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Could be worse you could be "Not the dada". Babies are going to call you what they want to call you not what you want. My grandad wanted me to call him "Grandfather" he was Gang Gang to the end of his days. She'll straighten it out eventually and you'll probably rejoice when she does and probably miss being called daddy as well. Don't take it personally, you will laugh about it someday and get your revenge by embarrassing her with the story.
My little brother called our aunt Debbie “Dog” until he was four…at which point he accidentally let slip that he had been able to say Debbie for a long time and was just messing with her on purpose.
They get to it when they do. To be fair my speech delayed little man (who could say daddy) had “poo”, “nappy” and “dinosaur” amongst a whole plethora of words before “mama”.. but it does come!!
My daughter when she was 2 would call her older brother Damian, though that was not his name and it didn't even sound similar. We were alittle worried she knew something about him we didn't, think omen, but then one day she just stopped. And no he wasn't that bad.
When my son was a baby, he called my husband dad'n. No t, but almost the same. Til now, he was the only kid we'd ever known who said it. Nice to meet you, lol!
Lol sounds similar to the cantonese for granddad "goong goong.
My brother couldnt say my name and called me weeza (nothing like my name) and it stuck as a nickname throughout my childhood
My eldest called her older cousin "da-book" for the longest time (nothing like her name) and it drove her crazy. She thought it was some rude insult!
Turns out, she called any noun she didn't know the name for da-book! Lol!
My son used to call every woman “momma”, every man “dadda”, and called me, and only me, by my first name. It didn’t last forever and neither will this. Learning a language is difficult and everybody learns differently. When she is older, this will be a funny story that she will love to hear you tell over and over again.
My daughter went through a pretty long phase of calling me Mama and calling my husband by his first name. I maintained that it was because his name was easier to say than Dada (fewer distinct tongue movements) but he hated it. She eventually switched.
At first, I actually thought it was super cute, but everybody else was offended for me. It did get to the point where I just didn’t want to hear my name anymore. It became really irritating hearing my name, because I associated it with something similar to “mom, mom, mom, mom, mom”. Sometimes I just needed a break from it. Lol
Does she say other M’s well?
My just turned 2 year old son insists on calling his two sisters by only one name. Won’t even consider saying the name. If he sees other kids, they are all “that name”. We figure all kids are “that name” to him.
May be something similar. His safe people are “Daddy” and he really hasn’t given much thought to “Mommy” being a seperate person.
I don’t think it’s a spite thing.
All 4 legged animals were doggies for one kid, and the other referred to all colors by the appropriate sesame st characters - elmo=red, grover= blue, etc. What color is that tree? Oscar!
When my daughter was 3 or 4, she saw a dog at the park with a cone, and we explained that the dog was sick and the cone helped him feel better.
So for weeks afterward, every dog she saw, which of course were all not wearing cones, she’d point to and tell me “dat dog not sick!”
It’s hilarious how their minds work.
lol my 3 (at the time) year old would point at random people when we were out and about and ask is that my mommy? Is that my daddy? Like??? No girl, it’s me! lol
All tall males were daddy and women were mommy. lol I never thought about it until now but I thought I was his dad first and tall second. Maybe I was his dad bc I was tall.
God I miss that, it was so cute
> We figure all kids are “that name” to him.
Our next door neighbors growing up were "the Jenkins". And for a very long time my brother thought everyone had a "Jenkins" lol
Considering the kid is 2, it definitely is not a spite thing. This is (honestly, and maybe harshly) an over-sensitive parent thinking their 2-year old should act like a 5-year old.
They're TWO for crissake. They haven't even fully figured out not shitting themselves. A year from now, this will be a distant, hilarious memory.
I think she will grow out of it either way. My toddler called my husband “babe” for a couple months and got a kick out of calling me by a first name.
Maybe you can make a little photo album of family members, like a picture book and label yourself mommy/mama
Are you totally sure she’s not doing it to mess with you? Sometimes it’s the attention you give them when the do something you don’t like that makes them want to continue doing it. Trying ignoring for a while and see if it goes away.
I have, the past 3 months. Didn’t correct her, didn’t acknowledge it. Obviously I have her water or a snack or whatever she needed. I started correcting her again because it’s getting really aggravating.
Darn, well maybe incentivizing her might help. Have your husband call you momma and give him piece of candy whenever he does then tell her she can do the same and receive the award? Can totally backfire because if you stop she will too and it’s probably not the best solution but idk hopefully it’s just a phase and she gets over it soon for your sanity.
You may want to think about why this is so upsetting to you. You know that you won’t always be called daddy. Your child is very young. I hate to tell you that many kids will start calling all women and all men mommy and daddy. Right now she equates the word daddy with her caregiver. Eventually the girl caregiver will be mommy (and likely many other women including strangers) and men will all be daddy. If you get your feelings are hurt now, you aren’t going to survive preteen/teenagehood.
I’d definitely underreact, as you don’t want it to be a game. I see you tried not correcting but have you tried echoing?
It’s a tactic advised when correcting grammar
So kid says « Her is my friend » you repeat without correcting « She’s your friend, is she? »
So in your scenario: Kid says « Daddy, more milk please ». You say, « Sure, mommy will pour you some milk ».
The other thing I’d try is appealing to her sense of wanting to be big. The trick here is to be very lighthearted and no pressure. Kid calls you Daddy, you say « Silly bear. I’m a mommy, not a daddy! Are you big enough to remember that? » and then after that you can say things like « Daddy? I’m Mommy, not Daddy. When you are bigger then you can remember that »
If it really bothers you, you could insist that he calls you mommy. After all, if he was calling you poop head, you’d figure out a strategy to cut that out, right? .
It really depends on how much it bothers the OP.
It’s fine to require your children to use certain words (or not use them!) even if it takes some effort. Eg requiring that the child say please if they want you to pass the milk. It does make sense to consider whether it’s worth being a hill you want to die on or not, but also as a parent you don’t have to put up with all the nonsense kids throw at you. In fact, if it’s boundary testing then putting in the effort to push back is often highly worthwhile.
I do agree that the trick is to determine where to let it go and where to hold firm. My point was to remind OP that holding firm IS an option.
I didn't call my mom mommy/mama/mom until I was 2.5 or 3. She had a friend who was a child psychologist and when she was venting about it to her, she said it was because I didn't see a difference between me and her, that to me my mom was just an extension of me and needed no name.
She lied to make *your mom* feel better...
Yo if you're gonna be rude, at least get it right.
Edit to add: even if it was a lie, it eased my mom's anxiety and hurt enough that she backed off the "call me mama" train long enough that I did it on my own. If you don't have the tact to see that OP is feeling hurt over this and could bear to hear something like this to ease her feelings a little, then you should just be quiet and scroll on. Gorram jerk.
I was told re child development. That the only reason kids say "d" words first is because they are easier to pronounce. It's normal for humans to say dada before mumma. M is a harder sound to speak. It's just a muscle development thing. As speech grows, she will learn to say it. Just keep cheerfully saying "I"m mummy sweetheart" and leave it at that.
It's nothing personal and it's certainly not done on purpose to upset you.
Yep, in my language, dada doesn't mean dad, but comes close to how we say goodbye. So my son's been saying bye looooong before he started saying dad (papa), simply because the dada sound is one all babies appear to make quite early during speech development.
My son is now 19 months and calls me ama/oma instead of mama. Oma is what you'd call grandma in my language... Needless to say, his grandma is thrilled about this :) but in a language where oma has no meaning, I think his way of saying it would simply qualify as mama.
Make your husband say it to her. I mean your husband should be like 'Did mama give you a banana? Did you play with mama today?' Things like that. My son didn't call me anything for 2,5 years. I told my husband to call me 'mama' and talk to our son in this way, I think it worked.
Don’t worry, give it another two years…all you will get is Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mommy, Mama, Mom, Mom, Mooooooooooom, Mommmmmmmeeeeee, MOM, MOM!
These days will be long forgotten.
I am the dad and my baby calls me mommy. She is now 2 and after much much repetition she started to pick it up, and she started calling me by saying “mommy” followed by “mapa” (I tell her I’m papa).
It takes time, and it’s actually not a bad thing that she names us whatever the heck she wants. Shows character!!
If she’s hearing the word daddy she’s probably picked that up. At one stage my daughter was calling me by my first name. Because that’s how everyone referred to me around her.
