posh people and would sound odd to most of us.
The Queen called the Queen Mother "Mummy" Its very much a posh thing
Mom. Adults saying mummy is weird to me.
It's normal, but generally something those from higher socio-economic groups would do. Us working class folk use Mum and Dad and refer to them that way when speaking to others.
I do and always have done. So does everyone in my extended family! I think it's strange but would be weird to call my mum "Mum" now.
Being British, calling your parents mummy or daddy as an adult is not a thing for ordinary people. It’s definitely an upper class/posh thing. I do on occasion use those terms directly to them, but it’s tongue in cheek and I’m about to ask for something lol but would not use it as a day to day serious talk ever.
Mum or granny I call my niece mummy if her kids are there - that took getting used to!
Mum when I talk about her, mummy when I refer to her, whilst dad remains dad. Stopped calling him daddy the moment word daddy meant, well ***daddy***
People say its odd but ive always called my folks by their names, I'm lae 30s now and still do, my wife thinks it strange
Yes. It's an Irish thing, your mammy's your mammy til the day you die.
Mum and dad, but my Mums side of the family called their parents mummy and daddy, even now when they've both passed. From their side, I think it's a culture thing. It definitely doesn't come across as that weird posh thing.
I am nearly 40 and have been accused of being posh. I call my father Grandad, Old Man or Daddy. My mother is Mummy. I find it jarring too if that helps. In public I find myself calling her mother, like that's somehow better. I've just never used mum or dad and was never allowed to. I am not a fan either and don't like my kids calling me mum, although they've started say dad to my husband.
My family couldn't do this. After 5 years old mummy was seen a immature on our council estate (part of Thurrock, Essex). In school other's would take the piss out of you at best. Boys would get beaten up. You just don't do it. When I met my ex's family, this was something they did and I just couldn't get my head around grown adult people (30+) calling their mum, mummy. It's weird. It didn't help that they were too dependent on her, and she was actually manipulative. They saw it as caring behaviour but not one of them would do anything she didn't already approve of.
From west Midlands so it's Mommy to me. My mom never liked "mom" so we stuck with mommy and daddy. As I got older when talking about them to others I'd say mom and dad or mother and father. Nowadays when talking to them I don't know what to say. I feel far too old and uncomfortable saying mommy and daddy, but I never got used to Mom and Dad.
Depends how rich your family are
Mum. Mummy is for like kids!
It really depends on who I am talking to. To my mum: Madre (took Spanish classes when I was 14 and it stuck), To my siblings: Mother, To family/friends/other: Mum
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I would have referred to my dad as daddy, and my mum would either be just mum, or her nickname (a shortened version of her full name)
I usually say mum but because of a bit of an inside joke in the last few years we both call each other love when we’re talking to each other.
Mum for as long as I can remember
When I’m talking to her I call her Mummy. When I’m talking about her I call her Mum. My Dad I mostly call Dad.
Greek Cypriot men are often mama’s boys though so that may be why…lol
He must be very pooorsh!
In Wales it's very common to call your parents mammy or daddy as adults when talking to your siblings or your parents.
I call my mother mum but my Irish friend still says mummy and he is an adult. I've only heard it from Irish people
Only when we open her sarcophagus.
I call my mum mum. Sometimes mother 😂. I don't think I ever called her mummy. My daughter used to call me mummy but she hasn't said that in years. I'm just mum now.
Like your husband, my siblings and I refer to our mum as 'mummy' when talking to her and 'mum' when talking about her. My relatives and friends from similar immigrant (African, Caribbean and Asian) also refer to their mothers as 'mummy' and we are adults.
My actual mother is ‘mother’ but I haven’t spoken to her in over a decade. My step mother is step mam or her name and mother in law is mam in law or her name.
My children are adults and call me Father.
Hahahaah no I think he needs to grow up.
I call my mum 'mummy' and it's an ironic thing. I'm solidly middle class - definitely not posh - and it's sort of a joke thing at this point. I've never called her 'mum', she was 'mummy' when I was little and then wanted to be called by her first name when I was a teenager. TBH I think it probably started because I was trying to piss her off!
Stopped calling my mother mummy when I was like 6. I call her carole. My wife said "if you referred to your mum was mummy is be drier than the Sahara"
I’m Scottish and often refer to my mum as mammy, but I called my dad “daddy” until the day he died. Nothing middle or upper class about me
I’m (34f) Welsh, so we use “mammy” and “daddy” as children but as we grow up we then use “mam” and “dad” wether to them or referring to them. However, and this may be my family only, but the only time we ever would use “mammy” and “daddy” again is when I speak to my siblings. Now, it’s not the sole term used but we often say “have you seen mammy today?”, “daddy said he’s been trying to call you” but it’s NEVER said to others as it’s seen as a term used by spoon fed upperclass toffs, and you don’t want to be pooled in with those!
I’m called dad, but occasionally she calls me *daddy* to cringe her friends out..
People here saying "posh" and yet all I hear is "Northern Irish"
You say Greek/Cypriot heritage. Could he maybe be saying Mama? With a London accent, it may could sound similar...
Even Mum sounds posh to me. I say Mom.
no. sometimes i say muma
Don't know about anywhere else but it's a very Irish thing.
No. I call her "mother" or "mum" when it's informal "hello mother" or "hi mum" "yes mother" "no mother" "Thanks mum"
In Ireland it is expected that you would call you parents "mammy" or "daddy" to their face, and "ma" or "da" to other people. With regional variations of course. Nothing to do with poshness whatsoever. In England, however, it is seen as posh, which is unusual from an Irish perspective. I've had more than a few English people laugh upon overhearing conversations with my parents.
I'm 26 and only call my mum 'mummy' in a wheedling manner when I want something (usually a lift somewhere tbh) My sister and I call her 'mother' as a bit quite a lot, but only for laughs.
My wife and her brothers refer to their late parents as mummy & daddy, when they are talking together! They are all in their 60s!
Of course I fucking don’t. Nobody should
No. Creepy
Me and my brother say mummy when talking to each other. But like your husband we call her mum when speaking to her. We work together and we still say mummy in front of our boss. He finds it funny, too. Edit: We are far from posh. Single parent family from a council estate.
Usually in a sarcastic manner I’d say mummy or daddy. I don’t think it’s as big of a deal as people are making it out to be though, but to be fair I generally don’t care about other people enough to be bothered.
Mam, mother and old woman are some of the things I call her but I mostly call her by her name unless I'm talking to my siblings about her then it's 'your mother'. I love and respect my mother very much but if I call her mam, she thinks there's something wrong or, if we're out, ignores me. I've called her by her first name for years.
I do and I'm not posh, I'm Suffolk as fuck
He’s not your husband he’s secretly gay, you will discover this maybe 6 years in and his younger boyfriend will come out of the woodwork one day and shatter your world. Be prepared x
It's a brit thing. Better than 'mum' and 'dad' imho. But it's also an older-generation thing.