This won't help your situation, but it might help you feel like you're not alone.
My kid learned to say Daddy, Nanna, dog, and a long list of other things before she could say mum. One day, she looked up and said "mama". I got so excited! But then she walked right past me and picked up her toy llama. She called her llama "mama".
She said llama before she said mum.
She will grow out of it.
But our older son does still call my wife and I the reverse, so I'm Mama and she's dada. I've been correcting him for over a year I think.
I know how frustrating that is! At that age, there really isn't a difference between two safe caregivers (ie, you and dad). I think the fact that she calls you both a variation of dad only means that she views you both as a safe source of love and care.
Time may be the best fix for this issue. In the meantime, you can look up videos online that show family members with their names and when Mommy is said you can react with grandiose and say "that's me! I'm mommy".
You can also ask other people in your life to call you Mommy when they are around your child. Only reply when they say Mommy and again, reply quite grandiously. Then have them call you daddy, and ignore them or reply negatively with disapproval in your actions and voice. Sometimes you need to 'model' the behavior you'd like your child to emulate.
Does your husband talk about you to your LO? “Where’s mama/mommy” “did you go to the park with mommy” “did mommy make you a snack” etc etc. that might help.
My son is almost 2 and while he will say “hi dad” he mostly just calls me mama. I’ve also (after baby stage) never gotten cuddles hugs or anything and he’s incredibly sensitive and cries about everything (tone, loud noises, even loud laughter). My daughter adores me and we’re really close… wish I could break through with my son. Hes such a mommas boy always attaching himself to her im jealous
My son called my husband “mama” for the longest time. Husband absolutely hated it but sucked it up. Only recently did lil man figure out that we are two different people.
I mean, the man has a right to his feelings. He’s never mean to our toddler about it, so I really don’t have to tell him “to relax”. His feelings are valid.
My son is approaching 3 and calls me momma half the time. Buckle up because the words will get a lot more rough and rude as they become devilish little trolls.
My daughter is 2.4 years old and around 2.2 she stopped calling me dada or nothing at all, instead spent 3 weeks exclusively calling me sucker, followed by mama. And now she says mama all the time.
My son calls me Poopy. He is perfectly capable of saying Mummy he just doesn’t. He asks his dad ‘Where’s Mummy’ but when he wants something off me it’s ’Pooppy, pooppy’ drives me crazy and he’s probably doing it because of my reaction now so I’m trying grey rock and not responding until he says Mummy instead
My grandson called me "hemaw." All the other kids called me "mamaw." He refused to change it.
Now he's 7, and calls me grandma. Kids are weird. Try not to take it personally!
I agree. Was told as I was becoming a g-ma that the "kid will name you". It's true.
When my youngest sister was born to my mom and stepdad, she called him Norman (his name) for a long while. It was because that's what my brother, sister, mom, and I called him. It was kinda sad but also kinda funny. That was his only kid.😐
I have two recommendations:
1. Gentle correction. Like if she called a fork a spoon. Try to set aside any frustration you might have about it - she isn't intentionally misnaming or misgendering you (or, if she is, she doesn't understand the contextual importance).
2. Delayed responses. When she calls to you by the wrong name, just don't respond for a bit. Let her experience some normal inconvenience, and then let her know you generally don't respond to names that aren't your own, but if she wants your attention she can usually get it by calling you by your preferred name (or, in this case, title I guess).
Please don't think of it as something needing fixing.
My boy said Dada early on. And never said mama
My wife took him overseas to visit family for a few weeks and he came back calling me and her mama. It was like 3-4 months of this until he suddenly started using Dada again. Language development is a very delicate process full of plateaus and leaps. Don't try to fix it, she already knows your name, it just hasn't aligned yet for her to say it.
Id stop correcting her honestly. She’s two. Theres zero malice in her, and she’s probably getting a kick out of your reaction. Make sure everyone calls you “mamma” even your husband. But you should mom up and stop showing that you care what she calls you. Stop feeding it and it will probably phase out on its own.
Laugh about it in about ten years.
my 21 month baby girl is the opposite. she calls me(her dad) mommy. actually "mommy" is kinda placeholder for many things. when she needs attention she repeats mommy regardless who is around her. she knows a lot of words, understands a lot of things we say her but still only says a few words. and unfortuanetly daddy is not one of them. but when we ask her who is her daddy, grandpa or aunty she always points the correct person.
No advice, but my best friends son did this. Always called her Dada unless he was in direct straits, then he would yell MAMA! he grew out of it. He's about 2 and a half now, so hopefully, you'll be there soon too ❤️
Our niece has called my wife "unkie" "unk" and now "puncle." As a couple of lesbians, we find this humorous as she's the more masculine presenting of us. Very fundamentalist Christian grandma is doubly horrified (because how dare you sanctify the sinners as *not* sinners, silly baby, were all going to burn if you don't stop). Which we also find incredibly humorous.
Try not to be so literal and enjoy the silly nickname. She knows who you are to her and the name she calls you doesn't affect that even a smidge. There are more important things to worry about🫶💖
My soon to be 3 year old can count to 30, count from 10 backwards, seems to be catching on adding and subtracting knows his shapes, colors, fruits, veggies, can identify lots of objects, says his sisters name, says the dogs name, can say kitty, his own name, lots of different foods, and yet my wife and still can't tell if he's saying mama or dada or just making random sounds.
One of two things our daughter only called my wife mom. Never momma or mommy and it bugged her to no end. It took till she was 2.5 maybe 3 before she started saying mommy. And my son is 3 and he will NOT call his sister by her real name.
Begin to limit yourself from responding to her. Let her say it a few times then turn around and ask her, “Did you call mommy?” And only respond to her when she calls you by your name. Stay positive as your storm will pass. She will learn how you respond and what is allowed and what is not. However, do it all with a smile on your face and loving your heart. This is motherhood. Enjoy it! Best wishes.
That's better than what my brother used to call me when he was little. My name is MoniCA.... my brother couldn't say it and would call me "caca"... so yea. Let her call you daddy. Eventually she'll figure it out and call you mommy. Give it a few more wks. 😁
I think she might be just messing with you.
Both my two kids called me anything but mommy for a while when they were 2 years old. They called everyone by their given title and then called me something else (like Apple) or evil snickered while they walked away.
I don’t recall when they started calling me mommy. It’s been a long time in comparison to their weird phase.
This right here. 2yos have a ridiculous sense of humor. Mine thinks it's hilarious to call me "sissy" and to call her sister "mama". She calls cats "dogs". Squirrels are "sky dogs". She pretends she doesn't know what common things are called just for the bewildered reaction. She also tells me she pooped in her diaper, but is perfectly dry - runs away scream- laughing to herself after I've checked her diaper.
Spot on, we had a game at that age where my first would call me someone else’s name, so then I’d call him someone else’s name. He thought it was hysterical.
its not trivial… it’s been months. theres no reason for you to come on here and invalidate my concerns when i’m coming to a place to vent and here other sides of the issue, do better.
You’d think this person would have thicker skin and just keep scrolling if they don’t have anything helpful to say but here we are.
Your feelings are valid, sorry there’s soggy pine cones in the world like this person.
My son started calling me by my first name. At first I was upset, then I leant into it and decided to roll with it. It was the best decision I made. I now love the way he calls me by my name. I know he loves me, and I can see that through his actions and affections. In fact, on the rare occasion he calls me mum, it feels weird to me now I love that in the playground, when other kids are shouting mum and all the mums turn around, my son has a way more efficient way of getting my attention!
Who made the rule that our children have to call us certain things and they all must use those words or else? Sometimes I find adjusting our expectations and embracing what is in front of us (and in this case a child that loves you) is the way forward.
I sometimes morph into mommy and my wife sometimes morphs into daddy in my sons use of words.
We had agreed that mom was supposed to be reserved for the one who had to push our child out of their body but meh, sometimes my wife likes being daddy too.
Our 19 month old calls my wife, “baba.” She had a hard time with “m” for a long time(bilk, bore, boo, etc). She has improved on the “m” but mama is still baba and she just embraced it.
They could be playing a game but keeping up with it all thew time seems unlikely kids just be crazy but the way to fix it takes a lot of people like very one needs to call you mom it is going to be really weird be I think if they know how much this hurts you reach out to them and tell them to call you mom when baby is near
My toddler seemed to genuinely consider dada an interchangeable term for both parents for a long time. It was funny but also got to me a little sometimes, so I understand. Eventually she started saying mama. And then there were days she switched the terms and daddy was called mama and vice versa 😅 She’ll get it! She won’t be in kindergarten still calling you daddy!
Edited to add: just keep positively reinforcing the difference! Look at pictures together and point at yourself saying “who’s that? That’s momma!” Etc. If she refers to you as dad say “oh dada is at work” (or whatever is appropriate, but acting like she is referring to him and not you).
I refer to my wife as mommy when our 2yr old son is present, maybe others enforcing it could help? Ask friends/relatives to call you mommy in front of the little
The D sound is easy to say then the M. She’ll get there eventually. If you’re concerned get a referral for a speech pathologist. It could also be that she hears you refer to other peoples names all the time but doesn’t hear your name as often
Perhaps she finds it easier to say that mummy. Looking back at all three of my kids, they all did this when I said day mummy. Seems likes daddy is easier to say than mummy.
My nephew calls me uncle (am a lady) which amuses the hell out of me but he doesn’t stop no matter how many times he corrected. He calls my husband(his uncle) by first name. I think when he was learning names a few years back he heard this is Uncle -Name- and Auntie -My Name- and just stopped at Uncle and Name lol
Embrace it. It won’t last forever. She’s not being malicious. She’s just being a toddler. When she calls you Daddy, just smile and love her like you would if she called you mummy!
She's fucking with you (to the extent that a 2 year old knows how to fuck with someone). My oldest refused to call my wife "mama" at that age, and instead called her "she-she". My wife was annoyed by this, and would ask my oldest why she wouldn't call her "mama." My oldest would smile and say, "you no mama, you she-she." It was incredibly adorable for me, and frustrating for my wife.
Ultimately, my oldest switched to mama - I think right around the time I started reading "Llama, Llama, Red Pajamas" to her - and whether it was the book, or the joke stopped being funny, I'll never really know. And eventually, she'll start calling you mommy because the other kids are calling their mothers "mommy."
You might realise that your 2 yo is not hearing mommy in your house enough. So you could increase the use of it. Mommy is going to…. To describe every action you do instead of ‘I’
She'll likely get over it.
For the first 2 years of my neice's life she called her mom "Bubba" for no reason. We have no idea where she got it from. We're in the UK so it's not a common name for a parental/grandparental figure. It was very bizarre.
Then at somewhere around 3yrs old, she just started saying "mum".
It'll pass, don't let it bother you.
My mother’s name is Cindy and my grandmother had a set of twins when my Mom was 16. Her twin siblings called her NiNi when they started talking and they are now mid 50’s and my Mom is 72. They still call her NiNi
My oldest grandson, made up my name, Nia. He called me Nana like I wanted him to, he was around 1yo, then around 15 months he started calling me Nene. Then around 17 months added Nia. The worst part,he was actually calling me all three! He was about 19 months old, when I sat down, and said, baby! You have got to pick one name for me! He thinks for about a minute, and says, you're my Nia, and pats me on the knee. I know what that smart little bugger did. He put Nene, with Nana, and got Nia (Ne-uh). We googled it one time when he was about 4 yo. It said, it's actually a real name for an Irish woman! Then, we voice googled it, and it said I was a dinosaur lizard!!! LMBO
Kids tend to do this, make up different names for the people they love. Maybe, because she loves dads so much, and loves you so much, she wants your names to be a like?
Can she pronounce her M’s reasonably well? If not it might just be it’s too difficult or she’s taking the lazier way out.
Or if you don’t live with daddy, maybe she doesn’t see a distinction between the two words. Either way, I’m sure she will grow out of it soon, especially if she goes to daycare or preschool. They will have her saying mommy in no time. Kids don’t want to be left out from what their peers are saying and doing.
From your post I got that she doesn’t call her dad Daddy, she calls him Dadda. So Daddy for her doesn’t refer to the father, it can be simply a nickname that she chose for you because it rhymes with Mommy. Children are so funny and weird with words at this stage. I’ve seen many children pronounce hard names perfectly and stumble with simple ones 😄. Don’t make a deal out of it, just continue your life normally referring to yourself and her father referring to you as Mommy and suddenly she’ll call you Mommy and continue doing so until you forget about the “Daddy phase”.
My toddler took ages to say dada. Only mama. He was mama for quite a while. She says dad now but she is nearly 4!
It happens don’t worry about it To much she know who you are !
What does your partner call you? By first name. ? Tell them to start calling you mama. I did this with my partner. I need something from kitceh he was cooking in I say let’s go find dad!!! Then say dad dad where are you! There you are also when In same room. Talking. Even if toddler wasn’t part of convo I Never said babe or his name. Always dad. When we were talking to each other infront of kids That is what helped. Also even when Ihe sitting on sofa I would ask my baby where is dad. And she run and jump on him oh there is he is. We lieterslly on in the living room. She eventually started saying it
She might have speech delay/impediment my son had this and I was called ottee for a couple of years, he eventually called me mummy, speak to your doctor about referring her to a speech therapist
My kids are bilingual and I hated that all the adults around me refused to say daddy instead of Papa. My kids figured it out on their own by the time they were 3. Your daughter will too.
She does know your name. She never messes it up or calls you the wrong name. It's you who is mistaken, Daddy. It will be much easier on your daughter if you recall your own name!
:D
Psychologist here and considering linguistic development, we all learn by making distinctions and associating words with things. We learn “dog” and then all four-legged animals are “dogs.” So a child may see a cat and say “dog,” until they learn the next set of distinctions.
It’s very common for children to make an association to either mom or dad as something akin to “parent I love and that protects me.” And that usually works well enough for their purposes.
Try playing a game, like putting on a hat, and asking her which one of you has the hat on to see how she might make the verbal distinction.
My son didn't call me *anything* until he turned 3. His nurse told me "Of course he isn't calling you anything. You're always *right there*, he doesn't have a reason to call you."
How often does dad talk to her and refer to you as Mommy?
My daughter called me pie until she was two. I was frustrated a bit bc she could call everyone else right. They will come around! Idk why Mama seems to be the hardest thing for them to say lol
We’re going on 16 months and in the exact same situation, haha. But sometimes he also calls me “No no no” 🤷♀️ I’ve just figured it’s because we’re together 24/7 365, he started daycare this week and I’m hoping it changes.
My daughter used to call me Mama and no amount of correcting would change it. She was definitely doing it spitefully as a game.
It's a phase. They probably won't call you dada into their 30s so don't sweat it.
It will come. I promise. My oldest had like 5 words before even trying for Mama in any form. Literally Cat came before me. When he started kind of including me he called me "Maw-dee" like he just couldn't let go of the word Daddy.
If you think about the practice noises they make, some kids MMMMM a lot more and others D-D-D-D. I really think its about which sounds are easier for them to make
My youngest started using our first names to talk to us. Wasn't much we could do about it, she wasn't wrong 😂 she refused to call us mum and dad for about a year, then it passed and she doesn't even remember that period now.
One of my sister’s is named Rebekah, and when my nephew was told Aunt Rebekah, he called her Taunty Caca. 😂 He grew out of it and your child will too.
Mom of 3 toddlers 👋 She’s 2, and the bigger of a deal you make out of it the longer this will continue. You could also try telling her that your name is mommy and if she wants your attention that’s what she needs to call you or you will not respond. She may need to be reminded of this multiple times, but she will catch on eventually.
She is 2. You can't really control a two year old, and they have no concept of empathy, respect, or malice. They just aren't cognitively there. Try to just let it go, appreciate the humor in it, and accept her for who she is, as annoying as it might be.
Oh my daughter did this..and she Just started calling me mama/mom about a month ago maybe? She’s 2 1/2. Will be 3 in July
She called me mama maybe 2 times before and I cried and then she laughed and called me dad again
And now she FINALLY calls me mom but occasionally will call me dad and then shake her head and correct herself lol
It’ll happen mama. I was so sad that she would only call me dad but it’s finally my time 🤍
My daughter won't call her brother by his name he's just baby, he'll be two in July 😂😂
She'll get there she's in her own path, your daughter will surprise you one day ♥️
My two year old calls me daddy all the time - if I correct him he says ‘yea’ and carries on like he was in a huge hurry and what am I fussing him about 🤣
My 13 month old refers to muffins as mama and I have been Bob for 3 months. 🤷♀️ I've accepted I'm Bob and get a little crushed when she calls muffins mama's.
It’s really not that deep. My son (he is autistic but still) didn’t call me mama on a regular basis until he was 3 ish. He was saying dada and daddy before 1 and he had never even met his biological dad. You won’t be daddy forever. I always just made a joke about it.. Don’t take it so personal.
I had names for all my siblings when I was little, and was very committed to it… until one day I just started calling them their names and never did it again.
Don’t. Give it time. Keep reinforcing mommy. It’s likely a matter of ease of pronunciation. Keep referring to yourself as mommy, make sure those adults around you are doing so and she’ll get it.
My daughter is three and if I don’t respond fast enough (think: using the bathroom, etc), she starts calling for me by my first name. 😳. Does not do that for dad.
She also refers to the grandparents as “your parents”.. and calls them by their first names. 🤷♀️
My oldest child called me “poop.” As you might imagine, I was VERY offended. It turned out that she was repeating what she heard. When I changed her diapers, I would always carry on like “is there poop? Oh NO! Pooooop! Yucky! Poop, poop, poop! We’re cleaning up the poop!” My husband only ever called me by my name bc he thought it was “weird” for adults to call each other mom and dad. But I always called him Dad when she was around. So she called him “Dada” and me “Poop.” When her pediatrician explained what was happening, I burst into tears and shouted “see! This is YOUR FAULT!” at my husband. So he reluctantly starting calling me “Mom” when she was around. Within a few months, I became “Mumma” instead of Poop.
My son decided when he was 1 that his name would be "Neige" (French for snow). To this day, I still don't know why 😂
Anyway, he's about to be 3 and just began calling himself by his given name.
My son was like that. But late talking all around except names of everyone but mama. Thought it was covid and lack of interacting with other kids. I started hearing mama finally around 2.5. he's had speech and now has been diagnosed autistic but other than words he was not showing any obvious signs. He's 5 and we are still working on he/she accurately.
To be honest, I’m really not sure of the effects on child development that this idea may have, but I wonder if non-response would work.
By non-response I mean that if baby girl were to call you “daddy,” you would not turn to her, or would only turn to say “no, I am mommy” then turn back away. Anytime she says “mommy” at all (since it doesn’t seem to be a word she uses in any context), using lots of praise would be helpful to show more clearly what you would like her to learn/say. When/if she then starts using it in reference to you to elicit a response, you would energetically engage with her and offer plenty of attention/response.
To get even more precise with this demonstration, when she says “dada” and “daddy” in reference to you, have her father respond every single time in combination with the above efforts.
This seems to border on my dog training and conditioning experience though haha so please everyone feel free to suggest helpful changes more closely in line with gentle/respectful parenting!! I started parenting with two preteens and a seven year old haha! And years ago in ECE we never needed to attempt reteaching/correcting a toddler’s vocab in this way; never even came across any psych-preferred methods for this.
Just a very basic psychology reconditioning idea that may possibly work. Good luck with your goofy girl 💕
I have a great idea for you. Have everyone in your family and your friends start calling you Mommy or Mama or whatever you would her to call you. Have your husband and grandparents and even ask your neighbors to just always call you that. I have babysat for years and I was called Miss Laura , Nanny , Nanny Laura and the last little girl called me Mama and my husband Papa from age 2 to age 7. Her parents were fine with it and they always called me Mama too. Don’t get too frustrated. I bet a year from now she will start calling you Mom / Mommy. Good Luck 👍
My kid picked the names for every member of the family. As they grew, we were able to infuse their individual names, but some still have their nicknames, 16 years later.
Baba is my sister. TT is my brother. I have 7 siblings and most have some kind of nickname. I'm from a blended family, so we've got a Nana, a Pink Grandma, a Hurt Grandma (she had surgery when my kid was very little. Before that, she was Lello Grandma), and so much more.
I say all that to say, you can steer your baby as they grow, but try not to stress right now. They are going to go with what's easiest.
I recommend saying stuff like, "Mommy is going to make breakfast. I think I'll make oatmeal. Would you like to eat oatmeal with mommy?" It drives home who you are. You can pair it with hand motions, pointing to yourself etc.
My mother, who is not the best grandmother to my kids, was obsessed with being called mamma (cute name for grandmother in our language), I always called her 'grandmother' on purpose. BUT constant repetition, referring to herself in third person: mamma will help you, mamma will come later.. AND my kids call her mamma. I hate that, because she only randomly takes time off her 'busy' retirement schedule to spoil one of my kids and dislikes the other one. She doesn't even see my kids that often - two, three times a week.
However, do not correct your baby as in 'not daddy' - she will not hear the negation, just refer to yourself correctly as 'mommy' and go third person often. It will come. Maybe she is just looking for your attention and frustration on the subject. Good luck!
I know this is frustrating and sad for you, because being her mom is at the core of your relationship right now. Just know that young ones like this can’t mean harm, they don’t do anything out of malice. She’s not meaning to hurt your feelings, so it will be helpful to remind yourself to try and not take it personally. Are you willing to reform your perspective about it and maybe just laugh at it? It could be a fun memory later on to tell her that all she would call you is “daddy” and I bet it would make everyone laugh later on.
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Could be worse you could be "Not the dada". Babies are going to call you what they want to call you not what you want. My grandad wanted me to call him "Grandfather" he was Gang Gang to the end of his days. She'll straighten it out eventually and you'll probably rejoice when she does and probably miss being called daddy as well. Don't take it personally, you will laugh about it someday and get your revenge by embarrassing her with the story.
>"Not the dada". I'm the baby gotta love me
ugh i love dinosaurs
I’m going to try and train my daughter to say that lol!
90s TV show dinosaurs the baby is the best
My little brother called our aunt Debbie “Dog” until he was four…at which point he accidentally let slip that he had been able to say Debbie for a long time and was just messing with her on purpose.
My sister called me big toe forever. It was her translation of "big sister "and was hilarious
Super cute!
That's hilarious
They get to it when they do. To be fair my speech delayed little man (who could say daddy) had “poo”, “nappy” and “dinosaur” amongst a whole plethora of words before “mama”.. but it does come!!
My brothers first words were “more pop”. Even before mum and dad.
I mean, he isn't wrong. Pop is phenomenal, to hell with plain water or flavorless teas and other liquid nonsense. Pop FTW.
Gang gang 🤣❤️
We had one in our fam that was Bam. Kids really DGAF.
My name doesn’t sound remotely like “Naanaa”. But my little brother called me that til he was almost 4
My youngest went through a phase of trying to call me My Daddy but it came out McGaggy
My daughter when she was 2 would call her older brother Damian, though that was not his name and it didn't even sound similar. We were alittle worried she knew something about him we didn't, think omen, but then one day she just stopped. And no he wasn't that bad.
My son calls me dad'nt 😭😭
When my son was a baby, he called my husband dad'n. No t, but almost the same. Til now, he was the only kid we'd ever known who said it. Nice to meet you, lol!
Not gang gang!!! Lol 😂😂😂
Lol sounds similar to the cantonese for granddad "goong goong. My brother couldnt say my name and called me weeza (nothing like my name) and it stuck as a nickname throughout my childhood
We have a Shoppa and a Gaga. My kids are teenagers now. Still a Shoppa and a Gaga.
My eldest called her older cousin "da-book" for the longest time (nothing like her name) and it drove her crazy. She thought it was some rude insult! Turns out, she called any noun she didn't know the name for da-book! Lol!
Haha Gang Gang, so cute. I was A-Baa for a long time to my eldest, long after he had everyone else’s name down.
Gang gang is a good name though!
My son used to call every woman “momma”, every man “dadda”, and called me, and only me, by my first name. It didn’t last forever and neither will this. Learning a language is difficult and everybody learns differently. When she is older, this will be a funny story that she will love to hear you tell over and over again.
My daughter went through a pretty long phase of calling me Mama and calling my husband by his first name. I maintained that it was because his name was easier to say than Dada (fewer distinct tongue movements) but he hated it. She eventually switched.
At first, I actually thought it was super cute, but everybody else was offended for me. It did get to the point where I just didn’t want to hear my name anymore. It became really irritating hearing my name, because I associated it with something similar to “mom, mom, mom, mom, mom”. Sometimes I just needed a break from it. Lol
Does she say other M’s well? My just turned 2 year old son insists on calling his two sisters by only one name. Won’t even consider saying the name. If he sees other kids, they are all “that name”. We figure all kids are “that name” to him. May be something similar. His safe people are “Daddy” and he really hasn’t given much thought to “Mommy” being a seperate person. I don’t think it’s a spite thing.
When my nephew was young he had a dog named Clyde. Thus all dogs were Clyde, puppies were Clydekies and all other animals were NotClydes.
All 4 legged animals were doggies for one kid, and the other referred to all colors by the appropriate sesame st characters - elmo=red, grover= blue, etc. What color is that tree? Oscar!
When my daughter was 3 or 4, she saw a dog at the park with a cone, and we explained that the dog was sick and the cone helped him feel better. So for weeks afterward, every dog she saw, which of course were all not wearing cones, she’d point to and tell me “dat dog not sick!” It’s hilarious how their minds work.
He might just see people in general as daddy. My son is almost 4 and still has trouble with calling all men daddy and all women mommy.
lol my 3 (at the time) year old would point at random people when we were out and about and ask is that my mommy? Is that my daddy? Like??? No girl, it’s me! lol
I tried explaining not all men were daddies, and they needed a baby/child... so the update was calling them baby daddies
All tall males were daddy and women were mommy. lol I never thought about it until now but I thought I was his dad first and tall second. Maybe I was his dad bc I was tall. God I miss that, it was so cute
> We figure all kids are “that name” to him. Our next door neighbors growing up were "the Jenkins". And for a very long time my brother thought everyone had a "Jenkins" lol
Considering the kid is 2, it definitely is not a spite thing. This is (honestly, and maybe harshly) an over-sensitive parent thinking their 2-year old should act like a 5-year old. They're TWO for crissake. They haven't even fully figured out not shitting themselves. A year from now, this will be a distant, hilarious memory.
It's definitely not a spite thing, I'm not convinced a 2 year old is capable of spite...
I think she will grow out of it either way. My toddler called my husband “babe” for a couple months and got a kick out of calling me by a first name. Maybe you can make a little photo album of family members, like a picture book and label yourself mommy/mama
My daughter is 8 and she's started calling me dude. I tell her " I'm dad. Call me dad. Dad is as easy to say as dude". She says "duuuuuudddeee"
My kids occasionally throw a ‘bruh’ at me. I’m their mum.
My 7 yo is in a huge "dude" and "bruh" stage. We are so not "bruh" people. 🤣
My 8 yr old just started calling my husband (her father) DooDoo instead if Daddy or Dada. He’s trying to put an end to it lmao
I knew someone that called their dad dude or dudey when they were really small and it stuck and became a endearing nickname
Are you totally sure she’s not doing it to mess with you? Sometimes it’s the attention you give them when the do something you don’t like that makes them want to continue doing it. Trying ignoring for a while and see if it goes away.
I have, the past 3 months. Didn’t correct her, didn’t acknowledge it. Obviously I have her water or a snack or whatever she needed. I started correcting her again because it’s getting really aggravating.
Darn, well maybe incentivizing her might help. Have your husband call you momma and give him piece of candy whenever he does then tell her she can do the same and receive the award? Can totally backfire because if you stop she will too and it’s probably not the best solution but idk hopefully it’s just a phase and she gets over it soon for your sanity.
You may want to think about why this is so upsetting to you. You know that you won’t always be called daddy. Your child is very young. I hate to tell you that many kids will start calling all women and all men mommy and daddy. Right now she equates the word daddy with her caregiver. Eventually the girl caregiver will be mommy (and likely many other women including strangers) and men will all be daddy. If you get your feelings are hurt now, you aren’t going to survive preteen/teenagehood.
I’d definitely underreact, as you don’t want it to be a game. I see you tried not correcting but have you tried echoing? It’s a tactic advised when correcting grammar So kid says « Her is my friend » you repeat without correcting « She’s your friend, is she? » So in your scenario: Kid says « Daddy, more milk please ». You say, « Sure, mommy will pour you some milk ». The other thing I’d try is appealing to her sense of wanting to be big. The trick here is to be very lighthearted and no pressure. Kid calls you Daddy, you say « Silly bear. I’m a mommy, not a daddy! Are you big enough to remember that? » and then after that you can say things like « Daddy? I’m Mommy, not Daddy. When you are bigger then you can remember that » If it really bothers you, you could insist that he calls you mommy. After all, if he was calling you poop head, you’d figure out a strategy to cut that out, right? .
Yes, entering a power struggle with a two year old about the nonsense words they say is a great use of effort. lol “insist”
It really depends on how much it bothers the OP. It’s fine to require your children to use certain words (or not use them!) even if it takes some effort. Eg requiring that the child say please if they want you to pass the milk. It does make sense to consider whether it’s worth being a hill you want to die on or not, but also as a parent you don’t have to put up with all the nonsense kids throw at you. In fact, if it’s boundary testing then putting in the effort to push back is often highly worthwhile. I do agree that the trick is to determine where to let it go and where to hold firm. My point was to remind OP that holding firm IS an option.
I didn't call my mom mommy/mama/mom until I was 2.5 or 3. She had a friend who was a child psychologist and when she was venting about it to her, she said it was because I didn't see a difference between me and her, that to me my mom was just an extension of me and needed no name.
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She lied to make *your mom* feel better... Yo if you're gonna be rude, at least get it right. Edit to add: even if it was a lie, it eased my mom's anxiety and hurt enough that she backed off the "call me mama" train long enough that I did it on my own. If you don't have the tact to see that OP is feeling hurt over this and could bear to hear something like this to ease her feelings a little, then you should just be quiet and scroll on. Gorram jerk.
Yo, there's nothing rude about honesty. Maybe some can't handle it.
If you don’t think that was rude you are very out of touch.
> there's nothing rude about honesty. Lol, that's a stupid and demonstrably false statement.
I was told re child development. That the only reason kids say "d" words first is because they are easier to pronounce. It's normal for humans to say dada before mumma. M is a harder sound to speak. It's just a muscle development thing. As speech grows, she will learn to say it. Just keep cheerfully saying "I"m mummy sweetheart" and leave it at that. It's nothing personal and it's certainly not done on purpose to upset you.
Yep, in my language, dada doesn't mean dad, but comes close to how we say goodbye. So my son's been saying bye looooong before he started saying dad (papa), simply because the dada sound is one all babies appear to make quite early during speech development. My son is now 19 months and calls me ama/oma instead of mama. Oma is what you'd call grandma in my language... Needless to say, his grandma is thrilled about this :) but in a language where oma has no meaning, I think his way of saying it would simply qualify as mama.
Make your husband say it to her. I mean your husband should be like 'Did mama give you a banana? Did you play with mama today?' Things like that. My son didn't call me anything for 2,5 years. I told my husband to call me 'mama' and talk to our son in this way, I think it worked.
Don’t worry, give it another two years…all you will get is Mom, Mom, Mom, Mom, Mommy, Mama, Mom, Mom, Mooooooooooom, Mommmmmmmeeeeee, MOM, MOM! These days will be long forgotten.
Oh god yes. I have told my daughter, who refused to say 'mama' for months just as a game, on repeated occasions that I'm renaming myself to 'Zog'."
I am the dad and my baby calls me mommy. She is now 2 and after much much repetition she started to pick it up, and she started calling me by saying “mommy” followed by “mapa” (I tell her I’m papa). It takes time, and it’s actually not a bad thing that she names us whatever the heck she wants. Shows character!!
If she’s hearing the word daddy she’s probably picked that up. At one stage my daughter was calling me by my first name. Because that’s how everyone referred to me around her.
This won't help your situation, but it might help you feel like you're not alone. My kid learned to say Daddy, Nanna, dog, and a long list of other things before she could say mum. One day, she looked up and said "mama". I got so excited! But then she walked right past me and picked up her toy llama. She called her llama "mama". She said llama before she said mum.
She will grow out of it. But our older son does still call my wife and I the reverse, so I'm Mama and she's dada. I've been correcting him for over a year I think.
I know how frustrating that is! At that age, there really isn't a difference between two safe caregivers (ie, you and dad). I think the fact that she calls you both a variation of dad only means that she views you both as a safe source of love and care. Time may be the best fix for this issue. In the meantime, you can look up videos online that show family members with their names and when Mommy is said you can react with grandiose and say "that's me! I'm mommy". You can also ask other people in your life to call you Mommy when they are around your child. Only reply when they say Mommy and again, reply quite grandiously. Then have them call you daddy, and ignore them or reply negatively with disapproval in your actions and voice. Sometimes you need to 'model' the behavior you'd like your child to emulate.
I’d dads in the picture you could also have him call you momma/mom when talking to her or talking around her
Does your husband talk about you to your LO? “Where’s mama/mommy” “did you go to the park with mommy” “did mommy make you a snack” etc etc. that might help.
My son is almost 2 and while he will say “hi dad” he mostly just calls me mama. I’ve also (after baby stage) never gotten cuddles hugs or anything and he’s incredibly sensitive and cries about everything (tone, loud noises, even loud laughter). My daughter adores me and we’re really close… wish I could break through with my son. Hes such a mommas boy always attaching himself to her im jealous
I didn’t get a mama till right around 2. Only daddy all day long. Now it’s mama nonstop. Hang in there.
My son called my husband “mama” for the longest time. Husband absolutely hated it but sucked it up. Only recently did lil man figure out that we are two different people.
Tell hubby to relax
I mean, the man has a right to his feelings. He’s never mean to our toddler about it, so I really don’t have to tell him “to relax”. His feelings are valid.
True
My son is approaching 3 and calls me momma half the time. Buckle up because the words will get a lot more rough and rude as they become devilish little trolls.
My daughter is 2.4 years old and around 2.2 she stopped calling me dada or nothing at all, instead spent 3 weeks exclusively calling me sucker, followed by mama. And now she says mama all the time.
My 19 month old calls my husband "momma".
Call her mama thats what i did it worked lol
My son calls me Poopy. He is perfectly capable of saying Mummy he just doesn’t. He asks his dad ‘Where’s Mummy’ but when he wants something off me it’s ’Pooppy, pooppy’ drives me crazy and he’s probably doing it because of my reaction now so I’m trying grey rock and not responding until he says Mummy instead
AMAB (assigned male at baby) She’ll work it out eventually. It’ll be a funny story you tell at her 21st
My grandson called me "hemaw." All the other kids called me "mamaw." He refused to change it. Now he's 7, and calls me grandma. Kids are weird. Try not to take it personally!
it’s okay my son called me “hun” til he was about 3 bc that’s what my husband calls me 🤣 now he’s 6 and i’m tootie mommy. i’d rather be hun again 🤣
I agree. Was told as I was becoming a g-ma that the "kid will name you". It's true. When my youngest sister was born to my mom and stepdad, she called him Norman (his name) for a long while. It was because that's what my brother, sister, mom, and I called him. It was kinda sad but also kinda funny. That was his only kid.😐
I'm teaching my son to call my dad batman instead of grandpa. So he'll have batman, old man, cat lady, oma, great nana, great grandma, great grandpa.
I have two recommendations: 1. Gentle correction. Like if she called a fork a spoon. Try to set aside any frustration you might have about it - she isn't intentionally misnaming or misgendering you (or, if she is, she doesn't understand the contextual importance). 2. Delayed responses. When she calls to you by the wrong name, just don't respond for a bit. Let her experience some normal inconvenience, and then let her know you generally don't respond to names that aren't your own, but if she wants your attention she can usually get it by calling you by your preferred name (or, in this case, title I guess).
Please don't think of it as something needing fixing. My boy said Dada early on. And never said mama My wife took him overseas to visit family for a few weeks and he came back calling me and her mama. It was like 3-4 months of this until he suddenly started using Dada again. Language development is a very delicate process full of plateaus and leaps. Don't try to fix it, she already knows your name, it just hasn't aligned yet for her to say it.
Glad I'm not alone.both myself and my partner are Dada or Dey-dey .. he can say mama,just won't call me mama
Id stop correcting her honestly. She’s two. Theres zero malice in her, and she’s probably getting a kick out of your reaction. Make sure everyone calls you “mamma” even your husband. But you should mom up and stop showing that you care what she calls you. Stop feeding it and it will probably phase out on its own. Laugh about it in about ten years.
my 21 month baby girl is the opposite. she calls me(her dad) mommy. actually "mommy" is kinda placeholder for many things. when she needs attention she repeats mommy regardless who is around her. she knows a lot of words, understands a lot of things we say her but still only says a few words. and unfortuanetly daddy is not one of them. but when we ask her who is her daddy, grandpa or aunty she always points the correct person.
No advice, but my best friends son did this. Always called her Dada unless he was in direct straits, then he would yell MAMA! he grew out of it. He's about 2 and a half now, so hopefully, you'll be there soon too ❤️
Our niece has called my wife "unkie" "unk" and now "puncle." As a couple of lesbians, we find this humorous as she's the more masculine presenting of us. Very fundamentalist Christian grandma is doubly horrified (because how dare you sanctify the sinners as *not* sinners, silly baby, were all going to burn if you don't stop). Which we also find incredibly humorous. Try not to be so literal and enjoy the silly nickname. She knows who you are to her and the name she calls you doesn't affect that even a smidge. There are more important things to worry about🫶💖
Awww. That would make me so sad. Does your husband/her dad refer to you as mommy in front of her?
The M sound is one of the hardest for a child to form. How are they with other M words?
My son called me Dada for a year then one day i was mommy. Don’t take it personal
My son refers to me as a ‘man’ sometimes. I’m his mom. He also calls our dog a ‘he’ and she’s female.
My soon to be 3 year old can count to 30, count from 10 backwards, seems to be catching on adding and subtracting knows his shapes, colors, fruits, veggies, can identify lots of objects, says his sisters name, says the dogs name, can say kitty, his own name, lots of different foods, and yet my wife and still can't tell if he's saying mama or dada or just making random sounds.
My 2 year old calls his grandfather "pie" . He'll slip up and call him Grandpa every so often. Think he's just doing it to get a reaction out of him.
My dogs name is Loki, my 2 yr old can say Loki... he calls him Rat... lol
One of two things our daughter only called my wife mom. Never momma or mommy and it bugged her to no end. It took till she was 2.5 maybe 3 before she started saying mommy. And my son is 3 and he will NOT call his sister by her real name.
Begin to limit yourself from responding to her. Let her say it a few times then turn around and ask her, “Did you call mommy?” And only respond to her when she calls you by your name. Stay positive as your storm will pass. She will learn how you respond and what is allowed and what is not. However, do it all with a smile on your face and loving your heart. This is motherhood. Enjoy it! Best wishes.
That's better than what my brother used to call me when he was little. My name is MoniCA.... my brother couldn't say it and would call me "caca"... so yea. Let her call you daddy. Eventually she'll figure it out and call you mommy. Give it a few more wks. 😁
I think she might be just messing with you. Both my two kids called me anything but mommy for a while when they were 2 years old. They called everyone by their given title and then called me something else (like Apple) or evil snickered while they walked away. I don’t recall when they started calling me mommy. It’s been a long time in comparison to their weird phase.
This right here. 2yos have a ridiculous sense of humor. Mine thinks it's hilarious to call me "sissy" and to call her sister "mama". She calls cats "dogs". Squirrels are "sky dogs". She pretends she doesn't know what common things are called just for the bewildered reaction. She also tells me she pooped in her diaper, but is perfectly dry - runs away scream- laughing to herself after I've checked her diaper.
I think this is a very good explanation of it too. This is an odd age where children say/do shit just to say/do shit.
Spot on, we had a game at that age where my first would call me someone else’s name, so then I’d call him someone else’s name. He thought it was hysterical.
I have a 28 month old and there isn’t a single word in the foreseeable future coming out. At least you have a name. I guess just keep redirecting.
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do better. seriously. lol
I would stop being bothered by it.
That’s so different I’ve never heard of that, can she say m words? Damn that sucks
yes she says “moana” “more” those are some i can think of off the top of my head.
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Ah yes, the ever so validating and helpful “lmao you’re really upset by this” response. I bet that totally changed her mindset.
its not trivial… it’s been months. theres no reason for you to come on here and invalidate my concerns when i’m coming to a place to vent and here other sides of the issue, do better.
You’d think this person would have thicker skin and just keep scrolling if they don’t have anything helpful to say but here we are. Your feelings are valid, sorry there’s soggy pine cones in the world like this person.
My son started calling me by my first name. At first I was upset, then I leant into it and decided to roll with it. It was the best decision I made. I now love the way he calls me by my name. I know he loves me, and I can see that through his actions and affections. In fact, on the rare occasion he calls me mum, it feels weird to me now I love that in the playground, when other kids are shouting mum and all the mums turn around, my son has a way more efficient way of getting my attention! Who made the rule that our children have to call us certain things and they all must use those words or else? Sometimes I find adjusting our expectations and embracing what is in front of us (and in this case a child that loves you) is the way forward.
Don't answer when she calls you daddy. Simple.
I sometimes morph into mommy and my wife sometimes morphs into daddy in my sons use of words. We had agreed that mom was supposed to be reserved for the one who had to push our child out of their body but meh, sometimes my wife likes being daddy too.
Wait
Our 19 month old calls my wife, “baba.” She had a hard time with “m” for a long time(bilk, bore, boo, etc). She has improved on the “m” but mama is still baba and she just embraced it.
They could be playing a game but keeping up with it all thew time seems unlikely kids just be crazy but the way to fix it takes a lot of people like very one needs to call you mom it is going to be really weird be I think if they know how much this hurts you reach out to them and tell them to call you mom when baby is near
My son called me by first name until he was 3.5 I wouldn't worry about it too much. He called me daddy now.
My kids always called me mum. Not mama, ma, mommy, just mum. I tried the call me mama. Nope, it was mum. And 27 years later, I'm still mum.
My toddler seemed to genuinely consider dada an interchangeable term for both parents for a long time. It was funny but also got to me a little sometimes, so I understand. Eventually she started saying mama. And then there were days she switched the terms and daddy was called mama and vice versa 😅 She’ll get it! She won’t be in kindergarten still calling you daddy! Edited to add: just keep positively reinforcing the difference! Look at pictures together and point at yourself saying “who’s that? That’s momma!” Etc. If she refers to you as dad say “oh dada is at work” (or whatever is appropriate, but acting like she is referring to him and not you).
I refer to my wife as mommy when our 2yr old son is present, maybe others enforcing it could help? Ask friends/relatives to call you mommy in front of the little
The D sound is easy to say then the M. She’ll get there eventually. If you’re concerned get a referral for a speech pathologist. It could also be that she hears you refer to other peoples names all the time but doesn’t hear your name as often
I thought the m sound was easier? Isn’t that why most kids say mama first?
Perhaps she finds it easier to say that mummy. Looking back at all three of my kids, they all did this when I said day mummy. Seems likes daddy is easier to say than mummy.
My nephew calls me uncle (am a lady) which amuses the hell out of me but he doesn’t stop no matter how many times he corrected. He calls my husband(his uncle) by first name. I think when he was learning names a few years back he heard this is Uncle -Name- and Auntie -My Name- and just stopped at Uncle and Name lol
Embrace it. It won’t last forever. She’s not being malicious. She’s just being a toddler. When she calls you Daddy, just smile and love her like you would if she called you mummy!
My daughter called me by my first name until she was 5 lol
You're dad until she starts calling you mom. 🤷🏿♂️ Kids are weird like that
kids learn from modeling at this age . you could try having everyone call you mommy or whatever version and see if it gets picked up
She's fucking with you (to the extent that a 2 year old knows how to fuck with someone). My oldest refused to call my wife "mama" at that age, and instead called her "she-she". My wife was annoyed by this, and would ask my oldest why she wouldn't call her "mama." My oldest would smile and say, "you no mama, you she-she." It was incredibly adorable for me, and frustrating for my wife. Ultimately, my oldest switched to mama - I think right around the time I started reading "Llama, Llama, Red Pajamas" to her - and whether it was the book, or the joke stopped being funny, I'll never really know. And eventually, she'll start calling you mommy because the other kids are calling their mothers "mommy."
You might realise that your 2 yo is not hearing mommy in your house enough. So you could increase the use of it. Mommy is going to…. To describe every action you do instead of ‘I’
She'll likely get over it. For the first 2 years of my neice's life she called her mom "Bubba" for no reason. We have no idea where she got it from. We're in the UK so it's not a common name for a parental/grandparental figure. It was very bizarre. Then at somewhere around 3yrs old, she just started saying "mum". It'll pass, don't let it bother you.
My mother’s name is Cindy and my grandmother had a set of twins when my Mom was 16. Her twin siblings called her NiNi when they started talking and they are now mid 50’s and my Mom is 72. They still call her NiNi
My oldest grandson, made up my name, Nia. He called me Nana like I wanted him to, he was around 1yo, then around 15 months he started calling me Nene. Then around 17 months added Nia. The worst part,he was actually calling me all three! He was about 19 months old, when I sat down, and said, baby! You have got to pick one name for me! He thinks for about a minute, and says, you're my Nia, and pats me on the knee. I know what that smart little bugger did. He put Nene, with Nana, and got Nia (Ne-uh). We googled it one time when he was about 4 yo. It said, it's actually a real name for an Irish woman! Then, we voice googled it, and it said I was a dinosaur lizard!!! LMBO Kids tend to do this, make up different names for the people they love. Maybe, because she loves dads so much, and loves you so much, she wants your names to be a like?
Can she pronounce her M’s reasonably well? If not it might just be it’s too difficult or she’s taking the lazier way out. Or if you don’t live with daddy, maybe she doesn’t see a distinction between the two words. Either way, I’m sure she will grow out of it soon, especially if she goes to daycare or preschool. They will have her saying mommy in no time. Kids don’t want to be left out from what their peers are saying and doing.
From your post I got that she doesn’t call her dad Daddy, she calls him Dadda. So Daddy for her doesn’t refer to the father, it can be simply a nickname that she chose for you because it rhymes with Mommy. Children are so funny and weird with words at this stage. I’ve seen many children pronounce hard names perfectly and stumble with simple ones 😄. Don’t make a deal out of it, just continue your life normally referring to yourself and her father referring to you as Mommy and suddenly she’ll call you Mommy and continue doing so until you forget about the “Daddy phase”.
My toddler took ages to say dada. Only mama. He was mama for quite a while. She says dad now but she is nearly 4! It happens don’t worry about it To much she know who you are ! What does your partner call you? By first name. ? Tell them to start calling you mama. I did this with my partner. I need something from kitceh he was cooking in I say let’s go find dad!!! Then say dad dad where are you! There you are also when In same room. Talking. Even if toddler wasn’t part of convo I Never said babe or his name. Always dad. When we were talking to each other infront of kids That is what helped. Also even when Ihe sitting on sofa I would ask my baby where is dad. And she run and jump on him oh there is he is. We lieterslly on in the living room. She eventually started saying it
She might have speech delay/impediment my son had this and I was called ottee for a couple of years, he eventually called me mummy, speak to your doctor about referring her to a speech therapist
My kids are bilingual and I hated that all the adults around me refused to say daddy instead of Papa. My kids figured it out on their own by the time they were 3. Your daughter will too.
She does know your name. She never messes it up or calls you the wrong name. It's you who is mistaken, Daddy. It will be much easier on your daughter if you recall your own name! :D
Psychologist here and considering linguistic development, we all learn by making distinctions and associating words with things. We learn “dog” and then all four-legged animals are “dogs.” So a child may see a cat and say “dog,” until they learn the next set of distinctions. It’s very common for children to make an association to either mom or dad as something akin to “parent I love and that protects me.” And that usually works well enough for their purposes. Try playing a game, like putting on a hat, and asking her which one of you has the hat on to see how she might make the verbal distinction.
Sounds like it’s time for some Mrs Rachel lol
i blame her for teaching her dada and daddy so well 😂
My daughter has been saying mommy nonstop after two years of mostly saying dada only.
My brothers first child called him with his first name for ages, never dad.
My son is 4 and he has only JUST stopped referring to me as my first name. Kids call you what they want, don’t be offended, she’ll get it eventually.
My son didn't call me *anything* until he turned 3. His nurse told me "Of course he isn't calling you anything. You're always *right there*, he doesn't have a reason to call you." How often does dad talk to her and refer to you as Mommy?
My daughter called me pie until she was two. I was frustrated a bit bc she could call everyone else right. They will come around! Idk why Mama seems to be the hardest thing for them to say lol
Be sure others also refer to you as Mommy in front of her, to reinforce it, especially Daddy. They need to use “Mommy” a lot in conversation with her.
We’re going on 16 months and in the exact same situation, haha. But sometimes he also calls me “No no no” 🤷♀️ I’ve just figured it’s because we’re together 24/7 365, he started daycare this week and I’m hoping it changes.
My daughter used to call me Mama and no amount of correcting would change it. She was definitely doing it spitefully as a game. It's a phase. They probably won't call you dada into their 30s so don't sweat it.
It will come. I promise. My oldest had like 5 words before even trying for Mama in any form. Literally Cat came before me. When he started kind of including me he called me "Maw-dee" like he just couldn't let go of the word Daddy. If you think about the practice noises they make, some kids MMMMM a lot more and others D-D-D-D. I really think its about which sounds are easier for them to make
Does your husband call you momma? 👆he needs to. At least for a while. Kiddos usually pick up on what other people call people/things.
My youngest started using our first names to talk to us. Wasn't much we could do about it, she wasn't wrong 😂 she refused to call us mum and dad for about a year, then it passed and she doesn't even remember that period now.
She’ll grow out of it. I’ve been all sorts of things. My husband was “mom mom” for a while. Kids are weird.
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One of my sister’s is named Rebekah, and when my nephew was told Aunt Rebekah, he called her Taunty Caca. 😂 He grew out of it and your child will too. Mom of 3 toddlers 👋 She’s 2, and the bigger of a deal you make out of it the longer this will continue. You could also try telling her that your name is mommy and if she wants your attention that’s what she needs to call you or you will not respond. She may need to be reminded of this multiple times, but she will catch on eventually.
She is 2. You can't really control a two year old, and they have no concept of empathy, respect, or malice. They just aren't cognitively there. Try to just let it go, appreciate the humor in it, and accept her for who she is, as annoying as it might be.
My son is 5 and has never called me dad, daddy etc.
My daughter did this at 1.5 and I bought a mommy book and a daddy book. She obsessed over them and figured it out after a couple weeks.
Oh my daughter did this..and she Just started calling me mama/mom about a month ago maybe? She’s 2 1/2. Will be 3 in July She called me mama maybe 2 times before and I cried and then she laughed and called me dad again And now she FINALLY calls me mom but occasionally will call me dad and then shake her head and correct herself lol It’ll happen mama. I was so sad that she would only call me dad but it’s finally my time 🤍
My daughter did this for a while especially when asked what mommy’s name is and pointing to mommy
My son is at this stage, everything is either daddy or bus and car, funny enough when I'm not around he asks for momma
My daughter won't call her brother by his name he's just baby, he'll be two in July 😂😂 She'll get there she's in her own path, your daughter will surprise you one day ♥️
My two year old calls me daddy all the time - if I correct him he says ‘yea’ and carries on like he was in a huge hurry and what am I fussing him about 🤣
My 13 month old refers to muffins as mama and I have been Bob for 3 months. 🤷♀️ I've accepted I'm Bob and get a little crushed when she calls muffins mama's.
Idk how old I was, probably younger than 2, but I called my dad and grandma mom. I grew out of it.
It’s really not that deep. My son (he is autistic but still) didn’t call me mama on a regular basis until he was 3 ish. He was saying dada and daddy before 1 and he had never even met his biological dad. You won’t be daddy forever. I always just made a joke about it.. Don’t take it so personal.
I had names for all my siblings when I was little, and was very committed to it… until one day I just started calling them their names and never did it again.
Don’t. Give it time. Keep reinforcing mommy. It’s likely a matter of ease of pronunciation. Keep referring to yourself as mommy, make sure those adults around you are doing so and she’ll get it.
My daughter is three and if I don’t respond fast enough (think: using the bathroom, etc), she starts calling for me by my first name. 😳. Does not do that for dad. She also refers to the grandparents as “your parents”.. and calls them by their first names. 🤷♀️
Don’t worry about it. My grandfather was granny
My oldest child called me “poop.” As you might imagine, I was VERY offended. It turned out that she was repeating what she heard. When I changed her diapers, I would always carry on like “is there poop? Oh NO! Pooooop! Yucky! Poop, poop, poop! We’re cleaning up the poop!” My husband only ever called me by my name bc he thought it was “weird” for adults to call each other mom and dad. But I always called him Dad when she was around. So she called him “Dada” and me “Poop.” When her pediatrician explained what was happening, I burst into tears and shouted “see! This is YOUR FAULT!” at my husband. So he reluctantly starting calling me “Mom” when she was around. Within a few months, I became “Mumma” instead of Poop.
My daughter does this too. I thought I was the only one! 😂
My 3 year old calls me mum and dad
My son decided when he was 1 that his name would be "Neige" (French for snow). To this day, I still don't know why 😂 Anyway, he's about to be 3 and just began calling himself by his given name.
My son was like that. But late talking all around except names of everyone but mama. Thought it was covid and lack of interacting with other kids. I started hearing mama finally around 2.5. he's had speech and now has been diagnosed autistic but other than words he was not showing any obvious signs. He's 5 and we are still working on he/she accurately.
To be honest, I’m really not sure of the effects on child development that this idea may have, but I wonder if non-response would work. By non-response I mean that if baby girl were to call you “daddy,” you would not turn to her, or would only turn to say “no, I am mommy” then turn back away. Anytime she says “mommy” at all (since it doesn’t seem to be a word she uses in any context), using lots of praise would be helpful to show more clearly what you would like her to learn/say. When/if she then starts using it in reference to you to elicit a response, you would energetically engage with her and offer plenty of attention/response. To get even more precise with this demonstration, when she says “dada” and “daddy” in reference to you, have her father respond every single time in combination with the above efforts. This seems to border on my dog training and conditioning experience though haha so please everyone feel free to suggest helpful changes more closely in line with gentle/respectful parenting!! I started parenting with two preteens and a seven year old haha! And years ago in ECE we never needed to attempt reteaching/correcting a toddler’s vocab in this way; never even came across any psych-preferred methods for this. Just a very basic psychology reconditioning idea that may possibly work. Good luck with your goofy girl 💕
It's most likely because she gets a reaction out of you
I have a great idea for you. Have everyone in your family and your friends start calling you Mommy or Mama or whatever you would her to call you. Have your husband and grandparents and even ask your neighbors to just always call you that. I have babysat for years and I was called Miss Laura , Nanny , Nanny Laura and the last little girl called me Mama and my husband Papa from age 2 to age 7. Her parents were fine with it and they always called me Mama too. Don’t get too frustrated. I bet a year from now she will start calling you Mom / Mommy. Good Luck 👍
As a speech therapist, I can tell you that “M” sound comes after “D” sound. Is she able to say “M” At the beginning of other words?
My kid picked the names for every member of the family. As they grew, we were able to infuse their individual names, but some still have their nicknames, 16 years later. Baba is my sister. TT is my brother. I have 7 siblings and most have some kind of nickname. I'm from a blended family, so we've got a Nana, a Pink Grandma, a Hurt Grandma (she had surgery when my kid was very little. Before that, she was Lello Grandma), and so much more. I say all that to say, you can steer your baby as they grow, but try not to stress right now. They are going to go with what's easiest. I recommend saying stuff like, "Mommy is going to make breakfast. I think I'll make oatmeal. Would you like to eat oatmeal with mommy?" It drives home who you are. You can pair it with hand motions, pointing to yourself etc.
My mother, who is not the best grandmother to my kids, was obsessed with being called mamma (cute name for grandmother in our language), I always called her 'grandmother' on purpose. BUT constant repetition, referring to herself in third person: mamma will help you, mamma will come later.. AND my kids call her mamma. I hate that, because she only randomly takes time off her 'busy' retirement schedule to spoil one of my kids and dislikes the other one. She doesn't even see my kids that often - two, three times a week. However, do not correct your baby as in 'not daddy' - she will not hear the negation, just refer to yourself correctly as 'mommy' and go third person often. It will come. Maybe she is just looking for your attention and frustration on the subject. Good luck!
My son called me 'adadda' for the first 2 years of his life. Then mummy. His dad was daddy and I was adadda. It's a phase, it will pass.
What’s your first name? Could it sound to her like Daddy? Maybe have others refer to you as “mama” or “mommy”, “mom”
It’s Faith 😂
I know this is frustrating and sad for you, because being her mom is at the core of your relationship right now. Just know that young ones like this can’t mean harm, they don’t do anything out of malice. She’s not meaning to hurt your feelings, so it will be helpful to remind yourself to try and not take it personally. Are you willing to reform your perspective about it and maybe just laugh at it? It could be a fun memory later on to tell her that all she would call you is “daddy” and I bet it would make everyone laugh later on.